Skin First, Colour Second

The most expensive-looking skin in any room is almost never the most covered.

Coverage is not the goal

Full coverage flattens. It removes the small irregularities — the freckle, the faint shadow, the shine along the cheekbone — that tell the eye it is looking at a living face. Take those away and skin reads as a surface.

Even, not opaque

A skin tint at twelve per cent pigment evens tone without erasing texture. Press it into the centre of the face, where redness usually sits, and let it fade out before the jaw. The edges are where the work shows.

Light does the rest

A trace of liquid highlight on the top of the cheekbone does more than another layer of base ever will. Place it high, keep it narrow, and stop.

Wear less. Stand in better light. Almost everything else is negotiable.