With Philippa

Before I open a single makeup product on a client, I’m already building their glow. Most people skip straight to foundation and wonder why the result looks flat. This is where the difference actually happens.

Here’s my pre-makeup prep on clients:

Step 1: Skin is hydrated and gripping.
Foundation applied to dry, unprepped skin looks patchy within hours. I make sure moisture is locked in first — plump skin reflects light and holds product completely differently to dehydrated skin.

Step 2: The face matches the body.
This is the one nobody talks about. Your face is naturally lighter than your body — so if you apply foundation to an uneven base, it reads off-tone no matter how good the shade match is. I add a few drops of the Hydrabronze Tan Drops into my client’s moisturiser before we start. 2–4 drops for a subtle, sun-kissed glow — 4–6 if we’re going deeper.  It closes the gap between face and body so the foundation sits true to tone.

Step 3: The glow is built underneath, not on top.
Highlight applied over foundation sits on top of texture. Glow built into the skin underneath foundation? That’s what makes skin look alive in photos. The Hydrabronze drops are packed with Hyaluronic Acid and Pentavitin — the moisture-lock technology keeps the skin hydrated for up to 72 hours,  so the luminosity isn’t going anywhere.

The result is foundation that looks like it belongs on the skin. Not sitting on top of it.

Nobody wants to hear that their foundation is the problem. But after doing makeup on hundreds of clients, I can tell you — it usually is. Not the product. The application.

Here are the 4 things I fix first:

1. You’re applying too much product.
Foundations today are incredibly pigmented — you only need a small amount to create a flawless look.  When there’s too much on the skin, it settles into every line and crease and makes them look deeper than they are. Start with a penny-sized amount, apply to the centre of the face, and blend outward to the hairline and jawline.  Build only where you actually need it.

2. You’re covering the whole face evenly.
This is the one that ages people the most and nobody talks about it. The centre of your face is generally where you need more coverage — don’t cover the entire face.  The edges — your temples, around your ears, your hairline — need almost nothing. When you treat your whole face the same, you lose all the natural variation in skin tone that makes a face look alive and three-dimensional.

3. You’re using a matte formula.
Matte foundations cling to the skin, and on mature skin that means fine lines and wrinkles — it ages you by highlighting those areas and making them more visible.  A dewy or natural finish reflects light off the surface of the skin. Matte absorbs it. Look for textures with a natural or slightly radiant finish — they bring life back into the skin and help soften the look of lines. 

4. You’re dragging instead of pressing.
Dragging foundation across the skin pulls it into lines instead of sitting on top of them. Use light dabbing motions working from the centre of the face outward — this prevents pulling and stretching, and allows foundation to settle naturally into the skin without disturbing what’s underneath.  Press and lift. That’s it.

Fix the application before you blame the product.

Save this. Your foundation hasn’t changed — your technique is about to.

I’ve corrected more lip liner on clients than I can count. And every single time, it’s the same mistake: they’ve overdrawn their entire lip line, corner to corner, and wondered why their lips look smaller than before they started.

Here’s the thing nobody explains — lining the corners of your lips can actually drag down the appearance of your mouth and make it look thinner.  The corners are where the illusion dies.

This is the 3-step method that actually works:

Step 1: Forget the corners — start at the Cupid’s bow.
Slightly overdraw the upper lip only at the Cupid’s bow, then extend the liner toward the outer corners along your natural lip line — not past it.  The centre is where you create volume. The corners are where you keep it believable.

Step 2: Overdraw the centre of the bottom lip only.
Slightly overdraw in the centre of the bottom lip to create a pouty appearance, then bring the line up toward the outer corners, moving back inside the lip line.  This lifts the lip instead of pulling it down. Overdrawing too far along the bottom lip from side to side can leave you with a downturned smile. 

Step 3: Blur the edges.
A sharp liner line is the thing that makes overdrawing look fake. Use a brush to blend out the edges and blend liner into the lip colour  — you want the liner to disappear into the lip, not sit on top of it. Then add a lighter or n**e shade to the very centre of both lips and finish with gloss. That light-to-dark gradient is what reads as volume.

The goal isn’t a bigger line. It’s a smarter one.

Save this before your next lip liner purchase.

Most people think their makeup stops lasting because of bad products. As a MUA, I can tell you — it’s almost always the 4 things happening before the first layer even goes on.

Here’s what’s actually breaking your wear:

1. You’re not letting your skincare absorb.
Moisturiser and SPF need 10–15 minutes to fully sink in and form a proper layer on your skin. Apply makeup over the top too soon and your foundation is literally sitting on wet product — it will slide. If your moisturiser is still sitting on top of the skin when you apply makeup, it causes it to slide off.  Get dressed, make a coffee, then do your base.

2. You’re skipping primer — or using the wrong one.
Primers act like Velcro — they prevent creasing and help makeup stay on for longer wear time.  But the primer has to match your skin type. Oily skin needs a mattifying formula to control oil before it breaks down your foundation. Dry skin needs hydration, or your base will flake by midday. One size does not fit all.

3. You’re layering too much product.
Using too many products — or applying too much of them — limits the ability of the skin to absorb them, resulting in pilling or makeup not sitting right.  More is not more. Thin, buildable layers will always outlast a thick application.

4. You’re using setting spray wrong.
Spraying too close or too heavily can actually reactivate cream and liquid products instead of fusing them  — the opposite of what you want. Hold it at arm’s length, eyes closed, and let it mist. Then leave it alone.

Fix these four things and your makeup will outlast your day.

Want to save this? Share it with someone whose makeup doesn’t make it to lunch.

The blush placement you’ve been doing is adding 10 years to your face — here are 3 that lift everything. 👇

First, the mistake. Smiling and placing blush on the apples of the cheeks lifts your features temporarily — but when you relax your face, the colour lands too low.  After 30, the fat beneath the skin gradually shifts downward, so placing blush where the fullness used to be can make the face appear heavier.  Move it up, and everything changes.

Placement 1: The Diagonal Lift
Keep your face relaxed — don’t smile — and visualise a diagonal line from the top of your ear to the side of your nostril. Apply blush to the top half of that line, closer to your ear than your nose.  Starting near the centre of the cheek and sweeping upward at an angle gives the illusion of structure and lift — think diagonally, always. 

Placement 2: The L-Shape
Form an L shape with your fingers along the cheekbone — index finger near the temple angled toward the hairline, thumb along the cheek. Apply blush from the cheekbone up to the temple following that L, using upward strokes to visually pull the face up.  This is one of the most viral techniques right now for good reason — it genuinely sculpts.

Placement 3: Blush Draping
Use two tones — a deeper blush under the cheekbone and a lighter one higher up near the temple, blended into a seamless gradient. This creates definition while keeping the look soft and youthful.  Think of it as contouring but make it pretty.

The rule across all three: keep the strongest colour away from the nose and mouth area, and always blend upward toward the temples.  That one habit alone will change everything.

Save this. Your blush brush is about to become your best tool. 🫶

Most women are skipping this step and wondering why their skin looks flat on camera — here are 3 techniques that make you look lit from within. 👇

Here’s what’s happening. Camera and phone lenses flatten everything — they strip dimension, kill glow and make even beautiful skin look dull. The fix isn’t more foundation. It’s knowing these 3 things:

Technique 1: Underpaint your highlight — don’t put it on top.
This is the step everyone skips. Add luminosity before applying foundation — prime the skin, then dab a cream or liquid highlighter onto the high points of the cheekbones, bridge of the nose, inner corners of the eyes and underneath the brow bone. Then apply foundation over the top and allow the highlighter to peek through.  The result is glow that looks like it’s coming from your skin, not sitting on top of it.

Technique 2: Swap powder for cream formulas.
Creams allow light to bounce off the skin in a way powder simply can’t.  Powder absorbs light — which is exactly why skin looks flat and dull on camera. Wherever you want glow, reach for a cream or liquid formula instead.

Technique 3: Highlight placement matters more than the product.
Targeting specific high points gives maximum control — an all-over glow can make you appear sweaty on camera rather than radiant.  Cheekbones, inner corners, brow bone and the bridge of the nose only. Precise placement reads as glow. All-over shimmer reads as shine.

Your skin isn’t the problem. The order and placement of your products is. 🤍

Save this before your next shoot or reel. 💄

Harsh contour lines are making you look cakey, not snatched — here are 5 blending techniques for a shadow, not a stripe. 👇

The golden rule is no harsh lines — the goal is to create a shadow, not a stripe.  Here’s how:

1. Pick the right shade. Go 1–2 shades deeper than your foundation with a cool or neutral undertone — it mimics a real shadow, not a stripe of colour. 

2. Circular buffing, not sweeping. Use a fluffy brush in small circular motions to diffuse product into skin.  Sweeping strokes create stripes. Buffing melts it in.

3. Damp sponge to press, not wipe. A damp sponge provides the gentle blending a brush can’t — press and bounce, never drag. 

4. Always blend upward. Diffuse contour upward into the temple — no hard starts or stops, no dragging down.  Downward ages you. Upward lifts everything.

5. Try underpainting. Apply contour to bare skin before foundation — your foundation then acts like a soft-focus filter, diffusing everything beneath for a seamless finish.  The reason MUAs always look sculpted but never done.

Contour is shadow, not paint. 🖤 Save this.