ELLE Beauty Extremist: Be More Rebel

It's not new for me, I've always been somewhat subversive with my makeup-up products; muddled them up; used them somewhere unconventional, maybe unexpected. I can hardly call myself a Beauty Extremist if I play by the rules and keep lipstick for lips and eye shadow for eyes, can I? I'M starting a beauty revolution and my manifesto is concerned with using a productanywhere other than where it's designed to be worn.

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I'm pleased to see beauty brands are already catching onto this type of experimental thinking (thanks to popular influential markers like '#InstaGlam', You Tube demos and, of course, street style) and thus the power has been reversed. It's now we (the consumers and beauty enthusiasts) who set the trends and inform new product creations, rather than the other way around. Just look at Estee Lauder's new sub brand, The Estee Edit, which was created for social media savvy millennials and features rebellious products like a deep blue lipstick and black and yellow Lip Transformers �" which, by the way, are amazing.

Without sounding overly confident, I'd like to take some credit for contributing to this shift. Hear me out: Three years ago I introduced 'reversed beauty' in my beauty book, The Craft, because I wanted to share my love for playing around with make-up. I included everything from my 'Vunge' aesthetic (that's vampire grunge btw) to my West London phase, where I used red lipstick on my lids to create a super-cool, grungy smoke, and matte lilac or blue eyeliners on my lips.

Only a few years ago it was quite controversial, but we don't shock quite so easily today, especially as we're now getting used to seeing this type of make-up on the red carpet, even. Take, for instance, the look I recently did for Georgia May Jagger, where I layered burgundy lipstick and rose gold pigment over her eyelids for an alternative smoke.

Ironically, wearing these unconventional colours gives me a sense of confidence and sophistication, in a similar way to no make-up make-up. Plus, it's a compliment coup when done correctly. Here's how.

Go Darker

These colours are a lot easier to wear if you choose darker tones. When I wear red lipsticks on my eye I embrace my inner Goth and go for a smoky matte version. The same with a blue lip, navy will always be more flattering than sky blue for example. Although, if you do want to go more pastel, opt for sheer textures. I love Barry M Lip Paint in Lavender, £4.50.

Top Up Your Tan

When I'm wearing tones that are slightly less forgiving (as a rule, those with chalkier or whiter tones in them), I warm up my skin with tan. It helps to prettify any colour.

Watch Online Tutorials

Many products work much better when paired with another complimentary shade. I like to watch online demos to see what products work well together on someone with a similar look to myself. Red and blue are always a winning combination, trust me: Take Christina Ricci's iconic blue eyeshadow-red lip combo from her film Buffalo '66, and flip it around. It's a brave new world, people.

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