Let's make-up with Bina Khan: Your daytime look

Girls often proclaim, most times with pride, "I don't like to wear make-up very often". I am not very sure where this pride in being make-up free comes from, but to me it makes no sense. It’s like saying "I don't wear nice clothes very often.” Well, why ever not?

Apart from all the statistics that show you are more likely to get a job if you look like you care for yourself; that people perform tasks better when they are happy with their personal appearance; that grooming is often the first thing to take a back seat in a time of distress and its return is a signal of happier times, statistics also show that daily make-up wearers most often have more cared for skin (since you have to spend some time cleaning or prepping it) and they show signs of ageing less quickly.

No one is saying that you have to walk around made up to the nines, but a five to 10 minute, clean, perky daytime look should be part of anyone's repertoire.

Here is how to do it:

1) Base: I live and die by L'oreal True Match minerals powder foundation. Unlike many other mineral powders, this one is rich and dense enough to give you serious coverage, if you so desire. Use a little of the powder on the brush at first and work it in to your skin, only after doing so for 10 seconds or so will you properly blend the base and see just how much coverage you have gotten. Build on top as you desire. To conceal, simply take some powder on your finger and pat over the offending area.

2) Under eyes: Personally, I use the Garnier anti-dark circles undereye roll-on. This is not easily available in Pakistan, however, a version of it is available at Hyperstar in Karachi. But a swish off the L'oreal powder is good enough too. To this I like to add a little shimmer, concentrating heavily on the inner corner and swishing out all over the top of the cheek bone. For this, I like to use the peach eye shadow in The Body Shop's shimmer cube palette (06). For those with warmer skin, you can add some of the gold powder. I use my finger for this, I find it encourages the powder into your skin.

3) Contouring/Highlighting: To review your contour and highlight rules please read the column "Contouring your face". Using a face powder a few shades darker than your skin, define your contours. Thanks to the glowy SPF in True Match, there is no real need to highlight. But I always like to throw on a swish of that same pale peach that I used under my eye to highlight my cheekbone on the bridge of my nose as well. Do avoid the tip of your nose as that tends to get oily. Use a soft pink on the apples of your cheek for a healthy glow.

4) Eyes: Using your contour powder, define your socket line. Then, again with your finger if you like, swish that same pale peach over your lid and brow bone. I like to use a soft brown shadow to define the outer corners of my eye, but only a very little. Using a brown kohl pencil, I define the inside of my eyes, but I avoid the inner corner as this has a tendency to bleed throughout the day. When my lashes stop, so does my kohl. I finish the whole look off with brown.