Beauty Clinic: Desk-to-diva make up kit
Q. Please can you give me some quick tips for glamming up my make up when I have to dash straight from work to an event? I have a basic make up bag with me but I need some extra oomph for my desk drawer!
A. We know exactly what you mean. There always seems to be about five minutes, 10 if we’re lucky, to have that Cinderella moment. So we asked two of our favourite make up artists, Jenny Jordan (jennyjordan.com) and Armand Beasley (armandinternationalltd.com) for their top tips.
Here’s what Armand has dubbed the Desk to Diva Make Up Kit. It’s by way of being a quick fix pick ‘n mix so you can take what suits you – and the occasion. We’ve added some of our favourite items too.
Cleanse and prep in a trice with a hydrating cleansing pad, such as SkinMatrixHD Hydrating Micellar Pads/£27.50 for 60 from skinmatrixhd.com, or Yes to Coconut Hydrate & Restore Cleansing Wipes/£3.99 for 30.
Add a glow with an illuminating face cream such as Erborian Glow Crème/£16, which is a great base for foundation.
Apply your own foundation then dot concealer where you need it.
Wing a soft shimmer across your cheekbones, under brows, across the bridge of your nose and just above the centre of your upper lip. Jenny Jordan loves Dermalogica Skin Perfect Primer/£44.50, for this (yes, you can use it under your base but she prefers it on top like this).
Define and lift your brow - but don't go too dark, advises Jenny. Try Mii Sculpting Brow Builder in shades Remarkably Fair or Remarkably Medium/£14.95.
Warm up your eyelids with a whisk of powder blush or bronzer. Add subtle sparkle with Inika Organic Loose Mineral Eyeshadow in Gold Dust or one of the other seven shades depending on your colouring/£16.
Before you put on mascara (waterproof is definitely best), you can ‘smoke up your eyes in seconds’ (Armand’s words…) with Charlotte Tilbury Rock ‘n Kohl Eye Pencil/£16. Dot it along the top of your lash line while looking slightly downwards in a mirror, he suggests. If you’re confident with liner, you can flip it out at the sides, apply along the waterline or whatever.
Joosh on a setting spray such as Armand’s favourite Urban Decay All-nighter Setting Spray/£24.
And finally lipstick! Jenny suggests going for gloss. For longlast lips, she starts by applying Plump and Prime by Cosmetics à la Carte/£29, outlines and fills in lips with delilah Lip Line/£20, in Pout, then tops with award winning delilah Colour Gloss/£22, in Jewel. We like adding different lippies into the mix, currently Axiology’s organic range – Bonafide is a gorgeous coral shade.
Don't forget that sparkly and/or pearly earrings can light up your face. And if you’ve time and your hair needs freshening, ruffle in some dry shampoo such as Klorane. The oat milk original version suits everyone and there’s also a new tinted version with nettle for oilier, medium to dark manes. Klorane promises it takes just two minutes all in to restore volume, freshness and texture.
