Starter-kit of quality basics that enhance youthful beauty

The teen years are full of challenges but makeup shouldn’t be one of them.

Eyeliner

Eyeliner can create many illusions, taking you from sloe-eyed to feline with a flick of the wrist. On an average day, it has two key uses: highlighting the eyes and making you look wide awake. The latter is achieved with a nude shade drawn just above your bottom lashes. This acts like brightening concealer.

To highlight your eyes, use a soft brown pencil as close to the upper lash-line as possible, starting from the outer corners and working about three-quarters of the way in. MAC Eye Kohl in “Teddy,” €18, is a classic choice.

Concealer

A concealer should either brighten your under eye area or cover and mattify blemishes. Concealers are quick-fixes and persistent problems should be discussed with a dermatologist. L’Oreal True Match Concealer, €10.59, is a liquid formula that provides good coverage and sets to a matte finish. Pat it on before your BB cream/tinted moisturiser and let it dry.

An under eye concealer must match your skin tone, unless you want two glaring half-moons below your lashes. Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer, €10.79, illuminates without shimmer and comes in a handy click-pen.

BB Cream

Your makeup should be a veil, not a mask. Fresh-faced and sheer beats bland and overdone any day, so try a BB cream or tinted moisturiser. Match your base to your skin tone. Don’t be tempted to go darker to affect a tan. Choose a fragrance-free formula with broad-spectrum SPF. Oily skin looks best in a cream or powder formula with matte finish. Enhance normal-to-dry skin with an illuminating liquid, such as Revlon Photo Ready BB Cream Skin Perfector, €14.99.

Highlighter

Highlighter is a great party product for teens, designed to give a glamorous glow to places the light hits your skin: cheekbones, brow bones and Cupid’s bow. Use this product sparingly. Gentle cleansing, exfoliation, moisturising and sun protection should be enough to keep teen skin glowing. Using your fingers, tap a small amount of Topshop Glow Stick, €12, in “Spotlight” (pink) or “Play Up” (pale gold) on the area you wish to highlight.

Neutral Eye Shadows

Urban Decay “Naked 3” Eye Shadow Palette, €44, seems pricey but each of the full-sized shadows works out at just €3.60. The selection takes you from day to evening with matte neutrals, satin gold shades and glittery chocolate. Most girls will wind up using every colour at some point. The powders are smooth and easily blended. You can use the professional-quality, double-sided shadow brush to experiment for hours, discovering the looks that suit you best.

Clump-Free Mascara

Invest in a pair of Shu Uemura Eyelash Curlers, €24.40, which create perfect curls and remain sturdy long after purchase. Seal their work with smooth, separating mascara like Maybelline Volum’ Express “The Rocket” Mascara, €11.99, in black or brown. Never use curlers after applying mascara. This encourages breakage and wayward kinks.

Sheer Blush

Carrying a blush brush in your bag can be messy and unhygienic. A sheer-cream blush is pretty and easy to finger-blend over the apples of your cheeks. Peach blush is one of those rare products that suit all skin colours. Bourjois Little Round Pot Cream Blush in “Nude Velvet,” €10.49, gives fair skin a peachy glow. Revlon Photo Ready Cream Blush, €11.20, in “Pinched” and “Coral Reef” suit medium and dark tones respectively.

Lip Stain

Play lips up with a natural stain. These low-maintenance, long-lasting products are subtly glossy. Many stains dry before you’ve had time to blend but the Balm Stainiac Hint of Tint, €14.95 at feelunique.com, has a gel texture that gives you a few minutes to play with. Only a few dots are needed per application, so it should last a few months.

Four online makeup tutorials

* “Affordable and Easy Everyday Makeup Look,” via A Model Recommends.

Prolific model-blogger Ruth Crilly creates a sophisticated, polished look that no one will ever guess cost so little to achieve. This one is perfect for job interviews.

* “Scarlett Johansson Makeup Tutorial,” via Pixiwoo.

There are many celebrity-inspired makeup lessons online but the sisters behind Pixiwoo stand out for their wonderful liquid-eyeliner tips and contouring skills.

* “Anti Aging Makeup Tips,” via Lisa Eldridge.

Celebrity makeup artist Lisa Eldridge elaborates on the advice she dished out on Channel 4’s 10 Years Younger.

* “How to Look Gorgeous for a Night Out!” via Tanya Burr.

Beauty blogger and Kimberley Walsh-lookalike Tanya Burr’s classic evening look includes berry lips, luminous skin and smoky eyes.