Sack your make-up artist!

Cosmetics are meant to enhance your natural beauty and not diminish it, bear in mind how you want to look-a beauty? A tramp? Knowing how to apply makeup is tricky but it can be fun too. With these tips, you need no services of a makeup artist for your occasions.

1: Clean your face with a good facial soap and toner.

2: Apply a good moisturizer and serum. Apply sunscreen after your routine cream and allow it absorb into your skin for about 10 minutes

3: Apply the base-foundation. Then, get a brush, and pat a light layer of loose translucent powder. Blend it from the face to the hairline, nose, under the chin, right to the neck. Be sure not to leave any areas that have lines of demarcations. Know that the loose powder comes over your foundation.

4: Lightly apply a bronze/ blush onto the cheek areas-the cheek bones- in a triangular pattern. That is, the longer part of the triangle will go over your cheek bone downward, while the skinnier part goes toward your nose. No high cheek bones? Then imagine where they could have been and create them with your blush by using a contrasting darker colour underneath your cheek bone. Use a larger brush to sweep over the blush and blend them together.

Then brush the blush lightly onto the tip of the nose, the base of the chin and the mid part of the forehead. Be careful not to have any lines of demarcation where your makeup ends and your blush begins.

5: Use a black eyeliner pencil but use dark liners if you want your eyes to look more dramatic. Apply pencil liners to the inside rim of the eyes, outside of the eyelashes underneath lower lashes or above upper lashes. Under lower lashes, keep the line thinner. If you create too thick a line, just use a Q-tip and gently remove some of it. Going from a thin line to a thick line above upper lashes makes your eyes look larger. Liquid eyeliner is a wonderful way to draw attention to the eyes, especially the top eyelid, along the lashes.

6: Eye shadow? Apply it first before the mascara. The base (neutral) colour goes to the entire lid, the darker shade to the creases of the eyelid and/or to the outside of the eyelid, and the lighter shade on the inside of the eyelid.

Eye shadow has come a long way and there is a large variety of colours to choose from. Just use one that compliments your own skin tone.

7: Apply mascara. Make sure you curl your eye lashes before the mascara. Brushing your lashes before the placation helps get rid of any loose lashes. Now, apply mascara first to the base of the lashes and then stroke outwards towards the end of the eyelashes-both top and bottom lashes can have the mascara if you so desire. Be careful! Don't get mascara in your eye. It hurts.

8: The lipstick comes last. You either wear it alone or outline your lips with a lip pencil after which you fill in with a lipstick.

Some only apply lip liner at night, but you can get away with it during the day too. Your lips look fuller, more voluptuous, and sensual. Don't line too far outside the lip line though.

Follow the natural line around your lips and don't make the angles too pointy.

For a matte look, apply a bit of loose powder to the lips after you apply lipstick. Glossy lips? Get a bit of lip gloss after you have applied.

9: The final step constitutes final touch up. You might want to apply another light layer of loose powder over your makeup for a fresh look. If you need more of anything at this point, add it. You have painted a beautiful picture!

Mind you, concealers are applied before your foundation. You can use liquid or cream foundations as concealers too. Moreover, using the same brand can make your skin look older as you age.