with too little eye makeup you may look a tad pale and tired… but too MUCH and you will just look weird.  Here’s a few tips on how to get it right.

TIPS FOR EYES:

• Ever battle to get the perfect, smooth line above along your upper lashes?  Try starting at the outer corner and draw a series of dashes with an eye pencil, as close to the lashes as possible. Then connect the dots!

• Want deeper colour eye shadow, but don’t have the shade RIGHT NOW?  Simply trick – dip a small, firm brush in water before swiping it over the shade.  It will give intensity to the colour.  Just don’t try to blend two shades, you’ll make a rather ugly mess!

• For easy smoky eyes, rub a kohl pencil on the back of your hand to warm it up, and then dot it along the upper and lower lashes – don’t worry about making a straight line.  Dip a cotton swab in eye cream and use it to smudge the lines.

• To make close-set eyes look farther apart, apply eyeliner only at the outer corners of the eye, then flick the line a millimeter or two beyond.

• Brighten eyes with a dot of pale gold eye shadow at the inner corners.  It will make your eyes look wide and open and beautiful in the light.

• If your eyelids are oily, eye shadow won’t stick.  Before applying any colour, prep the lids with foundation and powder. (Pale powder is the least likely to crease or to accentuate lines)

• To prevent eyeliner from doing a disappearing act, trace over it with a short, stiff eye shadow brush dipped in powder in a similar shade.

• To avoid tugging gentle eye skin, hold an oil based makeup remover pad over the eye for at least 5 seconds to dissolve makeup, then gently sweep it all off.

You know, choosing the right mascara is rather daunting… there are thousands out there.  Here’s a few tips that might assist a little with your choice:

TIPS FOR EYE LASHES:

• Make your lashes more lush by using two different mascaras.  Apply a fat brush volumizing formula first (Charlie MegaWatt Mascara), then a lengthening formula on top.

• Black mascara can look rather jarring on blondes.  Instead, use a brown mascara topped with a gold one.  For the rest of us… BLACK is beautiful.

• When coating lashes with mascara, wedge the wand right against the roots and wiggle it before drawing it out.  This makes the base of the lashes appear fuller and thicker.

• To elongate lashes, work from the outer to the inner corners of the eyes.  You will deposit more on the outer corners and by the time you get to the inner corners, you’ll have just the right amount of mascara left.  To increase the effect, apply another coat at the outer corners only.

• If your mascara thickens up when it’s down to the last bit, put the vial in warm water for a few minutes, with the lid firmly screwed on.  This will make the mascara thinner, runnier and easier to apply.

TIPS FOR FACE MAKEUP:

• If you run out of concealer, use whatever makeup has collected in the cap of your foundation bottle – it’s somewhat thicker and perfect for covering up flaws.

• To make sure that powder doesn’t settle into lines, press – don’t wipe – it on the face with a puff, and dust off excess with a fluffy brush.

• To remove a makeup whoopsy without starting over completely, dip a cotton swab into moisturizer and wipe it over the error. Then blend in any remaining cream

• Fine lines look worse when your skin is dry.  Tap a tiny amount of extra moisturizer onto the problem areas to make lines look less obvious.

• …. More to follow

TIPS FOR THAT BLUSHING BLUSH:

• After applying foundation, apply blush before any other makeup.  Often you’ll be surprised by how much it can brighten your face, and you won’t need much else.

• Not sure where to apply blusher?  Bend over for a few seconds, then slowly straighten up.  Where your cheeks are flushed, apply the blusher and you’ll look naturally rosy!

• To find the most natural-looking blush colour for you, pinch one of your cheeks when you have no makeup on, and apply blush to the other side.  If your cheeks match, it’s the right shade.

• If your blush looks too bright or too dark, lighten it by swiping your cheeks with a clean cotton ball – it won’t leave lint the way a tissue can, or streak the way remover can.

• The most believable-looking bronzer is never more than two shades darker than skin’s natural colour.  If you have fair skin, choose a rosy-tinted bronzer; on olive complexions, try golden shades; on dark skin, look for bright orange-copper tones.

• To fake sun-kissed skin, apply bronzer, then follow with a rosy blush on the apples of the cheeks.  The cheeks naturally get a pink flush when the skin is tan.

It’s all about the perfect pout, hey girls?  Whether you’re a gloss girl or deep colour lip girl – Charlie has the tips to help you.

TIPS FOR LIPS:

• Thin lips tend to make for an older appearance, so always go for paler lipstick shade that will make them look fuller.  Shimmery particles will help reflect light, giving the illusion of more voluminous lips.  (Charlie Bling)

• Prevent lipstick from seeping into cracks by coating the mouth with lip balm, letting it sit for five minutes, then blotting the excess with a tissue before applying colour.  (For really chapped lips, gently slough off dead skin with a soft toothbrush or a damp washcloth before wiping off the balm)

• Turn a traditionally lipstick into a lip stain by applying three coats of deep shade, leaving it on for a few minutes, and blotting it with a tissue so only the pigment remains.

• To keep lipstick from bleeding, dip a cotton swab in translucent powder and roll it just outside the lip line before putting on any colour.  Stop there, though as some ladies put powder over their lipstick, thinking it will set the colour.  But it actually muddies the shade and is dehydrating.

• To add richness and longevity to lipstick, cover the entire mouth with liner that’s the same shade as the mouth, not the lipstick.  And use the side of the lip liner, not the point, to fill in lips completely.

• To make lip gloss last longer than 30 seconds, blot the mouth with a tissue or a dry cotton bud first.  The wetter the mouth, the less likely the gloss will stick.

• To take off long-lasting lipstick, cover the mouth with Vaseline and wait a minute before wiping it off.  Waterproof eye-makeup remover works quickly too!

• Try get into the habit of sharpening your eye pencils – the point helps to keep application precise.  But keep lip pencils rounded and soft to prevent hard, unflattering lip lines.