You Beauty!

Some women are scared of eyeshadow. Some women could do with being a little more scared of eyeshadow. But for the purposes of this column, I want to talk to the ones who believe that it is simply not for them. That it signals too much painted-lady slap. That it burrows its way into creases. That a deft hand and tremendous skill are required for effective and subtle application. That eyeshadow, in short, is a dangerous business.

But eyeshadow can be like blusher or bronzer or highlighter for the lids, used to flatter and contour with whispering subtlety rather than shriek like a cosmetic megaphone. Bobbi Brown is pretty much my one-stop eyeshadow shop. Every season it whacks out a palette with the most absurdly useful array of browns to take you from nude to naughty in minutes. But if you are frightened of shadow, or just want to press reset, then I would point you towards its long-wear cream shadows and, my favourite, Antique Gold.

This is a restrained glitter suspended within a warm cream eyeshadow in a gold so old that it hardly reads as metallic. Take a fingertip and smear it over the entire eyelid for a polished glossy finish. Or prod a coated little finger into the inner corner of the eye to simply brighten everything up. Or smooth over the cheekbones for a nice light-reflecting gleam. Even pop a splodge on to the bottom lip for a flirty sheen. It is buildable, too, in a really controllable way, so the glossy eye can darken into a shimmering evening eye should occasion demand. It's idiot-proof. Promise.

Bobbi Brown Metallic Long-Wear Cream Shadow, £17 (bobbibrown.co.uk)