What not to wear

What not to do on a frizzy, rain-soaked Monday morning when you got up so ridiculously early that you dressed in the dark and actually forgot mascara: meet up with the make-up artist who beautifies Cameron Diaz, Sharon Stone and Christina Applegate and has his own What Not To Wear-style TV slot overseas. Yet that’s exactly the situation I found myself in yesterday at a media event with Max Factor’s chief brush jockey, Jan Thomas.

So there I sat, squirming beneath my naked lashes, as Jan introduced the sexy new look from ‘the make-up of make-up artists’ and gave us his top three rules on what not to wear. And I took notes:

#1 Cartoon brows  – They’re literally big right now and you’re right to be trying to fatten them up, but Jan says badly drawn brows have been driving him to distraction since he touched down at Sydney airport. I’ve got to say, it’s not exactly fair to judge a girl’s grooming skills in the transit (not all of us are being fabulous between first class and the VIP lounge with Sharon Stone, Jan), but that’s not really the point. The point is that people are looking (they’re scrutinising!) all the time, so groom properly we must. Our biggest brow blunder? Drawing on too much pencilin a too-dark shade, says Jan. Powders are a more natural-looking option, but black doesn’t look good on anyone, he warns. And always check the colour and shape in natural light before you take your brows out of the house.

#2 Too much mascara  – It’s easy to overdo it in pursuit of a show stopping flutter, but too much mascara makes you look older, heavy-lidded and tired, says Jan. For ultimately lush lashes, hone your technique instead: place your wandright at the base of your lashes, give it a little jiggle and then glide…

#3 Blush as contour  – Jan took pains to explain that blush is not for contouring. It’s for making your pretty little apples glow like a fresh, ripe Fujis, not for faking facial definition. That’s what bronzer and highlighter does. Blush should be the colour of that pinky/rosy flush you get after a brisk walk and on your jaw line that will just look like a rash.

So I guess we can consider ourselves told!