Makeup Dark Skin
1 of 10Chanel, Stylo Eyeshadow in Campanule and Caroube, £23.00 each, stockist details 0207 493 3836.
Great for travel as they wont explode or spill in your bag - these creamy pen like eyeshadows have a high concentration of water and pigment, which feel refreshing and pops on dark skin. Try the Caroube for an easy everyday satin finish and Campanule to inject some fun into your look.
2 of 10Cover FX Custom Cover Drops, £36.00 available from Harvey Nicols and Harrods.
These genius pure drops of pigment come in 25 shades and can be used to pimp out anything liquid such as oils, serums, primers, foundations and tinted moisturisers. Take total control and customise your coverage by adding 1 drop for sheer coverage, 2 drops for medium and 3 drops for full coverage. Amazing.
3 of 10Laura Mercier, Silk Creme Photo Edition Moisturising Foundation in Truffle, £35.00 www.lauramercier.com.
With summer and the wedding season coming up, get photo and Instagram ready with this full coverage, yet natural and radiant finish foundation. Tea extract and silk protein blends help to smooth and hydrate thirsty skin while still feeling weightless.
4 of 10Giorgio Armani Beauty, Rouge D'Armani Couture lipstick, £26.50, www.armanibeauty.co.uk.
Add a vibrant splash of colour with the Bentley of lipsticks. The second skin texture glides on and lasts up to 6 hours and white powders that often look ashy on darker skin tones has been replaced by transparent particles for colour payoff that packs a punch.
5 of 10MAC Pro Longwear Fluidline in Brassy, £15.50, www.maccosmetics.co.uk.
This coppery gold gel liner looks and feels luxe and is great for those with even the most wobbliest hands. I also love to slick this on with fingers close to the lash line, as it can double up as a cream eyeshadow and layers really well over powder eyeshadows or eye pencils.
6 of 10Max Factor Colour Intensifying Balm in Posh Poppy, £8.99, available nationwide.
I'm a complete neutral lip kind a gal but this butter-like balm packed full of shea, cocoa and mango butters is a great way to give a nod to corals for darker skin tones and the 70s look hot off the catwalk. The sheer creamy balm can be layered for an extra burst of colour.
7 of 10Maybelline, The Nudes Palette, £9.99, available nationwide.
With a mixture of 12 matte and shimmer shades and everything from cashmere beiges to deep taupes, bronzes and black, this is a great palette to throw in your bag to take you from day to night. The guide on the back of the palette also means there's never a lonely shade you never end up using.
8 of 10NARS Dual-Intensity Blush in Panic, £30, www.narscosmetics.co.uk.
Blush is a girl's best friend, especially on darker skin tones! Add a sheer healthy glow and watch your skin and face light up as you sweep on this customisable fuchsia and coral pink shades. You can also pump up the pigment by misting your blusher brush with water.
9 of 10Clinique, Quickliner For Eyes Intense in Intense Peridot, £15, www.clinique.co.uk.
Ditch your old faithful black eyeliner this summer and add some colour and fun to your look with a palette of burnished golds, khakis and violets. I love this smudgy liner that takes seconds to slick on and looks great on olive and darker skin tones.
10 of 10Becca Beach Tint Lip Shimmer Souffle in Raspberry Opal, £20, www.spacenk.com and www.cultbeauty.co.uk
This lightweight multi-faceted gloss is satiny soft and surprisingly non-sticky. I love fruity berry tones on darker skin and the cocktail of raspberry with a gold shimmer shot feels beachy and relaxed. Not only does it look pretty, the formula is also laced with brown algae extract to keep look smooth and soft.
As an award winning beauty journalist with over 14 years in the beauty industry, I thought I had seen everything. That is until I became a mother and I had to learn to deal with - and nourish - my mixed 3 year old twin daughters’ very different curl pattern. Having ‘Grace Jones’ textured hair and having lost my hair virginity at 8, when my mum gave into the siren call of chemical straightening, it was fair to say I didn't know where to start with my ladies. I’ve had a small army of weaves, relaxers and braids and I haven't dealt with my natural hair in almost 30 years.
It was only after many late nights looking at numerous ‘how to’ films from women in their bathrooms in Atlanta that I realised these videoes didn't really speak to me. They had inspired me to go natural and love my curl, but I love shopping on the high street and in Harvey Nichols and Selfridges. I wanted to create a luxurious and aspirational space to share and celebrate my love of all thing beauty for deeper skin tones. As a result, I have created and launched my new beauty website (www.jeweltonesbeauty.com), for women with darker skin tones and textured hair but with an aspirational focus, as I know there are many women out there like me!
Expect insider interviews with a host of A-List makeup artists and hair experts, as well as upfront and honest reviews from my blog, but click through the gallery now to see my personal edit of the best new summer launches for dark skin.