Make-up maestro

Fernando Cadavid, global make-up artist at Chantecaille Beauté, dishes on the appeal of this season’s sky-high smoky eye

We speak to Chantecaille’s Fernando Cadavid, pick three gift-worthy candles and find the most festive of fragrances

What’s your beauty mantra? Make-up is there to enhance, not to recreate.

What products should every woman own? Lipstick or lip gloss, mascara and a translucent powder.

What are your favourite Chantecaille products? Rose de Mai Pure Rosewater and the Protect the Wolves Eye Shade Trio Palette.

Career highlight so far? Having to do Christy Turlington’s make-up—she’s my all time favourite supermodel. I was a complete nervous wreck and couldn’t focus at first. I admitted to her how nervous I was, so she decided to just sit back, order some tea and have a chat while I calmed myself down. By the way, she ended up looking incredible.

Any make-up disasters? When an assistant decided to wash all my brushes halfway through a photo session and I ended up having to work with my fingers.

What’s a timeless look? Clean skin, light glossy lips and an extremely well-defined lash line.

I have 30 seconds to look good—what should be my go-to quick fix? A red lip.

Make-up myths you’d like to bust? That shine will make a mature woman look older, and that dark and solid eyeliner makes anyone look better. The most common make-up faux pas? Too much of it.

What do you wish women would start and stop doing when it comes to make-up? Start using dewy foundations and stop powdering their skin into submission.

You’re known as the “master of the natural look.” How do we perfect it ourselves? Well-moisturised skin, a dewy foundation that perfectly matches your skin, a soft eyeliner pencil, non-clumping mascara, a light gloss and a neutral bronzer. You need to keep the palette within the family of neutrals. Apply, diffuse and keep it all very, very light.

What trends can we expect in 2016? Pastels, light pigments and sheer washes of light.

Worst make-up trend? Too many to mention, but long faux lashes are never beautiful. What’s the palette for winter? Smoky eyes that are bigger and aren’t contained within the eyelid necessarily—there are a lot of smoky eyes that go out beyond the temples and cheekbones. We are also seeing darker merlot or even purple lips.

How do we create this look? Diffuse a traditional smoky eye further outside the brow area, integrating another colour into the regular smoky palette—and go big with it. Choose bluish or merlot colours on either the lids or the lips.

How do we take our make-up from office to party? Add more eyeliner to the top and bottom lashes, diffuse with the fingers or a brush to soften the lines, reapply mascara, brighten the cheeks and enliven the lips.

What do you think is the best look for the Christmas party season this year? Bright, almost glossy eyes and bold lips.