Yesterday I had my makeup done by the AMAZINGLY talented and sweet Sofia, Charlotte Tilbury’s niece, and lead makeup artist for the brand. As she was doing my makeup and talking thru the steps, I learned some key tips along the way.

She did my makeup for a tutorial on Violet Grey that will be going live in December!

Here are the three (shockingly simple) tips I learned from her:

1. When doing eyeliner, use a pencil, to get a more natural look. She said she will only use a liquid liner when doing a super dramatic look with a red lip, otherwise a pencil always, and use a brush to smudge it out to create that cat-eye liner effect.

2. A great way to cheat your lips and make your lipstick last longer it by using a lip liner in the same shade as your lipstick. She starts by highlighting the cupid’s bow (center of top lip) and over-lining just the teeniest bit to create a fuller, yet still natural lip look.

3. Adding a nude/white color to your water line (bottom, inner-eyes) really makes eyes look bigger and brighter and she always uses a light colored liner to do this!