It’s no coincidence that beauty products, make-up tutorials, contouring tips and application tricks are more available now than they’ve ever been – women want to take control of their own beauty routines and know how to get the job done well.

While basic tutorials cannot replace the technique and touch of a professional make-up artist, there are lots of tips you can take heed of and implement in your daily beauty regimen.

Foundation

To begin with, any product you choose needs to be suitable for your skin type, colour and texture, especially when choosing a foundation, which should act as a base for your make-up. If you have dry skin, try a liquid or hydrating powder formula, while powder or matte products would be best for oily skin. When choosing a shade, ensure that it matches the skin on your neck, arms and chest rather than your face, and if you’re looking to apply make-up for a special occasion, you should start with a layer of primer.

If the foundation you’re using is a liquid formula, apply a few drops to a sponge and dab it onto your forehead, nose, chin and cheeks, and from the centre of your face, blend it into your skin in a downward motion, working your way out towards the edges without leaving rigid lines so that you cannot even tell where the foundation starts and ends.

Bronzer

Use a matte bronzer, which is subtle and will give you a soft glow, for light contouring. Leave the shimmery bronzer for highlighting certain parts of the face and for evening time, avoiding bright lighting which will beam up your face like a shiny disco ball.

Start out with a light shade of bronzer until you get comfortable with the idea and technique of contouring, and work your way towards deeper hues once summer starts. To apply, swipe a brush with bronzer on parts of your face that would naturally attract light, such as the cheekbones, forehead and nose, and blend it in to the skin without leaving harsh lines.

Blusher

When shopping for blushers, look for ones that correspond with your natural look when flushed, and try pair them with the same hue of your lipstick, using warm blushes with warm lipsticks, and cool blush tones with cool lip tints. When in doubt, a rose blusher with a brown undertone tends to work well with almost everyone.

Eye shadow

Tricky techniques start to come into play when applying eye-shadow, which we’ve all had our fair share of mishaps with. For starters, when choosing a colour palette, limit yourself to natural colours such as brown and taupe, which are universally flattering if you haven’t mastered the technique of blending yet.

Grey and muted purples – such as plum and mauve – are easy to work with too. To apply, blend two shades of eye shadow onto the lid, and pick a lighter tone to sweep across the area between the lash line and brow. Mastering eye-shadow application takes time and practice, so keep face wipes and make-up remover handy so you can start over as many times as you need.