It's time to throw away your mascara. Yes, really.
If the eye shadow palette was the must-have make-up item for 2015, then the lip palette is the go-to multiple for this season, according to leading make-up artists.
Backstage at Melbourne Spring Fashion Week, lead artist for Mecca, Sally Axford, said the look created for the opening gala – a sharp, overdrawn lip with a nude, almost translucent eye – was a trend that's easily recreated at home, with a bit of practice.
"For the everyday woman who doesn't want to bother with a smokey eye, throwing on a lip makes things pretty simple.
"The look is quite structured but subtle at the same time. A lot of brands brought out eye palettes last year but it's going to be about the lip palette for 2017," she said. "The lip is the focus, it's a little bit overdrawn, it's quite strong, it's quite a graphic lip, it's really structured and cleaned up on the edges ... so it's quite high maintenance. That in itself is the jewel, the accessory for everything. It's the year of the lip."
Ditch your mascara – even just for a night
Yes, it's always been the thing that makes you look awake when nothing else will but Axford says leaving your lashes bare will transform your whole look.
"It keeps the eye line nice and clean," she says.
Ditto heavy shadows and liners. With this look, a sweep of contouring powder in a dusty pink – or any shade that isn't ashy on your skin – and some highlight through the brow and in the inner corners is all that's needed.
For the Fashion Week look, Axford layered several highlighters through the highest point of the cheek and the brow but left the rest of the brow clean "so you can see the skin through the hairs". Naturally, well-groomed brows are a must.
Find your glow
With summer around the corner (no, really, it is), it's time to start thinking about alternatives to heavy foundations for the warmer months.
On the models, Axford and her team used Nars tinted moisturiser, mixed with a little extra moisturiser for added sheen.
Many ways to contour a cat
Harsh contouring lines are fine for editorial to get that chiselled look but clever use of concealer and highlighter can achieve an equally dramatic, yet softer, effect.
On the T-zone, Axford used less of the foundation and more concealer to give a subtle contour between the surfaces of the nose.
"Contouring is holding on, it has its place," she says.
Pat your sweet spots
Also known as the places on your face that are likely to get shiny or creased, such as around nose and anywhere there are blemishes.
Take a powder puff, or a simple cotton pad, and press in loose powder. Then vigorously buff off the excess with a domed brush to get back the velvet sheen.
Axford says this is a basic but effective form of "baking" your make-up without the downtime normally required to heat up.
Axford doesn't powder under the eye but for long-wear, you may want to.
'This look is a little more polished'
Matte lips aren't all the way out but for such a bold lip, Axford recommendeds choosing a lipstick with a more satin finish, which is easier to work with.
"You need a lip liner with this one, definitely, and something like a concealer that's going to help around the outside," Axford says.
Set down a layer of lipstick to give a framework for the liner. Then perfect the liner by creating sharp angles on the cupid's bow but creating a semi-circle through the middle.
How far out you can push it depends on the natural line of the lip. For most people, that means focusing on the upper lip, which is usually thinner.
Sally Axford's top tips for getting the look:
1. Eyes: "Try not doing mascara. You will look really different but it is a really amazing look."
2. Lips: "It's not just a swipe on, you have to put effort into it. And upkeep through the night."
3. Skin: "Don't do contour and don't do bronzer. So really keep it more to the highlight being the contour."