Try this, not that...

I'm always on the hunt for really great make-up tips that'll make me look better and more importantly, save me time! I love this quote from Karim Sattar, international make-up artist for The Body Shop: "The most terrible words to use in make up are 'always' and 'never'. Why? Well, my guess is that while there are so-called 'rules' to follow, make-up is essentially about being creative and having fun with your look.

So, here are three great 'try this, not that' tips I picked up from Karim...

Try this: If your eyeliner pencil is less than blendable, Karim, suggests rolling it between your hands to warm it up.
Not that: Very soft kohl pencils tend to over-smudge in the heat and leave you with "panda" eyes, so stay away from super-soft textures and try Karim's heating up method instead.

Try this: Use your bronzer (yes, the same one you use on your cheeks and areas you "sun kiss" with colour) to brighten up your eyes. Simply apply lightly under the brow area.
Not that: Karim demonstrated this clever trick using a powder-textured product. If cream-based bronzer is your personal favourite, just be aware that it can shift as your skin gets warmer.

Try this: Dark eyeshadow can often fall down onto your cheekbones as you're applying it, so Karim suggests pressing the product onto your lids and then blending it in.
Not that: Often we overload our eyeshadow brushes with too much product (this also contributes to the colour floating down onto our skin). Try not to work with too much product on your brush, by gently shaking off any excess before pressing in onto your lids.