With over 20 years’ experience working within the dynamic beauty and fashion scene, Caroline Barnes has painted the faces of a whole host of A-list celebs, from Kylie Minogue (with whom she also went on tour) to Emma Watson, Kelly Rowland and even David Beckham. 

Working in partnership with Max Factor, she’s also the make-up artist behind some of Stylist’s most iconic covers, including Nigella Lawson covered in salted caramel, Gemma Chan posing with a zebra and Dina Asher-Smith literally running off the page. 

From editorials and sell-out tours to red carpets, Barnes has done it all, including starting a YouTube channel, Speed Beauty, as a shortcut to expert make-up advice. And today, she took to the stage at Stylist Live alongside Stylist’s very own beauty director, Hanna Ibraheem, to share some of her top tips.

“When you do your make-up, make sure you’re doing it in the best light and using the best angle possible,” Barnes shared. “Most of us have a bathroom with one window with light that tends to come in from the side, casting shadows all over your face. And on dark mornings when you turn on that overhead light, you get horrible shadows too.

“When you’re doing your make-up, you want to look like your best self – if you do your make-up with light that isn’t that flattering, you don’t actually get the benefit of the make-up or the joy of putting it on.”

She continued: “So, the next time you do your make-up, set your mirror to chin height – so your face is straight ahead and you’re not looking down. That will just bring everything down and make your eyes look darker and your jaw less strong. Then look towards the daylight or get one of those brilliant light-up mirrors – there are some really great ones that have lights on either side, which are great for dark mornings.” 

If you thought your face was the ideal place to match your foundation, think again – it’s actually your chest. “This tip is a really difficult one because I know you can’t walk around Superdrug in your bra,” said Barnes. “Our bodies are made up of lots of different tones, so while some of us are genetically blessed in one constant golden tone all over, most of us are not. And that’s why it’s good to try your foundation at home in a T-shirt bra, so you can see the colour of your chest.”

She continued: “The reason I recommend this is because even in winter when you’re wearing a polo neck, you might go out for dinner and be wearing a silky strap dress underneath, it’s a way to make your foundation look really natural. No matter if your foundation texture is matte or glossy, making your head match your body – so your neck and your cheek are the same colour as your chest – makes it look great.”

If you’re unsure about where to apply your make-up, Barnes recommends using a few simple ‘face map’ rules. The first applies to your all-important eyebrows.

“Most of you probably know by now that you can shape your eyebrows using the shape of your eyes,” Barnes said. “You want to start your eyebrow in line with the outside of your nose and the inner corner of your eye – take a ruler or pencil or something straight to measure it – and then end it in line with the outer corner of your eye. A lot of us make our eyebrows quite short, but this should encourage you to take your eyebrows a bit longer.”

Next, Barnes shared her tips for nailing the perfect contour. “Start from the corner of your mouth and follow up to the top of your ear,” she said. “Of course, you can feel your cheekbone, but trust me, so many people don’t know where their cheekbones are. Going from the top of your ear to the corner of your mouth will give you that natural shape.”

And last, but by no means least, she shared her advice for finding the perfect spot to apply blusher. “When you look in the mirror – just to get the apples of your cheeks – take a line straight down from your pupil to the fullest part of your cheek,” she advised. “Just use a tiny little brush – my blush brush is like an eyeshadow blending brush.” 

“What I find is that when women put their make-up on, they put it on as part of a routine, like a robot, but it’s nice to be in the moment and really think about it,” she said. “Sometimes you might think, ‘Actually, my skin is looking pretty good; I don’t need to put much make-up on.’ At other times you might need a little bit more hydration, so you might put some hyaluronic acid on first.

“It’s just about being aware of what you’re doing and how it’s reacting. And that’s especially important as the seasons change and we go from moisture in the air to dry central heating.” 

And last, but not least, Barnes recommended having a solid selection of core products you can turn to on a daily basis. She shared six of her favourite products:

Images: shot by Farheenxo