Keeping it simple

One of the easiest ways to get a youthful look is to minimise the appearance of your makeup. Wearing a lot of makeup in a bid to enhance your beauty can often leave you looking older than you are. Here are some tips to help you look great, with your makeup simple and natural.

Face: The important thing is to define your face well, so that you don't look dull even when you're wearing less makeup. Even if you don't have perfect skin, natural makeup can create the illusion that your skin is clear and radiant.

First start by covering up your acne and skin discolourations with a foundation or tinted moisturiser; be sure that you are using the proper foundation, one that meets your skin's need (oily, dry, combination). Apply and even out, until your skin looks flawless.

Afterwards, groom your eyebrows by brushing them and tweezing away stray hair from your natural brow line. With your fingertips, dab some concealer under your eyes to help brighten them and give you an "awake" look. Dust some powder over your forehead, nose, chin and cheeks to help eliminate shine and to "set" your foundation.

Eyes: After "setting" your face, work on shading certain areas of your face for a more natural look. For medium to light skin, apply some earth toned eye shadow with a hint of shimmer; for a sun-kissed glow over your entire eye lid, then define your eyes by smudging some chocolate shadow along your lash lines.

For chocolate complexions, apply a creamy brown eyeshadow over your eyelids. Finish highlighting your eyes by horizontally applying strokes of mascara on your eye lashes. Be sure to keep your eyes as natural as possible by avoiding black eyeliners, if you still want to use eyeliner, make it dark brown.

Lips: Create a nude lip finish for medium to light complexion skin by accentuating your lips with a beige lipstick, topped off with a hint of honey gloss for shine. For chocolate complexions, outline your lips with a lip liner that matches your lip colour and top off with a lip-gloss.

Contour your face with a bronzer, by shading areas of your face that are naturally darker than the rest, such as your forehead, chin and the sides your nose. Finally, with a coral blush that has a hint of gold, brush along your cheekbones for a natural glow.