This is the best makeup artist in the country

Of course, there are more great makeup artists and Leco is a man so he doesn't need to feel shortchanged by this title. But Mrs. Elles Nijkamp is definitely champions league when it comes to makeup. Think of the most beautiful woman in the country and the chances are very, very high that Elles does her makeup (Elle van Rijn, Pernille La Lau, Donna Hay). Or she ‘takes her through the car wash’, as Daphne Deckers always says. The fun part is that Elles is now also accessible to the ordinary person because a. she has released a brush set (I'll tell you more about that later), but she also gives masterclasses where she teaches you how to make your face look its best without it looking overly made up. I'll go through the most important lessons with you.

1. Material is everything

Every woman who takes the masterclass with Elles usually has nice beauty products, but what we all lack is a good brush. Or better said: a good brush set. One for your foundation, one for your blush, a white one for the light eyeshadow, a black one for your dark eyeshadow, an eyebrow brush, and the most important: the smudger. But more on that later. The fun part is that Elles has now released her own brush set. iPhone-size, so they fit right into your evening bag.

2. Foundation last

Almost everyone starts with foundation. Not Elles. If you start with the eyebrows and the eyes, you can keep your skin nice and fresh. Maybe you even put some nourishing pads under your eyes (the Lift up Eye Treatment from ANG Cosmetics, for example) while shaping your eyebrows. You'll see that you need less foundation. During the day, maybe just some concealer (like the one from Jetske Ultee) under your eyes and on some imperfections is enough.

3. The eyebrow

A strong eyebrow dictates the fashion image of now, but Elles says (and she's right) that it should still blend with the rest of your face. It's a whole, and if all the attention goes to your eyebrows that look like Edding marker strokes banging above your eyes, it's not quite right. That's why Elles dictates: an eyebrow pencil from NARS with a fine tip so you can make small strokes. At the start of your eyebrow, you make the strokes in vertical lines, where your eyebrow makes ‘a curve’, and then you switch to horizontal lines.

4. The mascara

Still the masterpiece of Elles: the mascara. Make sure to have a good mascara, Elles uses the Double Ended Mascara from Revitalash with a primer. Then she makes a zigzagging motion from the lash line to the end of the lashes so that the mascara is well distributed over everything. Then she pushes each hair with the tip of the mascara exactly the way she wants it. The bottom lashes you do a bit thinner and brush over with the round brush from your brush set. Tip from May: if you want to do the eyes of young girls, put some mascara on the top of your hand, swirl the brush in there, and apply the mascara with that brush on the lashes. This way it won't be so heavy and flaky on young girls.

5. The blush

Anyone who experienced the ’80s knows how we applied blush back then. We sucked our cheeks in, placed our hand along the cheekbone, and moved the brush back and forth along the entire length. That was then and now is now. You break the space between your eye and your jaw by making a round motion with your blush brush halfway. For those of us who are from the '80s, that probably feels quite in the middle of your face, but just look how beautiful it looks. First use a caramel shade (Coacoa Dusk 07 from Shisheido) for the shape and then a bit of fresh pink (of course Orgasm from NARS) on the apples of your cheeks. Not too much, you can always add more.

6. Your cotton swab is your best friend

Wipe away under your eye upwards towards your eye. Always in the direction of your eye.

7. The smudger!

I really love a line around my eye, but let's be honest: a sharp line is just as old school as the lip liner. That's why Elles has created the smudger, a soft, small eraser-like brush with which you can smudge your eyeliner (preferably the Caviar Stick from Laura Mercier) or that you can run along the tip of your pencil and reapply with the smudger. This way you get a softer line and that's what we need, soft lines.

If you really want to treat yourself, treat yourself to a makeup masterclass via www.ellesnijkamp.nl. Or on her brand new brush set, for example.