Part 2: More money-can’t-buy beauty tips from the makeup guru himself, Mr Napoleon Perdis

Tue, 10 January 2012 7:30AM

Welcome back to Part 2 of our mini series called Makeup Tips and Treats from the Makeup Maestro himself, Mr Napoleon Perdis. When someone of his notoriety offers to let you in on a few of his best-kept beauty tips, you’d be bonkers not to jump at the opportunity. So, with out pen and paper poised, we skipped off to the Napoleon Perdis HQ for a master lesson in makeup.  Here are some of the delights we learned.

In case you missed out on Part One, make sure you swing by here after reading this post for a quick game of catch up.

Like underwear, prepping and priming the skin is essential. “Your skin is like a sandpit, it absorbs everything, so the more your prime and nourish it, the less makeup you have to apply and the better it will perform,” says Perdis. “It sounds basic, but so many women skip it, so even if you’re planning on going foundation free on the weekend, go the extra step and layer a primer over your moisturiser to create an effortlessly dewy-looking base,” he adds.

When we say warm the product into the skin, what we really mean is…. “The key to applying foundation and concealer as well as crème–based lip and cheek products is to press the product into the skin. Forget about using round motions, simply load the skin with product and then use a brush to stipple the product on (if you don’t have a brush handy, the pad of your fingertips will do). This is especially important with matte products to ensure that they don’t look cakey and dull,” he adds.

Nude is still huge. “Contouring is here to stay.  It’s all about showing off the face through defining the cheekbones,” says Perdis. “Don’t forget to extend your bronzer down the neck, through to the collarbones and décolleté for maximum effect,” adds Perdis.

The trick to making your eyes pop? White eye liner. “Before you even think about tackling eye shadow, start with white liner and mascara. The key to keeping it looking soft is to apply the product under the lash line, starting from the inner corner, moving along to the outer corner. Keeping the liner slightly under the lash line will highlight the area without deepening or sinking the eyes, or looking too harsh. Complete the look by lining the inside water line with a gel eye liner,” says Perdis. Try: Napoleon Perdis China Doll Gel Eyeliner.

A brow pencil is great; a blunt brow pencil is even better. “Full brows define the eye area and open up the face but using a blunt brow pencil is key to creating natural-looking colour and texture. If it’s too sharp, you end up with stiff, pen-like strokes which stick out. If you’ve over sharpened it, swirling the tip of the pencil on a folded tissue will soften the edges. The same goes for your eye liner and lip liner. As a rule of thumb, I always say that unless the wood is touching the skin, the pencil is perfectly fine. You’ll get more out of your pencils that way, too,” he adds.

Napoleon Perdis Predicts: Purple eye shadow is going to be everywhere for autumn/winter ’12. “Keep it soft with lilac and mauve, or make a statement with rich, dark shades like plum,” suggests Perdis.

Do you ‘stipple’ your product into the skin?

Have you ever tried using a blunt pencil? 

Are you planning on jumping on board the purple bandwagon this season? 

Posted by: Eliza Ashe

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Tags: eye liner, eye shadow, foundation, makeup tips, makeup tips and tricks, napoleon perdis makeup, New season makeup trends, purple eye shadow, white eye liner