Enjoy a Gossip Girls afternoon for you and three friends from Paul Edmonds worth over £300 - and six Biolustré treatments for runners-up, each worth £60
Since she launched her bestselling signature line of cosmetics
six years ago, Bobbi Brown has become the world’s most
famous make-up artist. Her philosophy is in tune with every
busy woman’s lifestyle: a pared-down regime of make-up
that enhances a woman’s natural beauty in the absolute
minimum of time. No woman, she insists, needs more than ten
make-up steps to look fabulous. ‘Most days, less than
that,’ she adds.
Bobbi advises drawing up a list based on her steps (opposite)
of the ten - or fewer - products you use most often, from
the times when you rush out to walk the dog, right through
to black-tie dinners. ‘Decide what’s the most crucial.
Make that your everyday, going-to-the-shops/hanging-out-at-home
regime. It really shouldn’t take more than a couple of
minutes. For work - or for lunch - pick the six or so steps
that make the most difference. And leave the whole works for
evenings only.’
Bobbi suggests choosing from her list those steps which you
really can’t face the world without. For day, for instance,
brunettes often need concealer, but they needn’t always
do brows and lashes. Blondes always need to define brows and
eyes, but may not need blusher because they often have a pink
complexion. Redheads probably want lip pencil, even if it’s
a nude shade, because they often have little colour in their
lips. And black women usually have to wear lipstick. A younger
woman can often simply go out with foundation, lipstick and
a well-groomed brow, she says. ‘But anyone over 30 will
probably want to add concealer to her list, since that’s
the age when most women start to notice under-eye circles. And
every woman has positive features; if your eyes are not your
best feature, play up your lips. I don’t believe so much
in heavily disguising flaws as drawing attention away from them
to a woman’s good points.’
Bobbi's Tips
• If you do overdo it? ‘I keep a supply of cotton
buds and cotton wool, and velvet powder puffs, to gently stroke
it off again...’
• ‘Use shadow - not pencils - to fill in the brows,
with a fine brush. It looks more natural.’
• ‘I honestly think that if you have to use an
eyelash curler, there’s something wrong with your mascara.’
• Bobbi’s line on evening beauty is that nobody
needs much more than day make-up; the difference is in the
colours. ‘Maybe you wear more foundation, deeper lipstick,
brighter lipstick, more shimmery lipstick - even a touch of
pearl shadow on the browbone. Try darker colours on the eyes:
charcoal, navy liner, slate - just darker, not heavier. The
mistake most women make is to go for a complete change. The
bottom line is: if the colours need blending on the skin,
you’re wearing the wrong make-up; it should still look
very natural.’
Bobbi’s
step-by-step tips for perfect application
1. Foundation: ‘I don’t
like to use foundation all over, just where there are imperfections:
most often under the eyes, around the mouth and nose, and on
any blemishes.’
2. Concealer: ‘I like to use
stick foundation because it doubles as a concealer. I blend
it with my finger - especially on the bone at the inner corner
of the eyes, which is where people often have grey shadows,
and around the nose. Concealer is layered on top of foundation.’
3. Powder: ‘I prefer loose powder
in the morning - applied with a velour puff, then dusted off
with a big fluffy brush. I put some powder in the palm of my
hand and press the puff into it, then onto the face. I recommend
this before you get dressed, or it goes everywhere. Then carry
pressed powder for daytime touch-ups. Powder can be slightly
yellow-toned, or neutral, but it shouldn’t make you look
pale.’
4. Brows: ‘I use a powder, not
a pencil, with a hard-edged brush - and I don’t make them
too dark. Just enough colour to define them.’
5. Eyeliner: ‘I actually like
to do this before eyeshadow, because for plenty of women that’s
all they need. I use an eyeliner brush dipped in dark shadow
to line the eyes. You can use it wet or dry.’
6. Eyeshadow: ‘On days when more
impact’s needed than just eyeliner, I first like to sweep
a neutral highlighter shade - like bone - all over the brow
and the eyelid, which doubles as a base to help shadow stay
put. The more tired you are, the more you need eyeshadow. But
my tip is never to use a dark shade on the eyelid - not even
at the edges. I prefer a medium shade, like taupe, charcoal
or heather, to shade the socket and the edges of the eyes. Darker
shadows need a lot of blending and only make-up artists are
really great at that.’
7. Blusher: ‘Blush is my favourite
thing in the world: if you have the right blush, you look younger,
fresher, prettier. Older women should definitely add a tawny
blush - which looks more natural than coral or red - to their
list of basics; it becomes more important as you mature, as
the skin cells don’t turn over as quickly and skin doesn’t
look as fresh. I sometimes use two: a neutral shade, and then
a brighter one on top. The darker your colouring, the more blush
you need.’
8. Lipstick: ‘I like to apply
this straight from the tube - I never seem to have time for
a brush, although lip brushes make lipstick last longer. Medium
tones are easiest for most women to wear, and lip stains are
a really natural-looking choice.’
9. Lip pencil: ‘If the lips really
need more definition, I apply this after lipstick, rather than
before, for definition - it looks less hard-edged.’
10. Mascara: ‘A good mascara
should colour and curl your lashes with just one coat.’
