Eye make-up my way...

I don't profess to be an expert in eye make-up application at ALL, but as I've been doing it the same for over 10 years and I've had a fair handful of kind compliments from Flickrerers on my eye photos over the years, I thought I'd write a blog post about wot I do and how I do it.

For years, I've relied on Shroom eyeshadow by MAC, which is a subtle but shimmery cream colour as an all-over colour base from the lid up to my eyebrows. I then follow this with Satin Taupe eyeshadow (a pearlescent brown colour with a slight purple hint) also by MAC, which I put all over my lids and into the crease - and then blend with my lovely swishy MAC blending brush. I've tried deviating from this particular shade so as not to be stuck in a rut, but even the MAC assistants agree it's an absolute classic - and not in a boring way.

Eyeliner on my bottom lash line is Teddy by MAC (no I'm not sponsored by them, it's just excellent stuff), which is a brown with a hint of bronze glitter.  A little sparkle is good in my world.

Then comes what some people see as the tricky bit - flicky liquid liner on your top lid. Sali Hughes has done a great article and video for her Guardian beauty column so I'm not going to reinvent the wheel here, but I will say that L'Oreal Superliner (£6.49 from Boots) is the DOGS for getting it right and keeping it on. I've used this since the beginning of time, and have tried others along the way but found them lacking - too thin, too wobbly, too flakey, too watery. This one gets it spot on. I have even slept in it (more than once, ahem), and woken up the next day still looking like I'm ready for a party!

Next, I colour in my eyebrows - which gives the liquid liner a chance to dry before I use my eyelash curlers, otherwise it smudges. I only discovered how impactful colouring in your eyebrows is a few months ago, when the assistant on the Benefit counter showed me their Brow Zings kit (a slightly pricey £22.50 but it will last at LEAST a year with daily use) - a brown coloured wax and a brown coloured powder which you apply to your eyebrows. There are 3 shades available, and she persuaded me to go for the middle one even though I wasn't at first convinced - I thought it was too dark, but now I've got used to it, I'm tempted to go for the next shade down. I sometimes use a pencil instead (yep, it's MAC) for a more day-to-day look.

Once that's done, it's time to do my eyelashes. For me, Shu Uemera eyelash curlers are essential - they're curved at the right angle for my eyelids at least, and they give the right amount of squeezing pressure without bending your eyelashes at a horrible 90% angle. I curl one set of eyelashes then apply mascara top then bottom, so I don't lose the curl, and then do the other eye. Mascara-wise, I really have tried them all but each time I think 'ooh this new one looks amazing', I get disappointed (Benefit They're Real mascara, I'm looking at you most recently). So it's back to Max Factor Masterpiece. It gives lovely evenly-coated lashes with a velvety finish. And I have the shortest straightest eyelashes in the world, so need all the help I can get.

Erm, I think that's it! Hope that's helpful to one or two of you at least :)