A Level: Eyeliner

Now we've hit October, it's really time to wrap up Beauty School and look forward to my FAVOURITE TIME OF YEAR - Christmas! No really, I already got the Boots Christmas Catalogue. Didn't you?

So today we're looking at a more advanced level of Beauty Schooling - eyeliner.

I heart eyeliner almost as much as Christmas. Smokey eyes, as is well documented, is my favourite make up look and with a little bit of practise and the right products, can be one of the easiest looks to achieve. To get a super simple look, all you really want is a soft, smudgy pencil to line your upper and lower lashes. This can be kept tame for daytime and really vamped up at night.

I love Stila's kajal pencils (Antique Silver is my top pick) as well as MAC's Technokohl Liner in Graphblack and Clinique's Kohl Shaper for eyes (which has it's own sharpener in the lid!). None of these pencils are going to drag on your skin, they're all going to sit nicely and smudge as they're told.

For a more wild look, go BeneFit's famous Bad Gal which is a big fat chunky pencil, perfect for dramatic rock chick looks. Mmm, sexy.

If you're prepared to sit the higher paper, you my want to brave liquid liners. Okay, I applaud you, so let's put on our best boyscout hats and be prepared. There are some fab products on the market now that mean you can cock up till the cows come home and still achieve a great, sharp line. MAC have some fab premoistened cottonbuds that come in individual sachets that you can pop into your handbag and clean up any mistakes without removing all your make up, while Colorspotr have this fantastic eyeliner remover pen that you literally draw over the eyeliner you need to remove like a felt tip, and off it comes - like magic! I live and die by this baby at the minute.

For a more versatile look, I really like Colorsport's 24 hour eyeliners. Again, they're just like felt tip pens and you can line your eyes anyway you like - thin defined line along the lashes? Fat smudgy sex kitten? You got it and it doesn't move until you take it off with make up remover.

When it comes to actual liquid eyeliner, to get this season's sexy 40s look, I LOVE Estee Lauder's Zero Smudge Double Wear Liquid Liner. The applicator gives me complete control and it doesn't budge once it's applied. Score.

See, you've graduated Beauty School with a huge tick!