ELIZABETH ARDEN

For the ultimate Elizabeth Arden experience, I head to their glamorous boutique in Auckland’s Queen Street, where manager Lidean greets me with a hot cuppa. Her love for teaching women is obvious as she chats about products and techniques while she cleans and primes my skin. Their primers are some of the best, with versions to make sure eyeshadow doesn’t crease and lipstick doesn’t bleed, as well as complexion smoothers. Lidean takes a little of their Flawless Start primer and warms it between her fingers before ‘pressing’ it onto my skin – a technique she says gives a more flawless finish. After a discussion around my preferred foundation coverage, texture and feel, Lidean uses the same pressing effect to apply foundation, only this time she does it with a sponge. “It helps it to look like it’s part of your skin, and you end up using a lot less product,” she tells.

Flattering mauves and greys are picked to “make my blue eyes pop”. Lidean teaches me to divide my eyelid into three, and work a medium shade into the outer two-thirds of my lid and into my lashline for definition (an easy alternative for those who struggle with liner), before adding a deeper shade on top of the outer third. “Keep the inner third lighter for an anti-ageing, eye-opening effect,” she says. Under-eye concealer comes next and a small brush is used to set a little bit of powder right under my lower lash line to avoid smudging issues. A final flourish of bronzer, blush and lipstick is added, and I feel like I’m more than ready to face the day.