My Makeup Bag with Catherine Hunt

Eleg­ant, smart and charm­ing – and with an envi­able ward­robe to boot – Cath­er­ine Hunt is the kind of girl oth­er women want to make friends with.

Reg­u­larly rub­bing shoulders with the who’s who of Wel­ling­ton, Hunt always looks her best – and she’s per­fec­ted the switch from day­time beauty to night-time glam­our, too. She recently shared her tips for mak­ing a good first impres­sion and sur­viv­ing the fest­ive sea­son in style with Fish­Head: “Whatever you look like, whatever you have, I think it’s good to look your best work­ing with the cards you’ve been dealt.”

Asked her advice for look­ing good, Hunt quips, “I get every­one else drunk!” It’s not at all true: Hunt makes time for prep and pam­per­ing, giv­ing her­self a full hour to get ready in the morn­ing. “It’s a neces­sity for me, but I do find once I’ve made that effort it’s good for the whole day going into the evening.”

Start­ing with a facial wash and spray-on toner, Hunt rounds out her skin-care regime with Chante­caille Vital Essence (avail­able at Mecca Cos­met­ica). “It’s an amaz­ing ser­um that instantly hydrates and just gives you a youth­ful glow through­out the day. It’s the best thing I’ve used where I see instant results.”

Hunt – a former Lancôme beauty con­sult­ant her­self ­– swears by Teint Mir­acle found­a­tion. “The premise behind it is ‘light com­ing from with­in’, so it’s meant to give you that lumin­os­ity from with­in the skin, and I really like that. As you get older, you want more of a radi­ant glow, and that’s what it achieves.”

She also adores the brand’s Vir­tuôse Mas­cara, plus brushes from Lancôme and MAC for per­fect makeup application.

Top­ping that off with Melli Cos­met­ics Loose Set­ting Powder (avail­able online) for a light fin­ish, with a sweep of NARS Blush in Luster, Hunt admits that as a child of the 1980s she “grew up to be quite scared of blush­er”, but she’s sold on this nat­ur­al, golden-apricot shade.

As a glasses-wear­er, Hunt must define her eye­brows; for this she has turned to L’Oréal Col­our Riche Le Sour­cil Eye­brow Pen­cil, plus a dust­ing of L’Oréal Col­or Appeal Eye Shad­ow in Crys­tal Brown.

Eye­brows are also the per­fect bal­ance to a bold orange-red lip col­our like MAC Lip­stick in Lady Danger or NARS Vel­vet Matte Lip Pen­cil in Red Square. “It’s the ulti­mate tool you can use to trans­form your look into more of a glam look for the even­ing. It’s also really good if you look a bit tired – just pop on your red lip­stick and that will instantly give you oomph!” she says.

Under-eye con­ceal­er is also a must-have – “that could be because I have a busy social life!” Hunt’s pick is Bobbi Brown Creamy Con­ceal­er.

An eye-open­ing white eye­liner, like the Aus­tral­is Pen­cil Liner in Star Bright, is a go-to for party girls and beauty experts every­where, and Hunt is no excep­tion. “It’s great if you’ve had a late night because you’ll look fresh­er the next day.”

Also ideal for recov­er­ing from hard nights or a sum­mer get­away are Tri­logy Rose­hip Oil Anti­ox­id­ant+ and Everything Balm to help rehyd­rate tired skin.

But Hunt’s num­ber one fest­ive sea­son tip is the most obvi­ous: remove your makeup before bed to pre­vent break­outs and avoid panda eyes. “Even if I’m feel­ing a little bit ‘merry’, I’ll always take my makeup off. If you can, drink a large glass of water with a Berocca before bed­time, too.”