Winter beauty tips: it's all about make-up

Over the last few weeks I've been filming a series of winter skincare tips for QVC Beauty. So far I've covered winter hair as well as looking at caring for your nails through the colder months.

The latest instalment is all about caring for the face, not just with your skincare but make-up too.
 
 

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From farm to fabulous...

One of the questions that I am asked most frequently is what my daily beauty routine involves. Well, you wouldn’t believe the routine I go through in the morning from working on the farm and mucking out my horse stables to looking fabulous and glamorous on TV! I’ll let you in on some of my secrets…

I’m usually running late in the mornings – either one of the horses has escaped into another field or one of the dogs is recovering from an operation.

My routine has to be very quick, as I don’t have hours and hours to get ready – but there is a big difference between how I look when I’m running around in jodhpurs and odd socks to how I look on the TV!

Suitable skincare and make-up for black skin...

Q. Hi, I love QVC especially beauty, but I think there is not a lot that suits black skin. Please help.

A. All of QVC's skincare is suitable for richer skin tones because professionally we don't go by skin colour, but skin type - you would still categorise your skin as dry, normal, combination, sensitive or oily.

If you have dark skin, then you can have a greater prevalence to pigmentation issues and two skincare ranges that are great for this are Alpha-H and Elemis Tri Enzyme.

Make-up wise I'd recommend Mally, Bobbi Brown and Bare Escentuals for base products. For accent colours and eyeshadows, that won't go ashy, the best ranges are Mally, Bobbi Brown for purity of colour and Bare Escentuals, especially when used wet.

For removing waterproof mascara...

Q. Hi Alison, my question is about Mally waterproof mascara. I can't find a product to remove this mascara. I also wear contact lenses. Please advise, thank you.

A. Bobbi Brown's Face Oil Cleanser is not only designed to remove traces of all face make-up to leave your skin feeling silky smooth, but it also tackles waterproof mascara - it's fab!

However, if you're looking for a face wash that's not oily but can remove tough mascara, then try Perricone's Nutritive Cleanser - it takes off anything!

It's a gel formula and you only need to use one pump to remove your make-up. It's like magic - it evens removes glue from your eyes when wearing false lashes.

On a suitable primer for mature skin...

Q. I would like to buy a skin primer. I have decent skin but at the age of 57 I have some wrinkles around my mouth and some enlarged pores. I tried the Laura Geller Spackle but I ordered the dark one in error and as I am very pale it does not really suit.

I use all of Laura Geller's make-up but I was considering the Mally primer. I would be grateful if you could tell me which primer, in your opinion, would be most suitable for me. My skin is very dry; I take care of it with Vichy products which suit me well but I am not happy with my finished look. I would be most grateful for your advice.

A. If you're not happy with the tinted primer, keep that for summer and try Laura Geller's Original Spackle which is a clear formulation - this comes in a pump or a jar.

This will be the perfect one for you as it is one of the few primers that actually hydrates fine lines and wrinkles as well as smoothes the look of your complexion to give you a flawless make-up base. It'll do more than just mask your wrinkles.

Our other primers are fantastic and give very dramatic results with make-up, such as the Smashbox Photo Finish Primer, but they just provide instant results without any hydrating properties.

 

A replacement for Prescriptives Here To Stay mascara...

Q. Hi Alison, I'm a big fan of Prescriptives Here to Stay Mascara, which as you know I can no longer get. Can you recommend a bullet-proof mascara as I always end up with panda eyes? Love your shows and always learn something new. Thanks, Lynn.

A. The winning mascara at the moment would have to be Bare Escentuals Flawless Definition - it will not budge! It comes in two brush sizes - a slim brush and a fuller, rounder brush - so you can go for the natural, long-lash look or a fuller, voluminous and more glamorous finish.

Both will give you the same level of performance and most importantly will not smudge or give you panda eyes.

On a suitable eyeshadow for blue/green eyes...

Q. Hi Alison, I have blue/green eyes and I want to purchase one of Laura Geller's eyeshadows. I would like some advice on what colours would suit my eyes as I always buy brown shades as I'm not sure! Thanks L. Sergeant.

A. Purple (a hot colour for the party season) will bring out the blue and green of your eyes and you could even try bronze. Laura Geller's collection includes the Eye Rimz, which have a bronze tone to them, and also try her metallic baked eyeshadows in plum or brown/bronze.

If you want to make your eye make-up a little more striking, and you don't have much time, then use the Spackle eye base and apply the eye rimz as an eyeliner - sometimes this is more effective than applying colour all over the lid.

If you want to apply colour all over the lid, it works better if Laura Geller's baked eyeshadows are used wet - it'll look more metallic and the colour will be more striking.

On an eyeliner that stays put...

Q. Hi Alison, I am looking for an eyeliner that does not rub off and leave a line on my lid. I have just bought the Mally TSV and the eyeliner in that is great but rubs off. Can you advise me on what I can get? Thank you, Michelle x

A. You'll love the Bobbi Brown gel eyeliner. If you want a waterproof eyeliner that stays put, this is the thing for you - it's my desert island product.

It's a gel eyeliner and takes a little bit more technique than a pencil liner, but it doesn't move once you put it on in the morning. It's doesn’t even need reapplying.

On a foundation suitable for holiday…

Q. Hi Alison, could you recommend a foundation to take on holiday? I need to wear foundation to cover slight imperfections but I sweat easily on a hot day and my face gets oily too in tropical climate. Please would you have any suggestions? Thank you.

A. Simple - you can use a layer of self-tan. If you put on self-tan, you will not need as much make-up because it'll help even the skin tone of any blotchiness. Don't think of self-tan as a just a tanning product - it can be mixed in with your everyday moisturiser and give you even coverage that cannot be sweated off.

From a make-up point of view, I'd recommend Mally compact foundation - it doesn't sweat or run because there are no waxes in it. Pipa Gordon is a fan of this as well.

On a make-up range that's easy to apply...

Q: I'm 27 and have never worn make-up so I don't really know how to apply it. I have good skin although my under eyes are slightly dark. I'm looking for something that is natural looking which can be built upon for nights out. What range do you think would be the easiest to apply?

Alison: I would definitely say Laura Geller, for sure. Bobbi Brown would give you a slightly more sophisticated finish but would take a little more time and practice. So it's down to your own preference as to how much you want to learn.

You could start with Laura Geller as it would be easy to get this right straight way. Go for the Balance N Brighten with a Laura Geller concealer under the eyes. Laura Geller make-up also comes with great instructions that you'll find very useful.

Then you could try out Bobbi Brown, maybe after practising some of their sophisticated eyeliner techniques.