Artistic licence

Pick a palette like a true professional. Photo / Babiche Martens

Dare to be different, go on, you know how, says Lancome's new national makeup artist, Stefan Knight.

He says many women get stuck in a rut when it comes to colour and shouldn't be scared of experimenting - after all, the same application theories apply to all palettes so if you can successfully use one, you can easily try another.

My tip is to avoid palettes with too many dark shades or more than a couple of colour families. Unless you're very experimental you won't use them all, whereas a more subtle mix will prove better value.

Knight, who will begin working on another series of New Zealand's Next Top Model in a few months, is currently doing a round of on-counter workshops helping women update their look.

He's not too into colour-matching rules and recommends women have a little fun with their makeup, though he recognises that for everyday, most will opt for the quickest, safest selection.

To get the most out of your palette, Knight recommends using the darkest shade as an eyeliner, with the shadow worked into the upper lashline.

Colour intensity of all shadows can be increased by wetting the applicator brush before applying.

Keep everything simple by blending with one or two of the other shades, mostly limiting colour to the lid area and a little touch along the lower lashline. Contouring the crease can add extra drama as will a little highlight to the inner corner of the eye. Finish with lashings of mascara.

Knight also recommends using under-eye concealer if your skin tone is uneven.

His tip is to mix concealer with a little drop of your liquid foundation on the back of your hand.

Brush it on and gently pat in for an integrated look because light circles can look as bad as dark ones and you want all the attention on your beautifully made-up eyes.

1 L'Oreal Paris Color Appeal Trio Pro in Addictive Plum $27.99
Great little pottle contains as much eyeshadow as many bulkier palettes with the bonus of being easier to carry about. It's from L'Oreal's latest colour-coded range offering a wide selection of shades. This one is tailor-made for green eyes.

2 Covergirl Exact Eyelights Eye Brightening Shadow Palette No 700 (vibrant browns) $21.99
This palette to enhance brown eyes comes packaged with application tips, a decent brush and, in some stores, a bonus liner of the fine crayon style. The Exact Eyelights collection also includes matching mascaras for various eye colours.

3 Lancome O My Rose Ombre Absolue Radiant Smoothing Eye Shadow Quad in Pop n Petrol $95
Silver, olive and sea green. Stunning on dark brown and green eyes. There's another limited edition O My Rose palette in copper and beige tones that looks especially good with blue eyes.

4 Chanel Quadra Eye Shadow in Kaska Beige $117
Versatile warm brown palette, with a bit more oomph than many of the neutral colour options about.

5 Almay Intense i-Colour eye shadow $26
An illuminating pale pink shade is included in this light reflecting palette of shadows for blue eyes. The silver for the lid area and the navy for the crease need careful blending but make for an impactful eye. Charcoal liner and mascara is the recommended match. Options for green, brown and hazel eyes are also available.

6 Smashbox Heartbreaker eye palette in Hot Date $60
Palettes needn't all be variations on a theme, as this multi-coloured one shows. The trick with contrast is to stick to two basic families of colours like these taupes and teals; any more and you could look like a clown. (Stockists see www.smashboxcosmetics.co.nz)

7 Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick Compact in Pink Quartz $96
Spot the odd product out? Primarily to highlight the face, Shimmer Bricks contain five bars of pearlised colour that can be used on eyes as well. This new shade is one of two from the Cabana Corals collection which updates nana's favourite cosmetics colour and suits the fair-skinned, while Nectar will warm up darker complexions.

8 The Body Shop Shimmer Cubes No 19 $44
Individually lidded boxes of colour, which I found fiddly, though they're compact and portable and nicely iridescent.

9 Dior Couture Colour Eyeshadow Palette in Stylish Move $119
Four shadows from pale pink through taupe and plum-browns, plus a central highlighter for added drama. Try blending three shades for a "couture" eye.