Your eyes are the most exciting and expressive feature you have. They project your mood, emotion and personality, and so emphasising them with make-up is extremely important.

Your eyes are the most exciting and expressive feature you have. They project your mood, emotion and personality, and so emphasising them with make-up is extremely important.

Bear in mind, as you look at yourself in the mirror, that your eye is divided into three parts:

The eyelid The center, or depth area The brow bone

The classical ideal eye would be proportioned in the following way: one-third from the base of the lashes to the crease line, and two-thirds from the crease line to the eyebrow. You can achieve this proportion with well judged make-up.

Eye Shadow

I prefer pressed-powder shadows. They are made in many shades and have either pearl or matt finishes. A pearl finish creates a light-reflective, brighter effect - it does however have a tendency to accentuate any flaws and emphasise eyelid creases.

Originally, eye shadow was devised to bring out eye colour, but it is now used in more sophisticated ways to highlight, contour and shape the eyes. Eye shadow can emphasise eye colour; it can contrast or co-ordinate with fashion, or it may simply create a different and dramatic look.

One thing I don't advocate is the use of colour charts. Your goal is to choose an eye shadow that will emphasise or bring out your eyes - this doesn't simply mean choosing a shade that matches your eye colour. Today, make-up has become much more sophisticated and the newer earthy, subtle tones are more exciting regardless of your eye colour.

My preference for contouring eyes is the use of softer eye colours, which are easy to apply. The most effective are charcoal, taupe, tawny browns, and plum or wine colours.