BEAUTY fans were thrilled when make-up masters NARS opened a flagship store in Glasgow last month.
The stunning studio, on the city’s Buchanan Street, is packed full of the brand’s iconic products.
But it is also home to expert make-up artists armed with brilliant advice for amateurs – like me.
I’m a busy mum who works full time so I have a roughly 10-minute window to whack on my slap in the morning and hope it’ll keep me looking semi fresh all day.
Meanwhile, if I get the chance to go out with the girls, it’s just the same old look with some added sparkle and mascara.
I haven’t changed my routine since I was in my 20s, and now at 45, I often wonder – am I getting it right?
So I sat down with NARS National Senior Make-up Artist Becky Moore to find out how to update my look – and discover how to get it right in your 40s.
And straight away she hit on one of the most important steps – and one I am guilty of missing out – prep.
Skincare is key
Becky said: “Your skin doesn’t just change as you get older, it changes throughout the year.
“If you think about winter, it’s a lot colder so your skin’s naturally going to be drier.
“In summer, where there’s a lot more sun, you want to protect it a bit more. It may just put out a little bit more oil. It changes all the time.
“Skincare is the main starting point – if you have good skincare, you’ve got good make-up.”
Less is more
My make-up style is fairly natural – I don’t like a lot of cakey foundation. But I love a strong eye and bold lip.
And thankfully the whole NARS ethos fits into this style perfectly.
Becky explained: “Francois Nars, the man behind the brand, believes that skin should look like skin, which is what we all want. That comes down to using less product, but more products.
“So less foundation, for example, but maybe we can build some coverage up with concealer.
“Every product has a reason and has a point of purpose. All these different layers are not only going to make your make-up last longer, but are going to give it more depth and more dimension.”
Plumping up
After using moisturisers, the artist sprayed my face with the new NARS Light Reflecting Mist, which is packed with skincare – it’s used to prep and set.
And she also gave a top tip for tired skin.
Becky said: “ I always recommend, if you have any time, whether it’s either once a week, once a month, give yourself a little facial with your knuckles.
“It’s really important because it gets the blood flow going. The more the blood flows around the skin, the more plump the skin’s going to be, the more juicy it’s going to look.”
Finger painting
The make-up guru matched my pale, Celtic skin with foundation, in the shade Gobi, and said there’s one mistake women regularly make when it comes to this step – and it’s how they apply it.
Becky said: “My fun fact, and this is the one that’s the showstopper, at NARS we actually don’t sell a foundation brush. We don’t apply our foundation with brushes, we use our hands.
“And it goes back to the philosophy of making the skin look like skin. All of our complexion has been designed to be warmed up with our palms and our hands and melting it into the skin.
“I warm up my hands first. And then we always want more of our fuller coverage in the centre. And I really push it into the skin. You don’t want to see where the foundation starts and where your skin ends.”
Moisture mix
I generally avoid putting foundation on my most wrinkly areas – especially my forehead, which has had deep expression lines for many years.
But Becky had a great hack for getting coverage without being left with cakey creases.
She said: “A nice tip – where you don’t want too much on your forehead, I’m just going to add a little bit of moisturiser. So it will be the same colour, but it’s just not going to be as heavy.
“The trick is just keeping your skin looking as hydrated as possible.”
Cover up
Becky used two different concealers which serve different purposes – a creamy mousse Soft Matte concealer for camouflaging redness and Radiant Creamy in Vanilla for brightness.
And the pro says it’s all about where you put your concealer.
She explained: “This is my particular favourite tip, because there’s so many people at the minute doing all the triangles, geometric shapes, dots everywhere.
“But we don’t want too much product under the eye, so I’m just going to put the majority of your product in the inner corner because that’s where we carry a lot of our darkness. And it looks instantly bright. I then just distribute that product with my fingers.”
Cheeky mistake
Next it was time to tackle the cheeks.
And this is another area people tend to make mistakes on – myself included.
Becky said: “With bronzer, people tend to start from the apple and blend up. But you should start towards the top of the ear and just bring it down and take a little bit up on the temple as well.
“If you apply it underneath the cheekbone, you’re bringing everything down low. We don’t want low, we want up, light, beautiful.
“People often ask, ‘where do I apply my blusher, bronzer, highlighter?’. Technically, you do want them in the same places. Because they’re all doing different things. Your bronzer’s there to give you warmth and shape. Your blusher’s there for colour and health. And the highlighter’s there for glow.”
The artist chose a pinky colour for my lids – something I would have shied away from – and then liquid liner, which is my signature look.
And I asked if, at 45, I should think about ditching my trademark wings.
Becky said: “As people get older they think ‘I can’t wear this anymore’. Yes, you can. You just do it slightly differently.
“The main thing I get asked all the time is about colour. Oh, I used to love blue, and I can’t wear it anymore because I’m aged. Yeah, you do. You just wear it slightly differently. Just in a way that’s going to complement and still flatter. So, for example, even just try blue mascara.”
Lip service
Once the eyes were finished off with some mascara it was onto the lip.
And this was the final tip for the day.
Becky said: “When you line lips, I find a lot of people kind of do this light, sketchy thing. And then you’re not going to see the lip liner. It’s not going to do its actual job.
“You want to hold it at the tip and be purposeful when you do your lip liner. Because then you’re actually going to see it go on the lip.”
I have to say, I loved my final look – it was bold and bright without looking like I had too much make-up on.
And it’s made me more confident about doing my face routine, making a few changes that will keep me looking youthful and fresh.
