Flaunt Your Natural Beauty.

As a girl we spend hours in front of the mirror layering on the foundation, dabbing on the blush, lining our eyes, curling and blackening our eyelashes and fluffing our hair. A good 20 to 30 minutes extra to our morning regime is what we do best.

But what is often forgotten in the excitement of rummaging through the swirling stands of MAC, choosing from the array of colours from the lush Benefit and hand picking the perfect items from Bobbi Brown’s sophisticated range is that we don’t need it.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am a strong believer in USE your ASSETS. So, high cheek bones? Go buy yourself some rouge or bronzer. Big pouty lips? If there is no red or nude lippy slapped on those Mick Jaggers get a move on. Beautiful big eyes your admirer can swim in? Invest in a quality mascara and add some eye blush for colour to make them lure your lover in.

 French ELLE did a series of covers of videttes sans makeup. They look fresh, healthy and are glowing. Take inspiration from their confidence in their natural beauty and embrace your own.

But even though I am a promoter and true lover of makeup, I want to emphasise the special essence natural beauty exerts. What I’m trying to say is, wear makeup, have fun with it but wear it sparingly rather than too much. Like I say with fashion, stay true to yourself. Don’t paint another you onto your face.

Kim Kardashian is beautiful but she wears an obscene amount of makeup. I will show you how to dial it down a notch, two in Kim's case. 

The last few years E! and MTV have been to blame for the Fake Tan fetish and making plastered on Makeup “pretty” (Kardashian Sisters, see Kim above) or in other cases terrible (Olivia Blois Shapre from Jerseylicious, see right). Celebrities for one are terrible when it comes to their cosmetics. They may look fabulous but they have painted on a whole new face to the extent that they are almost unrecognisable with a naked face.

Tips for Au Naturel:

My preferred order of application: 1. Foundation. 2. Eyebrows. 3. Eyes. 4. Dab off excess powder left by the eyes on the cheeks. 5. Reapply foundation to wiped off areas. 6. Blush.

Shibu and I with minimalistic makeup. I explain below how to achieve this look. See how our cheeks are glowing. Courtesy of MAC's highlighter blush.

Foundation: When you are buying a foundation (liquid or mousse), do not test it on your hand. Your hand is a completely different shade to your face. So ask the make up assistant for a brush and try a little on your face.

Make sure the foundation is not a different colour to your face. It cannot be too dark or too light. You may like the change in pigmentation but trust me your neck will give you away. Foundation's role is to cover those unwanted blotches, spots and smooth out the uneven sections of the face.

Eyebrows: not everybody needs an eyebrow pencil but if you need to pluck or have no eyebrows like me (because they are blonde) then buy a pencil. The eyebrow pencil shades must vary according to skin tone and hair colour. My advice is to go as natural as possible. Mine for example is a light brown.

Number one rule though, NO BLACK! Rather go for chocolate brown if you want to go dark. Black is too harsh and obviously not your eyebrows!

 Shibu and Khanya in the essence of their natural beauty. Their eyes are done in the same manner as I explain how I did mine below. But they also added a very thin underline of black eyeliner.

Eyes: the application of eye makeup is for me the best part of the whole process. Mascara is important so invest in. (Whatever you do, don’t pump the mascara because this lets air in and dries it out.) Brown, black or navy blue are all great colours to use as the base for any eye colour. I also like to add a simple, fine black line under my top lashes and on my eyelid to define my shape and lashes. Don’t over do the black though, keep it light and minimal.

Blush: don’t do a Kim Kardashian where you can clearly see the line of blush rubbed into the line of the cheek bone. Before applying, dab the brush on a surface so the excess powder falls off and lightly brush it down and up the check bone (smile or pout to find the definition of the apples of your cheeks). We are supposed to see the contours it creates but make it look natural and fresh. Not an obvious line.

 Khanya and I. Here you can clearly see how we did our eyelashes and eyelids. Take note of the minimal use of black. Have a steady hand when applying such thin lines.

In summer wear bronzer and wear rouge in the winter. A light pink however can create a glow on tanned summer skin. Also buy a highlighter blush from MAC. This is a white shimmer that highlights the cheekbone and colour blush used.

As you can see on an average day I do use nearly all types of makeup. However I apply them in accordance to my facial qualities. Not many people know I’m wearing make up. It’s my little secret.

Shhhh!

Visit http://www.elleuk.com/.com for make up and hair tips. That’s my bible for beauty.

I live by MAC, Max Factor and L’Oreal.

Splurge on Bobbi Brown, Victoria Secret (see right) and other quality designer brands like Dior for top of the range makeup. Remember makeup IS an investment.