The EYES have it!

I’m the first to admit that I’m not great at applying eye shadows. I love perusing all the gorgeous eye shadow and eyeliner colors at the beauty counters and am always way impressed when I see other women who’s eye makeup is on point! But for me, when it comes to practical application I make a smokey eye look like a Panda’s eye.

So when it comes to eye makeup I like to keep it really clean and classic with a good liquid liner, some great mascara and a well-shaped brow… any makeup novice could master this routine in no time. This look works great for every occasion from work to going out and can be done in 5 minutes which makes it perfect for rushed mornings.

I’ve spent years trying loads of different products but I’ve finally found my holy trinity of eye makeup!

First thing’s first – I always start out by lining my waterline with a nude pencil to make my eyes look brighter and more awake. I use NARS Larger than Life Long-Wear Eyeliner in Rue Bonaparte. This eyeliner is a staple of my daily makeup routine. It glides on smoothly and has a twist up tip. The bottom end of the pencil has a built-in sharpener which is super useful. £19 at SpaceNK.

Secondly I line my eyes with a liquid liner. I have almond shaped eyes which point downwards at the outer edge so I can’t do a fleck or cat-eye as it gets lost under the hood of my eye, but that’s OK! Although I always slightly envy girls who can rock the flecked eyeliner look I’m pretty chuffed with the finish I’m able to achieve. I’ve been using Lancome Liner Plume in 01 Noir for ages and it’s my holy grail of eyeliners! I start off with a really fine line at the inner corner and then build up thickness towards the middle before finishing off with a thinner line at the outer edge. To get a perfectly straight line I do short little strokes rather than trying to drag it across the whole lid.

I get a perfectly neat line with it every single time, which is partly down to practice but also the design of the liner tip itself. It’s very easy to handle and glides on smoothly and effortlessly. It has a very precise tip that gets in close to the lashline to create a subtle, fine line but it can also be built up for a more dramatic, bold look. £22 – Available at Boots, John Lewis, House of Fraser and many more!

Last but not least is mascara. I cannot leave the house without mascara … it is such a staple that I literally feel exposed without it!

I used Diorshow Mascara by Dior for eons and although my younger self completely adored this mascara I recently started to feel rather disillusioned by it. I felt that it was slightly lackluster and didn’t give me the volume I craved. When my last tube of Diorshow ran out a few months ago I wasn’t willing to blow £25 on a product which I felt was just OK so I started looking for a replacement. After doing some due diligence I headed over to Harvey Nichols to test out MAC Extreme Dimension Lash Mascara and I fell in love with it!

The brush gives both definition and curl as well as much desired volume. I have really thick, long lashes but they don’t curl easily so I was really happy that this mascara gave my lashes the curl I so desired. I find that it is easy to build up layers and for extra oomph I even apply a layer on the top of the lashes as well as the underside. I use a spare spoolie brush (which I clean after each use) following application to separate and get rid of any clumps.

£19 for 13ml – available at any MAC cosmetics counter or boutique.