Get your colours right

No matter what your hair colour, look for depth and complexity in these colours; they shouldn’t look like they came from a box of crayons. Another colour tip: When you’re doing a look that requires more than one colour, start with the lightest shade first, then move on to the darker tones. If you’re unsure about colours, stick to neutrals. You can still achieve drama and variety with neutral tones.

Here are the best colour tips for each part of the face:

Eyes: If you want to experiment with colour, but not go all the way, you can ease into it by accompanying a colour with a neutral, such as lilac on the lid and brown in the crease. Peach or light blue also look great next to neutrals. Choose soft shades of these colours and you’ll be fine.

Cheek: Colour selection is important here. Go for blushes with a neutral base, using your own colouring as a guide. Mix pink with nude to get the right shade.

Face: Foundation should always match your skin tone. Anything other than your real colour will look like a mask. Remember, foundation should disappear on the skin.

Lips: Lips don’t lie — the natural pigmentation of your lips should be the underlying tint of every lip colour you wear. That’s why the same lip colour always looks different on you than your friends. Most brown-based lip colours look more natural, even when the colour’s deep. Case in point: brownish red is easier to wear — and looks softer — than a bluish red.

You can get many different tones and textures out of one tube of lipstick. If you want blue-toned lipsticks to look browner and more neutral, start by applying a brownish lip pencil over the entire lip, then apply lip colour over that to create a new shade.

If you prefer paler lips, cover them with a light coating of foundation then apply a light colour over them. This is also the way to get the truest colour from any lip product, as it minimises your natural lip colour.