Serenity beauty

There's no denying that the key look for Spring 2008 is a difficult one to carry off in style. If you want someone to blame, look no further than the Goth revival, and the stunning eye make up in the Mark Ronson 'Valerie' video.

This dramatic winged eyeliner look has been the inspiration for catwalk aficionados everywhere, and rumour has it that the drama queen look is likely to carry on right into the summer. So, that gives us mere mortals all a few months to get the hang of it!

Catwalk style

The trend has been interpreted in lots of different ways, depending on which catwalk show you're lucky enough to be watching. Ben De Lisi models strutted their stuff in bright red flicked up eyeliner on the top of their lids, and used white liner on the inner rims. Another designer, Gavin Douglas worked the classic black winged eye, updated with a matching, but not touching, flick on the lower rim. Eley Kishimoto also went for heavy eyeliner, but used a straight line instead of going with a cheeky flick - and in dark teal instead of black.

"This style of make up is all about being noticed," says Paola Recabarren, make up artist who has worked with Keira Knightley, Jessica Alba and Sienna Miller.

"The key to her eyeliner style is the dramatic flick on the outer eye corners. Liquid eye liner can be difficult to master so one way to achieve the line you want is to feel for the ocular bone on the side of your eye. Lay a pencil on the side of your nose and that is the direction you want the flick to go.

"Cradle your arm against your body before you begin to steady yourself and make sure you use a liner with great staying power; there nothing worse than thickly smudged liner that has found its way on to other parts of your face during the course of the day or evening."

Get the look

The first thing you need to do if you want your eyes to be noticed, is make sure that you have a great base to add the make up to. The first trick you can use is Guinot Mini Lift Eclat Beaute, a serum designed to be added before you put on any make up. Cleanse and tone your face as normal, then add the serum immediately before you apply make up, for an instant lift.

Once you've lifted and perfected, go the extra mile with Jane Iredale's Active Light. It's a nifty under-eye concealer that will brighten up your complexion. Active Light doesn't contain any talc, so it leaves the delicate under eye area looking beautifully smooth, with an almost airbrushed look. The mineral particles add a lovely soft focus effect, and any dark circles are hidden. You can also try Jane Iredale Circle/Delete which is great for dark circles and nourishes while concealing. Circle/Delete contains vitamin K which feeds the tiny blood vessels in the skin under your eye, and fade pigmentation.

Jane Iredale is a mineral based make up range, so even if you pile on the heavy eyeliner and shadow to look like you've just walked out of a catwalk show, it won't harm your skin. The colours in mineral make up are pure, so that the colour you see in the pot is the colour you see on your face...and the complete absence of man made pigments means that even sensitive skin won't be irritated...so there's no reason not to experiment!

Dark and shade

When you have the perfect canvas, you can start adding colour. Apply a neutral base such as Jane Iredale Lid Primer, to the lid. Grip the eyeliner firmly and go for a thick line in one sweep along the rim then upwards and outwards towards the outer corner. Dark black is the classic colour for this look but dedicated fashionistas are starting to favour midnight blues and charcoal grey colours. Jane Iredale Liquid Eye Liner comes in three shades - Black, Black/Brown and Gold.

Another hot look for this season is teaming full heavy brows with this kind of eye make up style. You can create the illusion of beautifully thick, defined brows; by using a sweep of mascara over the brow - Jane Iredale's Purelash Lengthening Mascara is fab for drama queen lashes as well, but make sure to wipe off any excess beforehand or things could get extremely messy... You can also use a pencil but this does require more effort and precision.

And there you have this season's eyes!

Did you know?

Amy Winehouse says that her style icon is none other than Dolly Parton? Amy told Style magazine: "I heard she wakes up every day four hours before her husband to put on her face. Four hours! I think that's cool."

Have you ever wanted to know how the professionals get their subtle glow?

Blusher is supposed to look natural, and recreate a youthful flush. If you get the look spot on, you should look as if you're not actually wearing anything!

Mineral make up is really popular at the moment, due to the fact that it's natural, doesn't clog your pores, and can give you flawless results with real staying power - perfect for blusher and base, which have an annoying tendency to rub off as the day goes on"

For colour-perfect results, try using mineral make up from the Jane Iredale range. You can protect your skin from damaging UVA/UVB rays, get rid of irritating ingredients that can be as bad for the planet as they are your skin, and look fantastic at the same time!

First you need to find a base that suits your skin tone - if you're using a mineral powder, err on the side of 'less is more' and buff powder base into your skin in a light circular motion, beginning at your T-zone. Jane Iredale Amazing Base is perfect as a skin primer - the lack of artificial ingredients means that it's suitable for even the most sensitive skins. Liquid based mineral foundations can be used in the same way as any other liquid foundation. Amazing Base powder and Jane Iredale's Liquid Minerals come in a huge range of shades

Leonilla, beautician and director of Serenity Beauty has a top tip for blusher... "Wait until you've added everything else before you start applying your blusher - then you can see the complete look - and that means you can avoid overdoing the colour!"

When you come to apply the colour, remember to be sparing with your application, and build up your colour slowly -because mineral based colours can be extremely concentrated. The Aunt Sally look was terrible on Wurzel Gummidge in the 1970's yet some women still insist on adding just a little too much - and the results are less than subtle.

Paola Recabarren is makeup artist to many a celebrity, including the luminously pretty Keira Knightley. She says:

"A natural coloured blush is designed to enhance your cheekbone area (the apples) and can be swept up to your temple. Use a deeper shade of blusher or foundation as a shader - roll your finger under your cheekbone to find exactly where it is located and shade on or below to contour (depending on how you want to shape your cheekbones).

"For a radiant glow, sweep blusher onto the apples or balls of your cheeks (the round swelling of cheek that you get when you smile) - think about where you see the colour when you glow from blushing naturally, and sweep it softly upward toward your ear.

"Have a good look in the mirror, and get to know your face, feel your bone structure if your cheekbones are not obvious, so that you can work out the best place to enhance your features."

Jane Iredale's Pure Pressed Blush is a multi-talented makeup that doesn't have to be restricted to the cheeks - you can use the intense colour powders on eyes and lips too. The Jane Iredale range is divided into warm and cool colour palettes so that you can be sure of choosing a colour to suit your complexion perfectly.

If you're more of a cream blush girl, try the creamy In Touch blush stick, which even smells delicious!

Expert tips for applying blusher:

• Keep application soft - blusher should never be an obvious stripe.
• Build up colour slowly - start with less and add more if needed.
• After applying your contour to shape your cheekbone, focus your blusher colour on the apples of the cheek; blend upward and outward - sweeping the blusher up to meet between your temple and the top of your ear.
• Finish by highlighting the top of your cheekbones with a light shimmer to accent shape. This subtle emphasis will really give you the illusion of higher cheekbones / more shape to your face shape, and the appearance of a sheer healthy glow.

Did you know...

Mischa Barton's makeup artist Nick Barose blends a sheer liquid foundation on top of a cream blush to mimic a natural blush, "as if blood is rushing to your cheeks".

It's almost time to come out from under that jumper and welcome in the spring. After months of screwing your face up at the rain and wind, and not to mention the over indulgence of the festive season, it's likely that your skin is feeling a little sorry for itself. So, to get your dewy glow back, you can improve your skin tone from the inside out, as well as taking advantage of some nifty tricks and treatments that will give you a head start.

Breathe easy

Even though we all do it, all day, every day, we could still do it better... Deep breathing boosts the levels of oxygen in the tissues, which does all sorts of wonderful things for you, including boosting your skin & circulation. As we get older, oxygen levels in our skin cells decrease, losing elasticity and giving us lines and wrinkles.You can treat yourself to some free oxygen therapy with these deep breathing techniques:

Lie on your back with your right hand resting on your upper chest, and your left hand on your abdomen. Relax for a while until your breathing becomes normal. When you breathe in your left hand should rise and your right hand should remain fairly still.

• Breathe in for a count of one, and then breathe out for a count of one.
• Breathe in for a count of two, and then out for a count of two.
• Breathe in for a count of three, and then out for a count of three.

Carry on until you're breathing in for a count of twelve, and out for a count of twelve. If you can't quite reach twelve, don't strain yourself to manage it, just keep practicing. Breathe in and out as long as it's comfortable and don't hold your breath. While you're doing this, more oxygen will get into your blood, which is great for your skin and has the bonus of being incredibly relaxing, too.

Try a relaxing Yoga class...there are so many to choose from and most gyms now run yoga classes along with Fit Ball and Step. You also get to sneak into the steam room after your exertions, which is also great for your skin. You could even try face yoga!

Wash and brush up

Not just for your face, this trick will make you feel all sparkling clean and tingly. Every morning, before you shower, take a skin brush and give your whole body a good sweep. Brush in the direction of your heart, making sure that you covering your legs, arms, tummy, chest and back (if you can reach.) You only need to spend about five minutes on this chore and it really does make you feel zingy in the morning. It gets your circulation going, makes your skin smoother, and obliterates all those horrid dead skin cells!

When you've buffed your skin all over, you can pamper yourself with a dose of Guinot Gommage Facile. This gorgeous smoothing body scrub is perfect for the bath or shower and should be applied over wet skin once every week to keep that skin smooth and soft.

Beauté Neuve

"Winter weather and central heating can be tough on skin and so can partying and eating the wrong things - especially over the festive season" says Leonilla, beautician and director of Serenity Beauty.

"All these things can make skin look dull and lifeless, and leave it dehydrated. We can bring it back to life with a course of Beaute Neuve facials from Guinot. The products are all glycolic and fruit acid based, and they'll not only give you a glow, but the concentrated vitamin C will help fade any pigmentation, too"

For a real treat that will set you up for spring, pop into your local Guinot salon for a Guinot Beauté Nueve gentle peeling facial. Its unique double-peeling system controls the level of exfoliation, soothes and nourishes tired skin with an anti-ageing regenerating serum, and a vitamin C mask to finish

You'll adore the effects that the Beauté Nueve gentle peeling facial has on your skin, so if you want to keep hold of that gorgeous glow as long as possible, keep the dead skin cells as bay with Gommage Grain d'Eclat gentle exfoliator twice weekly, and a weekly Masque Nouvel Eclat exfoliating and peeling masque. Complete the set with a soothing slick of Crème Beauté Neuve - great for the change of season as it puts a zing back into devitalised skin. This delicious treatment cream is formulated with soothing fruit enzymes including Bilberry, Lemon and Orange which gently exfoliate your skin, and give you back your sparkle.

Did you know? Berry boost

Berries are powerhouses of anti-ageing antioxidants, which boost the circulation to your skin and help protect against sun damage. Choose scrumptious raspberries, blueberries and strawberries for their fibre and antioxidants, and add a healthy serving of broccoli to your dinner - a survey in 2007 showed that compounds in the little green veg actually helped prevent skin cancer by activating the skin cells natural defences. Make sure that you add lots of nuts and fish for their essential fatty acids - these are fabulous for your skin. Blueberries are good for your brain too! The latest research shows that eating blueberry extract improved short term memory loss and reversed some loss of balance and coordination in aging rats. In a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience, scientists said rats that consumed an extract of blueberries, strawberries and spinach every day showed improvements in short-term memory.