Oxberry - Make Up: The Ultimate Guide to Cosmetics

Whether you want to master the perfect red lip or liner flick or simply achieve radiant, glowing skin, there are skills and shortcuts in these pages to help you perfect a professional technique. Unlike the many makeup books already out there, written by a single pro, this guide draws on the talents of some 26 amazing makeup artists to bring you their trade secrets. This way, you can try new techniques and build up a library of skills inspired by a who's who of experts.

All the makeup artists (MUAs) who share their tips over the following pages have vast experience in creating inspirational work for catwalk shows, editorial and campaign shoots, celebrities and demanding brides. When space and time are tight, these women and men know how to deliver, and have some great tricks for cutting down on application time and keeping makeup flawless throughout the pressures of a demanding day.

But beyond all that, they know immediately how to make any woman look fantastic, enhancing her best features to bring out her natural beauty so that it's the face you notice, not the makeup. Makeup is about enhancing what you already have, not changing your appearance. By emphasizing your best features and minimizing those you like less, great makeup skills mean that you still look and feel like yourself just a more radiant version.

Natural-looking makeup by Melanie Brown for a shoot by Tory Smith

It's easy to get set in your ways with makeup, particularly when you're pushed for time in the mornings. This book will encourage you to look at your makeup routine with new enthusiasm. And, while you may not want to channel catwalk trends at work, you can select elements of any of the looks in these pages to enhance your face shape and self-image.

Just as professional makeup artists translate cutting-edge styles into more wearable designs, keeping on top of makeup trends and experimenting with new styles will help you to widen your repertoire and rediscover your passion for playing with colour and texture. It's also a good idea to update your product picks from time to time as the newest formulations often have advanced active ingredients and staying power not found in older products. In your foundation alone, ditching the full-coverage, matt-finish formula in favour of an illuminating all-day base will instantly update your look, and make application easier in the process.

From the popular no-makeup makeup look to avant garde graphic eyeliner and neon lips, all the styles in this book have been carefully selected to be on-trend but also timeless, so that mastering the techniques behind them will give you skills to reuse and build on for years to come.

As well as breaking down complex techniques into simple step-by-step guides, the later chapters in this book offer a range of inspirational styles. Armed with the knowledge and tools, you can customize them using colours, textures and techniques that best suit your skin, face shape, eye colour, age and, of course, your own personal style.

A metallic eye look by makeup artist Abbi-Rose Crook for a cover shoot for Professional Beauty magazine

A high-impact look by pro makeup artist Tamara Tott

The number and variety of cosmetic products and tools on the market is almost infinite. This means that choosing the right textures, colours and formulations can be a daunting task which often results in expensive trial and error.

Skin tone and texture, eye colour and face shape all come into play when choosing products and brushes, but so too does personal preference. Some makeup artists swear by the crispness of liquid eyeliner, for example, while others grab a gel liner and a flat brush for better control. By getting a feel for the breadth of formulations and colours available and the strengths and weaknesses of each you can start to build your own bespoke kit.

While all professionals have a colossal collection of every shade theyll ever need, they will also trim it down to a mobile kit of their favourite fall-backs to carry backstage or on shoots. By investing in some quality skincare, a great primer, base, blush and just a handful of brushes, youll have a capsule kit to build on. Then you can go wild with the less pricey statement eye and lip products that are led by seasonal trends and colours.

1. Dermalogica Precleanse

An optional step in your routine, precleansers are great for cutting through oils, makeup and sunscreens to make the cleansing that follows much more effective. Pro MUAs love this double-cleanse technique as it creates really clean skin as a base.

2. Elemis White Brightening Cleanser

Cream cleansers are massaged into the skin then removed with a hot cloth, while cleansing milks are applied with a cotton pad. Both methods are great for drier skin types. Water-based cleansers such as micellar water soaked into a cotton pad are quick to use, but often not as effective at cleansing deep into the pores. Foaming cleansers lather up with water and are great for oilier skins, but they can be drying, so remember to follow with a good moisturizer.