On the March 2010 cover of Glamour Magazine is Dannii Minogue. Oh Dannii, Dannii! What a gorgeous little kitten she is! I loved working with Dannii. I have worked with her sister Kylie many times, but this was the first time I had the pleasure to be with Dannii. She had just found out she was pregnant so we were all very excited and thrilled for her, and she was on her way home to Australia for Christmas - lucky thing!

Dannii has that bobbed dark hair and wonderful blue/green eyes that have exactly the same intensity as Elizabeth Taylor, so…yes you guessed…who better to inspire the look for this cover and inside pictures than the grand Dame herself?

The hair was so easy: backcomb, curl, give it lots of volume and poof…you have it! The face, I have to say, was just as easy! There is an extraordinary resemblance between the two beauties, Liz and Dannii. Both have great bone structure, fine nose, huge eyes, strong brows and a wonderfully full mouth – so first I made up the skin, which is a combination of great foundation, concealer and highlighter. A little bit of base at the end of your nose is no longer enough to get that perfect finished look, it takes a lot more work and products to achieve that!

What we need now is foundation - it has to be one that blends in well to your colouring and is the texture that suits your skin. As always, the better the skin, the lighter the texture. I dabbed this over her face and blended it well into the hairline and under the chin with my fingers. I prefer blending with fingers as I like the warmth and contact, but if you prefer using a sponge that is fine too. My favourite Prestige brands are Suqqu from Selfridges, a fabulous Japanese product with great textures, and Chanel foundations are also great colours and consistencies. For mass brands I like Myface and Jemma Kidd, both you can buy from Boots and both are excellent alternatives.

Next I used concealer just where it’s needed, directly on pimples and blemishes and any red areas, like around the nose. I apply it with a brush and dab it with my finger until it’s blended. A thick concealer is best for this – my new favourite being Vichy Dermablend Ultra-Corrective Foundation cream-stick. This product is designed to hide major scars and blemishes and there is also Dermablend Foundation, which is excellent for high coverage. Then, to highlight under the eyes and sculpt the cheek area I used a highlight pen. My favourite is still Guerlain or Dior – there is nothing to beat these two!

Ok, last steps.

Blush.....None! Keep the look wonderfully pale. If the face makeup is well applied, your skin will already look fantastic. Sweep shimmery powder over the entire face for luminosity and a glowing, fresh complexion. Now we move on to a dark smoky eye. It’s all about black and dark browns and greys, with the intensity on the eye itself. Lots of dark shadow in the lid and into the socket is perfect, and a good palette to achieve this look is one from Dior – Night Dust No.790. Next, fill in the roots of the lashes with your favourite black pencil, Elizabeth Arden’s smoky black, and then apply one coat of black mascara. Then apply gorgeous thick false lashes, but if you find this too difficult then just use single ones on the outside corners. Remember that the black pencil in the roots of the lashes will help to hide the glue…so go on…be brave and use an entire strip! Now use another coat of mascara to blend your own real lashes with the false ones.

Dannii’s brows are strong anyway, so we didn’t need to fill them in but if your brows are too thin or pale, fill them in using a dark brown powder (I recommend Laura Mercier Brow Powder colour duo), making a modern straight shape. Arched brows are very ageing, which we don’t want!

Finally, the lips…go nude. Use your finger to press a sheer layer of concealer onto the lips and then top with a shimmer-free nude lipstick and a clear gloss.

There you have it. You too can look as adorable as Dannii Minogue!

On the cover of the September issue of Marie Claire is a photograph of Maggie Gyllenhaal, and underneath her name is written ‘Queen of Cool’. She is very, very cool and one of the loveliest most natural beauties around at the moment. I loved being in her company.

She was in England making the new Nanny McPhee movie and I loved her English accent! Even though everyone is talking about this season’s make up being full-on, super finish, with airbrushed skin, contoured cheeks, winged eyes and a lot of beautiful rich colour, there are still some of us who prefer to look almost unmade-up and natural. She is one of them.

Yes, there is another way to go - and I will talk you through the steps of looking your best with as little effort as possible. Maggie has the most gorgeous skin, naturally sparkling eyes and a sweet full mouth. Here is someone who genuinely does not need, or like, much makeup.

So to achieve this look use a good moisturiser that will nourish the skin and give it a natural glow. My favourite at the moment is Natura Bisse ‘The Cure’ for day. It is detoxifying and restorative, helping to bring out the natural glow of skin. At night I am using Sisley ‘At Night’ –a wonderful serum which targets many problems, like dryness, wrinkles and discolouration. For a mass brand there is nothing that beats Olay. They have great skincare at a very reasonable price.

Next, apply a small amount of concealer just where it is needed. I use Bobby Brown, as she has excellent colours, and the consistency is perfect. Use a little around the nose, for example, and on any blemishes and broken capillaries. Pat gently into the area where used - do not ‘rub in’, as this will only remove it. Leave the rest of the skin free of foundation so the ‘real’ skin is visible.

Go cold turkey on the bronzer. There will be enough definition without. Then use a dab of cream blush on the centre of the cheek. Creams will look more real as powders can sometimes look caked and dry, and will give glowing dewyness. Mac make excellent cream blushers in fresh peachy and pink tones.

Simplicity is the key here, so the eye makeup is kept to the eye lid only. Use a single colour from your favourite brand, whether it be Chanel or Bourgois, then blend a little Taupe from Mac up on to the brow bone from the lid for a little more definition, this will give more shape to the eye. Grey is a big colour this season, and will look newer and fresher than black. For more intensity, if wanted, use Estee Lauder’s double Wear Stay – in Place ShadowCream in the roots of the lashes. They are budge- and smudge- proof, so will last all day. Finally use lots of mascara to emphasize the eyes further.

Lips are stained with a berry red, for that just-kissed look. As well as brightening the face, colour on the lips can make even the most casual outfit look glamorous. Dab the colour on with your finger, and fill in the centre using the lipstick or gloss for extra ‘pout’.

So there you go, enjoy your simple easygoing look. Everyone will think you look fresh and effortlessly chic… and you will feel great, a natural beauty!

This blog is about mascara and false eyelashes, and who better to use as my inspiration than Katie Price! She is on the cover of the September issue of Glamour magazine with pictures of her inside.

We had a great day making her look glamorous and sexy, and there is no better way to do this than to play up her lovely eyes with loads of mascara and false lashes.

False lashes inject drama into your look. Who doesn’t love a long lash? Nothing creates a look of wide-eyed innocence better. Nothing flutters more seductively; they are just drop dead gorgeous. They are so kittenish, girlie and fabulous, and will make your eyes pop like nothing else. Nothing is quicker or easier to throw on than mascara, and, with practice, lashes are also very easy to apply. We want more, more, more. We love mascara, we love fake lashes and we are even developing a taste for lash extensions.

Some people, like Katie, will not leave home without her falsies, and others think their eyes look naked without them.

It is hard to pinpoint the moment when lashes became beauty’s favourite fakery, when they were invested with the same oomph power as say the perfect boobs, legs and lips combined, but in the past year they have become an essential.

Lash bars are opening up all over town, Groom and Benefit being just two of them. Topshop is another, Nails Inc have started a false lash service, and Shu Uemura will be opening a Tokyo Lash Factory at Selfidges in London.

Top tips for how to get the best from your lashes, and applying false lashes:

1) First apply your eye make-up. Shape your eyes using powder eye shadows, and use a liquid, gel or pencil liner at the roots of the lashes to give definition.

2) Next use a mascara primer on the lashes. This is non-colour product that coats the lashes and makes them look longer and thicker. It is a great tool if you do not want to use false lashes. Use it as you would mascara, getting right into the roots of your lashes. My two favourite are Armani and Suqqu, both from Selfridges. Lancome have also just launched one on the market too.

3) Now apply your favourite mascara, making sure, again, you are getting into the roots of the lashes, then taking the mascara to the end of lashes with an up and out movement.

4) Choose your false lashes, and then measure them against your own eyes. (This will not apply if you are using single lashes, but only with strips). My favourites are an American brand called Ardell, which are made from real hair and come in different thicknesses. Trim to fit your eye shape.

5) Apply the glue along the line of the false lash. Apply the lashes to your eyelid right in the roots of your own lashes, starting in the inside corner and gently working out. DO NOT PANIC and take your time! Practice is the only way to feel confident doing this, but don’t give up. It is worth it!

6) Curl both your false and natural lashes together, and, for extra drama, apply a coat of mascara on top of your real lashes and false.

This will actually make all the lashes look as one, so no-one need know that they are not your own.

I hope you enjoy this fabulous trend as much as I do, and embrace the drama of it all. With mascara and false lashes, more is definitely merrier. Go for a look that makes you look like a Hollywood actress, deeply feminine and drop dead gorgeous.

In my first make up master class class I want to talk about pale skin– very pale skin. The best example of Nordic/Celtic skin is the beautiful Cate Blanchett. To have her sitting in front of me with no make up on, is to sit in front of an angel. She is exquisite, partly because of her skin.

Cate is now in Australia all the time, running a theatre group with her husband Andrew and looking after her three wonderful boys, so I flew to Sydney from London, for this beautiful Vanity Fair Cover. It was the beginning of October and even though it was supposed to be their spring it was still raining and cold, like winter!

The photographs were taken by one of the worlds greatest living photographers, Annie Leibovitz. She is known for pulling emotion and intensity out of her subjects and is therefore constantly in demand. This picture was taken in the warehouse of the theatre company, amongst the boxes and the rubble! Such a huge contrast to the way Cate is depicted... Elegant and serene.

How Mary created Cate's look

• Her foundation was Chanel Teint Innocence Crème Universel in color ‘01’
• Cate’s eye make-up was simply a soft brown and lashings of mascara!
• Her lip color is Sillohette by Chanel.
• Cheeks very gently contoured with Gerlain bronzer in blond.

Find the right foundation for your skin type

It is important your make up reflects your skin type. It is sometimes hard to find foundations that are pale enough, but it is very important that you do. Many can be too yellow or too pink. Warmth of skin colour can be added with blush and very soft bronzer; do not worry if you look very pale without them. You will. The most important thing, as with all foundation, is that the colour matches your décollete and overall skin tone.

The better the skin the thinner the base. This is true of all skin colour, but even more important with very pale skin. You never want to look like you are wearing foundation. Skin should look 'nude'.

Foundations have come a long way in the last ten years and there is the right one for everyone out there. Cream and liquid foundations are worth splashing out for and Japanese products are really good. They do a lot of whiteners that can be mixed with foundations for extra luminosity. One of my favourite brands is called Suqqu (yes, that is the right spelling!) that can only be found at Selfridges, London, although it is has wide distribution in Japan, for you travellers!  They have wonderful whitening products and I certainly use these on Cate.

Remember, colour, on eyes, lips and cheeks will show up a lot more on pale skin, so a little will go a long way and can look dramatic very quickly. For example black inside and/or around the eyes looks fabulous and very 'goth' with little effort. 

Relish your pale skin and play it up. It is deeply radiant and refreshing in this day and age to see pale skin when most of us are aiming for the perfect tan all year round! For those of you with this skin type, lucky you, enjoy having pale skin!