We often think of make-up as being the mask we wear in public, but here make-up artist Aimee James explains why it can be used to enhance our favourite features rather than hide the ones we critique…

As a wedding makeup artist, I’m often faced with two challenges:

The first, predictably, is the bride wishing to look the best she’s ever looked and the second is that they wish to look natural… which is understandable, as I’m sure the person they walk down the aisle towards would probably like to recognise them.

The way in which I confront this challenge is easy… It’s all in the skin… this is my favourite part of my job, as people don’t often realise how easy this is to achieve and how effective it looks.  Although I do recommend taking care of your skin all the time simply by drinking plenty of water, as your skin will always look glowing if you’re healthy and hydrated.

No matter how bad you feel about yourself or how rubbish you think you are at make-up, having a luminous face is one of the best ego boosters and one of the easiest things to achieve!

At the end of the day, whichever look brings out your natural confidence is the right look for you!

Five steps to bare-faced beauty

1) Prep the skin: skin isn’t meant to be perfect, but by exfoliating and moisturising (make sure you use an SPF) you’ll get close!

2) Be patient: allow your moisturiser to soak in for as long as possible, like an undercoat of paint you need to let it dry. Then apply your serum, lightly pat this under the eyes and on the chin – it’s great for dry skin/imperfections as it’ll ensure you don’t get cakey make-up.

3) Time for a little base: you should build the base in this order:

– tinted moisturiser all over your face, blending in under the neck.

– if you have problem areas, apply a thicker foundation to these areas and blend together.

– if you still have a few pesky imperfections, pat in concealer and blend into the foundation using your finger otherwise a brush might just wipe it off.

– gently pat on face powder using a brush to keep these areas in place and then lightly dust powder over the whole face to keep shine at bay and to hold your base.

4) Structure: this is where you can take it or leave it, depending on time/mood. The first thing to do is to use a contouring brush and lightly brush in some contouring powder. If you have pale skin, use a taupe colour and for the darker the skin move into bronzer.  Contouring should ideally be matt. Use as much or as little as you need, but remember to just dust this on under your cheekbones and blend to avoid harsh streaks.  Add some blusher to the apples of the cheeks and a sweep of highlighter to the cheekbones.

5) The finish line: again depending on the occasion/time, curl your eyelashes, pop on some mascara and use brown pencil eyeliner, (brown keeps the depth, but doesn’t look as harsh as black) in the outer corner of the eyes.  Add a sweep of tinted lip balm and you’re good to go.

Once completed, you will have a lovely fresh face which will look like you’re wearing minimal make-up and with a spritz of holding spray, you will remain looking fresh all day.

Recommended products:

Tinted moisturiser: No.7 Triple Protection tinted moisturiser

Concealer: MAC Pro-Longwear concealer

Contour powder: MAC, taupe (I have pale skin, so this shade suits me best)

Face powder: although pricey, Chanel is the best and it lasts for ages, the healthy glow sheer powder.

Blusher: Mac crème blush in Posey or a pinker one if you have darker skin

Eyeline: MAC pencil in Teddy

Tinted lip balm: Sleek Paint Pot or Clinique chubby stick