Movie years are like dog years: roughly seven for every human one. The actress Emma Watson is a case in point: a slip of a thing at 19, and yet already an established tabloid name thanks to her role as Hermione in the Harry Potter films.

For a while now Watson has been trying to override her movie persona by asserting her own style - and who can blame her? It's not easy being a high-profile teenager when the world still thinks of you as a swotty school-age witch. It took her co-star, Daniel Radcliffe, a gargantuan effort, not to mention a degree of on-stage nudity, to get the world to see beyond Harry and take him seriously as an actor.

Watson still has a way to go with Potter (the next instalment is due out in 2010), but is forging ahead with an alternative career in the meantime. Yesterday, she was launched as the face of Burberry's new advertising campaign, in pictures shot by Mario Testino. She should be pleased. Unlike previous shoots, in which she has contrived to look uncomfortably sexy, or even edgy, here she just looks very cool. It's a look reminiscent of a young Marianne Faithfull; rock 'n' roll, but chic with it. Her hair is stylish but at the same time a little bit grungy (something of a trend) and her make-up is sexy without being cartoonish: soft, smoky eyes paired with a natural lips and cheeks.

People tend to think of smoky eyes as being a look for the evening, but in fact it can work very well for daytime, especially if the rest of the face is low-key. To this end, Benefit has a lovely kit out at the moment. The Smokin' Eyes Eye and Brow Makeover Kit (£26.50; benefitcosmetics.com) is perfect for achieving a soft, sultry effect, and comes in flattering colours - a shimmery pink, a soft, grey-ish taupe and a more matt charcoal. There is a small black eyeliner, a double-ended brush, a tiny pair of tweezers and a brown brow-shaping wax. It comes with instructions to make a make-up artist out of even a rank amateur.

For an even softer look, try pairing a shade such as Benefit's new Velvet Eyeshadow Gimme Some Plum in the socket (£12.50), with a more forceful, bruised shade - Urban Decay's 24/7 Liner in 1999 (£8.81; boots.com), for example - for definition. Finally, keep lips and cheeks understated: Nars's Multiple Stick in Orgasm (£26.45; spacenk.co.uk) is a brilliant multi-tasker for cheeks and lips that brings a flush of youth to all complexions, even those not quite as genuinely fresh as Watson's.

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