How to work out what makeup actually suits you

There is no single formula for beauty. I follow the trends and take inspiration from them, but a look that works beautifully on one face can say nothing at all on another. Your look should be the one you feel most beautiful in — soft, natural or bold.

So when someone asks me what suits them, I do not start with face shapes and eye colour. I start here.

Start from yourself, not from Instagram

Think about the last time you looked in the mirror and thought, wow, I really like myself right now. What was the makeup then? How did you feel?

That is a far better starting point than any trend. From there we can add colour, shape, texture and a little courage, and build your look.

The exercise I give every client

Open the photos on your phone and find three where you genuinely like yourself. Not the three most beautiful — the three where you look like you on a good day.

Then look at what they have in common. There almost always is something: the same weight of brow, the same lip tone, hair down, daylight, no contour at all, or the opposite — a clearly defined eye. That common thread tells you more about yourself than any article about face shapes.

And one more thing almost nobody does: find a photograph where you definitely do not like yourself. It says more than the other three together. Usually that is the one where the look belonged to someone else.

Trends are a vocabulary, not a recipe

There is nothing wrong with liking something you saw. The trouble starts when you wear the whole of it. A trend almost always has one part that will work on you — the colour, the texture or the shape — and two that will not.

We take the part that works and put it on top of your own foundation. That way the look is current without being a costume.

The four things a look is built from

Colour

The fastest way to change a face. Warm tones soften, cool tones sharpen. If you are unsure, start from a colour you already enjoy wearing in your clothes — it is no accident that you like it next to your face.

Shape

Where the eye ends, how high the line sits, how defined the lip is. Shape is what makes a look feel tidy or soft, and it is the most personal part — it is where you can see whether the makeup was made for your face or carried over from a photograph.

Texture

Matte, satin, luminous, metallic. Underrated, and actually the thing that decides whether a look reads as modern. The same palette in matte and in satin are two different looks.

And a little courage

One step past your usual — a fuller lip, a clearer line, a colour you would not have picked alone. Not so that you cannot recognise yourself, but because almost everyone has room they do not use. That step is mine to offer and yours to take or refuse.

What does not decide your look

• Your age. It decides texture. It does not decide colour, and it certainly does not decide courage.
• “Face shape” on its own. Useful as a hint, useless as a rule.
• What is in fashion this season. Fashion changes faster than your photographs do.
• What suits your friend. Especially if you saw it at her wedding.

And if you still do not know

That is completely normal. Most people do not know what they want — they know how they want to feel. Tell me that, and we will get to the look together.

Have a look through the portfolio and send me two photographs: one you like, and one you definitely do not want. If the occasion is a big one, consider a trial too — it is exactly this conversation, but with your face in front of the mirror.

Then book a date.