Dear Caroline

Jan 12 2008 by Caroline Donnelly, The Journal

Your exclusive beauty column from Mac Cosmetics’ senior make-up artist, Sunderland-born Caroline Donnelly.

EARLIER this week I was in London working with a production team and performers for the opening-night party for Cirque De Soleil. As MAC provide make-up for the Cirque shows around the world, it seemed natural that we would be involved in this event.

The looks had already been provided and designed as the make-up was to be consistent in all other countries on this tour. For anybody who isn’t aware of Cirque de Soliel, it’s a fantastical, visual array of colour and performance. A collection of athletes and acrobats perform breath-taking stunts with incredible choreography, costumes, hair and make-up.

I’d been really looking forward to it for months, since I first heard of MAC’s involvement in the show, so I was really disappointed to wake up early that morning not feeling well at all. There’s nothing I could do about it, so I set off to the venue feeling nauseous and tired and keeping my fingers crossed for some improvement.

I met the rest of the team then with production and got taken with the performers to our make-up, dressing and hair room.

There were 10 performers and six of us, and many hours in which to get them ready, so I was confident it would be smooth sailing.

The make-up was strong, but straightforward and they were starting to look the part. Once we’d done with them, they went into hair. With crazy wigs and hair pieces, it all of a sudden came together. They looked absolutely brilliant!

After all this excitement, I drove to Birmingham to catch a flight into Milan for Menswear Collections.

I’m there until Tuesday, and will be designing the make-up (male grooming) for the Iceberg show so I’m excited and a little nervous.

I’m meeting my friend James from Manchester there who holds the same position as me within the company, and we both have absolutely hectic schedules. As yet, nothing for Saturday afternoon, so we’ve made our shopping plans already!

Q. What’s the best way to apply mascara? My mascara always goes clumpy and after a few hours I end up with panda eyes. Also, how often should I replace my mascara?

A. Go for a texture that will best suit your look and decide what it is you need from a mascara. Do you want your eyelashes to look understated and very natural, or do you like a lot of build? Do you need extra volume, and/or extra length?

Go into your local MAC store or counter and speak to one of the make-up artists about what you’d like. They will advise you on which type of mascara would be best for you and your needs. You’ll find that once you find a formulation to suit, you will stick with this, making it much easier in the future.

If you want a mascara that has a bit of drama but find this is going clumpy, or giving you panda eyes, follow this advice for smooth application.

The trick to applying this type well is to wipe your wand with a tissue on first application so the initial application isn’t too heavy.

You can then build upon that, giving you dramatic eyelashes without the clump. Also, don’t use too much eye cream close to the eye as it naturally draws towards the lashes and can break down the mascara formula, giving you that panda-eyed look.

I would strongly recommend you change your mascara every three to six months. The formula will begin to thicken as air gets into the tube every time you remove and replace the wand, making application difficult. Also, for hygiene reasons, throw away after six months.

Put your plastic, (MAC mascara comes in a plastic tube) metal or glass containers to one side, once you have six containers return them to your MAC store or counter and receive a free lipstick of your choice!

If you have any questions for Caroline, you can email them to hannah.davies@ncjmedia.co.uk