Jackie Tyson is the resident makeup artist for Britain’s Got Talent and X-Factor, aswell as being the main makeup artist for Avon.

With over 20 years’ experience, Jackie is one of the most successful make-up artists working in the UK industry today. Her extensive and varied roster of International celebrity clients includes Yoko Ono, Sienna Miller, Bon Jovi, Avril Lavigne, Katie Melua, Lily Allen, Daniel Craig and Coldplay. Jackie also has unrivalled experience of working in the UK television industry and on video shoots

Here, she’s created a ‘How To’ for school leavers and Prom Goers.

CHOOSING A COLOUR

Jackie Tyson says: “If you can’t wear colour on prom night when can you? Be brave and dare to wear those colours you’ve been eyeing-up all year. Keep your dress colour in mind when picking your palette but remember that you’re not limited to an exact match, in fact, over-coordinating can be a bad thing. Whilst electric blue eyeliner definitely works with a pale blue dress, gold and tawny hues look just as glamorous.

As a general rule of thumb the lighter the colour of your dress, the bolder the makeup can be and vice versa. Barry M has an amazing array of colour Dazzle Dust in a rainbow of different colours so you’re unlikely to get stuck without the perfect shade.

A fab cheat if you’re not confident to wear colour on your face is to paint your nails in brights. Avon Speed Dry Nail Enamel is a fab selection of colours that dry super-fast so even if you want to apply it at the last-minute, you’re unlikely to smudge it on your outfit! This season I love Red Wine on short nails and if you have decided on bold make up go for Ballerina”

FLAWLESS SKIN

“With cameras flashing at you from every angle, radiant skin is a must so remember to exfoliate thoroughly once a week around six weeks in advance. For prom night less is definitely more so avoid all-over cakey foundation and instead target blemishes individually. Young skin rarely needs a full layer of foundation!

Matt skin is definitely the finish of now so apply powder to eliminate troublesome oily areas. Bellapierre Mineral Foundation is an excellent lightweight powder that can also be mixed with your favourite moisturiser turning it into a liquid foundation perfect for covering up blemishes. Alternatively if you are not after coverage, try bareMinerals Mineral Veil”

EYES & LIPS

“A common mistake is to think the bigger the event the more makeup you should apply. Clear-looking skin, a touch of colour on the cheeks and either a bright pout or show-stopping eyes is all you need.

There are some great high-shine lip glosses available that are worth a go. Rimmel  London’s Royal Lip Gloss in Peach Crush is an easy to wear shade that looks good on almost anyone! The high-shine is non-sticky, lasts and also has a lovely fruity fragrance. Lipstick can be quite high maintentance when you are focused on having a good time so opt for glosses with great colour pigment. POP does some great colours, like the POP Mini Ribbon Gloss tins with lots of colours so you can even blend your own shade.

Finish off with a top-notch mascara such as Avon SuperShock for power lashes! If you want to go one step further, opt for some individual one by one lashes from Eylure or coloured ones from Blink & Go . Applied in just 20 minutes, Blink & Go lashes, available in salons nationwide, last up to two weeks and come in a rainbow of colours. I’ve used them on Natasha Khan of Bat for Lashes and the Sugar Babes.”

PRACTISE

“The best advice for the perfect prom look is quite simply to practise. Avoid mistakes and stress on the big day by knowing exactly what look you want and how to achieve it in advance. What better excuse to invite your friends over? Sample each others’ makeup, making sure you use your own clean brushes, and keep those embarrassing mistakes amongst the girls!”

Want a prom makeup lesson?                                                          

With 20 years of experience making-over the stars of stage and screen, Jackie is now sharing her secrets. Newly opened, the Jackie Tyson Makeup School in a purpose-built studio at her beautiful country home in Berkshire (40 minutes train journey from Paddington) hosts intimate groups of up to eight people for makeup lessons.

You can choose from a selection of one, two-day and one-week courses to learn both evening and day makeup looks and some of Jackie’s tricks of the trade. Lessons have been developed by Jackie and her team to provide simple and easy to follow steps to create the looks. Check out www.JackieTyson.co.uk to see Jackie at work.