Top Make up and Beauty Tips

Celebrity make-up artist Karen Mason answers some of the most frequently asked make-up and beauty questions with some fantastic tips and tricks.

I need concealer but it seems to look dry and cakey after I’ve applied it.

I prefer to apply concealer before foundation. After you’ve prepped skin, brush concealer wherever you have darkness or discolouration. Then add your foundation and blend the two using a foundation brush. Concentrate most of the colour in the centre of the face and fade out towards the sides. This will give you a seamless finish that looks more natural.

My eye make-up always ends up in creases. I’d like to try the new cream shadows but know where they’d end up!

I guarantee that any of the colour you apply in the morning will last all day if you prep your skin properly with foundation and powder, then apply eyeshadow and blush. Make-up needs something to hang onto and foundation plus powder is the key!

I’d love to wear eyeliner but I can’t manage a pencil or a liquid without lots of mess and wobbles. Where am I going wrong?

Don’t stress over liquids, they’re really good if you’re Amy Winehouse but the rest of us are better off with pencils. The trick is how you hold it. Don’t aim the pencil point at your eye. Use it ‘sideways’, parallel to the eye and run it close to the lashes from inner corner to the outer, widening it slightly as you go. You should almost be able to do this without looking, if you really feel the pencil right up against the base of those lashes.

What’s the best way to apply lip pencil to prevent lipstick ‘bleed’?

I’m not really a fan of lip liners. If you’ve prepped your face properly with foundation and powder, lip colour will hold without bleeding.

K x