You should choose your eyeshadow color to complement your eyes and your skin tone. You should never ever apply a bright color all over the lids up to the brow. ( remind you of Barbara Cartland the novelist.)

Well, she could get away with outrageous blue eyeshadow because she was a delightful eccentric)

However, most people are not eccentrics and just need to enhance their natural coloring.

Don’t forget that during daylight hours bright colors can look garish. You want to make your eyes look bigger not smaller.

So now we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get on with choosing the right type of shadow and the right shade.

Eyeshadow Colors

For most people, brown/beige rarely goes wrong. It is the one color that’s always in fashion, although blues, greens and violets are very appealing and have their say in the fashion stakes.

You should try to emphasize your natural eye color.

Right, you’ve chosen your color which, if powder, often comes in 3 - 4 toning shades and now you’re ready to begin.

Make sure that your eyelids are prepared. If using a foundation crème, apply to eyelids, then dust with either a loose or compact powder. This will provide a good base and will prevent creasing of the shadow. I use mineral powder.

Then with a good eyeshadow brush, sweep the pale shade across your lids.

I, personally, never take the shadow up to the brow because I think that unless its very pale it will show too much and I prefer a more natural look. But that’s me, perhaps I’m dated.

In the crease

Here is where you want definition. If you prefer, use a smaller brush, but I use one brush for the whole lot.  Apply a darker shade to the crease. Blend gently with the brush into the base color. Do not use  your finger or you will smudge everything.

I still make mistakes when applying eyeshadow but all you have to do is clean it off and start again.

Remember LESS IS BEST

Piercing your eyebrows or any other part of your body can be very tempting, especially when you are young and peer pressure is important. Today it is very fashionable to have rings and jewelry inserted into all sorts of body parts. Tomorrow it could be totally naff, the height of naivety, totally unacceptable to the switched on.

If you are not yet eighteen talk to your parents and think carefully about their opinions.

If you are older than eighteen, and that means any age that wants to be up to date in todays fashions, trendy or simply wants to make the most of themselves it is only sensible, and dare we say mature, to think about the consequences.

However, if you follow these tip you should be able to avoid any eyebrow piercing scars.

• First of all you must always go to a reputable piercing studio. If possible find one that your friends have been to, if not and you want to be the innovator amongst your friends, make sure that you go to a piercing boutique or salon that you know is qualified,  professional and established. If it costs a little extra than some of its competitors - so what. Better safe than sorry!

• You must be sure the premises are clean and the instruments are properly sterilized. This way the risks of infections will be minimized.

• Once you have had the jewelry inserted into the skin aperture you must follow all the instructions for keeping the wound clean.

• If you decide you have had enough and want to take the ring or jewelry out, you will possibly be left with a scar caused by an overgrowth of skin tissue. This may in time become covered over with another layer of new skin  but still can continue to look unsightly, although this may diminish over time.

• If you insist on having your eyebrows pierced please do your research thoroughly before undergoing the procedure. Going to a good practitioner hopefully will minimize the risk of leaving you with any unsightly scars or holes if and when the fashion changes – as it surely will.

A good plastic surgeon will, in most cases, be able to correct any scars or other deformity caused by piercing but please remember that the areas around the eyes are the most likely to be noticed for any uncorrected tissue scarring.