Party Makeup That Looks Like You, Just Lit From Within

Moisturise and then give it a few minutes. I mean actually wait, not slap on foundation while the cream is still wet. Skin that's still slippery makes everything slide, and skin that's tight and thirsty makes everything cling to dry patches. Aim for comfortable and slightly dewy, nothing else.

If you've got time, a lip balm goes on now too, so your lips are soft by the time you reach them.

This is the step people overdo, and it's also the one that decides whether you look polished or plastered. For natural party makeup looks, I skip foundation altogether on a good skin day and use a glow product as the base.

That's where the Lakmē 9to5 Hya Glam Strobe Cream comes in. It does the job of a base and a glow at once, so you're not building two separate layers. Dot it on the centre of your face, then blend outwards with fingers or a damp sponge until it looks like a veil rather than a coat. Concealer goes only where you need it: under the eyes, around the nose, over anything you'd rather not discuss.

The rule: thin everywhere, glow only on the high points. Cheekbones, the bridge of the nose, a touch on the brow bone. Not the forehead, not the chin, unless you want to look like you've just run for a bus.

Colour on the cheeks does more for a tired face than any eye look. It makes you look warm and slightly flushed, as if you've just come in from the cold and had a lovely time.

The Lakmē 9to5 Hya Glam 4-in-1 Face Palette handles this step and the highlight in one go, which is handy when you're getting ready on a bedroom windowsill with a mirror propped against a pile of books. Smile, sweep the blush on the apples and back towards the temples, and keep it soft. Then use the highlight sparingly, tapped on the top of the cheekbone where light would naturally land.

A quick tip to remember is that it's always better and smarter to start off less at first and then build it up from there.

You don't need a ten-product eye look. A defined lash line and a wash of colour does the job beautifully.

The Lakmē 9to5 Hya Glam Liner + Shadow Eye Duo is the one I'd use here, because it gives you both without dragging half your makeup bag out. Sweep the shadow across the lid and blend the edges so there's no hard line. Then draw the liner as close to the lashes as you can. A thin line looks polished and a thick one looks like effort, so choose accordingly. Finish with mascara, and curl first if you've got the patience.

If you're wearing a bold lip, keep the eyes quieter than this. One loud feature is a look. Two is a fight.

Dab a tinted balm, a stain or your favourite lipstick, whichever matches the mood. For something soft, press colour in with a fingertip and blot. For something more dressed up, go for a proper lipstick and line it first.

This is also where you decide the whole face. Pale lip with defined eyes reads understated. Strong lip with a bare eye feels classic. Either works, so long as you pick one.

Here's my most unpopular opinion: powdering your entire face is how a soft glow dies. Powder the whole thing and you've traded dewy skin for flat, matte, slightly tired-looking skin, and then you've paid for a highlighter you can no longer see.

Set only the bits that actually go shiny. For most of us that's the T-zone, so the centre of the forehead, the sides of the nose and the chin. Leave your cheekbones alone.

The Lakmē 9to5 Hya Glam Instant Set + Blot Powder is made for exactly this. Press it on with a puff or a small brush in those oily spots, not swept across everything.

By mid-evening your T-zone will probably have other ideas. The temptation is to reach for more powder, but layering it on top of oil gives you patchy, cakey skin that photographs badly.

Blot instead. Press a sheet or the same blotting powder onto the shiny areas, hold for a second, lift. You're taking oil away rather than burying it, and the makeup underneath stays exactly where you left it. Keep the compact in your bag and you're sorted until chucking-out time.

Running late? Here's the bare minimum that still looks finished:

• Strobe cream blended all over for base and glow
• A sweep of blush from the face palette on the cheeks
• Liner along the upper lashes, one flick of mascara
• A tinted lip balm
• Blot powder on your T-zone, and out the door

Honestly, I do this more often than the full routine, and nobody has ever asked me what's missing.

A good party worthy makeup look isn't about layers on layers of makeup, it is about knowing when to stop. Good I suggest to always keep the base thin, put the glow only where light would naturally land, and choose one feature, eyes or lips, to do the talking. Make sure to set only the bits that go shiny, or get oily and blot instead of re-powdering when the evening gets going.