HOME MAKE-UP

Organise your make-up either in your bathroom drawer, on top of the counter or in a box. Keep basics and items used occasionally separate. At least twice a year, make sure your colours and formulas are working. Basics include:

- Concealers and correctors

- Foundation or tinted moisturiser

- Powder (two colours)

- Eye shadow (three or four basic colours)

- Eyeliner (powder and gel)

- Mascara

- Blush (powder or cream)

- Lipstick, gloss, lip pencil

EVERYDAY BAG

Pack the following essentials into a small bag:

- One or two palettes that contain your foundation, concealer, blush and lip colour

- A compact of pressed powder with a mirror

- A basic eye palette — the smaller the better

- Mini mascara

- Lip gloss

- Mini brushes

- Small sample sizes of face cream

EVENING BAG

Tiny purses don’t lend themselves to toting around lots of products, so you need to be selective. Pack the following items:

- Lipstick or gloss

- Lip pencil

- A powder compact

- Face palette (concealer, foundation, blush)

- Mini perfume

IN YOUR DESK DRAWER

It’s worth investing in duplicates to keep in the office for freshening up before a big meeting or reapplying if you need to go straight out after work. These basics include the following items:

- Concealer

- Foundation

- Pressed powder (with mirror)

- Blush

- Lip balm, lip colour and/or gloss

- Black eyeliner, white or silver eye shadow

- Mini brushes

- Travel toothbrush and toothpaste set

IN YOUR GYM BAG

After a workout, you will want to clean your face and reapply your make-up from scratch, so be sure to bring the following items to the gym:

- Face-cleansing cloths

- Moisturiser

- Customised face palette

FOR TRAVEL

Keep your travel kit packed at all times, so you never have to worry about leaving something important in your bathroom cabinet. Invest in small plastic bottles, label them and fill with your essentials. Include the following items:

- Travel-size shampoo and conditioner

- Body and face moisturisers

- Make-up palettes, with all your basics

- Face powder, bronzer

- Self-tanner

- Lipstick or gloss

- Tweezers

FOR THE BIG NIGHT OUT

Few women have the time or energy to clean their faces at the end of the work day and redo their make-up for a night out. Instead, they want a few quick tricks to make a simple transition from office to evening. Since lighting is often softer at night and the occasions are dressier, the idea is to make the face look more dramatic than during the day. To transform a day face into an evening face:

- Start with a touch of eye cream to smooth out existing concealer. Reapply as needed.

- Apply foundation to cover any blemishes and even out skin tone, especially around the nose.

- Use a blush that is slightly brighter than one used for a daytime look.

- If skin is showing on the neck and chest, make it glow with a light sweep of bronzer.

- Use shimmer on lips, eyes or cheeks to make the face look dressed up. Too much shimmer will look overdone, though, so don’t use it on all three areas at the same time.

- Switch to a darker shade of lipstick. Red or burgundy will add drama to your look. Or try a sheer shade paired with dramatic eyes.

- Add drama to eyes by sweeping on a darker shadow as a liner and applying plenty of black mascara. A smoky eye is always sexy for night. Applying white as a highlighter under the brow bone also looks good for evening.

- Spritz on a warm, sensual fragrance and put on a great pair of earrings

BAD DAY BEAUTY TIPS

- Everyone, even the most gorgeous model, has the occasional bad day. These are the days when eyes look puffy, skin appears sallow, breakouts are obvious and nothing seems to help. But there are many solutions to improve these situations.

- Add moisture When skin is dehydrated, it looks older and less alive. Drink plenty of water. Use a rich moisturiser to help temporarily plump up skin, making it look softer and younger.

- Skip the full make-up application Avoid the urge to apply make-up in an attempt to banish the bad-day issues. Use just a bit of concealer, a tinted moisturiser and a pinky blush.

- Curl lashes to open up eyes and make them look more awake. Do not follow with lots of eye make-up. Dark liner and shadows can make eyes look even more tired. Stick to light shades on the lids, and use mascara only on the top lashes.

- Fake a tan To enliven sallow-looking skin, apply a light coat of self-tanner, bronzing powder or gel. Don’t compensate for paleness with too much colour A sheer pink blush will warm up the skin without looking fake. A bit of moisturiser patted over it will make the skin look great.

- Add sheer, glossy lip colour to perk up a tired-looking mouth The best shades are those that match your natural lip colour, or you can add just a hint of rose or pink.

- Dark glasses come in handy on bad days.

- Cover bruises with a blemish stick.

- Cover discoloured scars with a blemish stick, and then apply foundation over the area to blend in with your skin tone.

- Ease sunburn with a cool shower and cold compress Any redness still remaining can be reduced with a light application of foundation or tinted moisturiser. Avoid red-coloured lips. Instead, try a bronze or brown-based lip colour.

BUYING DO'S AND DON'TS

Do buy multipurpose make-up, such as lip-cheek combinations.

Do shop in daylight for foundation.

Don’t equate “dermatologically tested” with better quality.

Do save your receipts. Many stores will refund your money within a specified period of time if you are not satisfied with a product. If any cream-based make-up smells, take it back. It is old.

Don’t toss leftovers out, unless the make-up is more than 18 months old. When lipstick or cream blush gets near the end, scoop the remainder into small, covered, compartmentalised boxes (palettes) that are available at art-supply stores. Label the back of the palette with the colour name.

IF IT'S OUT OF STOCK

Has your signature fragrance or favourite lipstick disappeared off the market? This happens for a number of reasons. It is possible that the product was not selling well or has been reformulated to meet new standards. Discontinued products are available if you know where to look. Use the internet for research. Visit the company’s website first, as there will generally be information available on discontinued products. Estée Lauder, for example, publishes items to be discontinued in advance on its website, so consumers can stock up. Speciality websites, outlets and online auctions often carry these cosmetics and fragrances. Do be aware of expiry dates, however: cosmetics have a limited shelf life and should not be used after the expiration dates posted by the manufacturer.

Extract taken from Makeup Manual by Bobbi Brown, published by Headline Springboard at £20. Buy it for £18 (inc p&p) through the Sunday Times BooksFirst on 0845 271 2135 or at timesonline.co.uk/booksfirst.

Copyright by Bobbi Brown Evolution, LLC. All photographs copyright Henry Leutwyler unless stated otherwise.

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