Make-up Artist Cory Walia on Stars and His Secrets

Rani Mukherjee. Cory firmly believes that Bengal is the place to go for beautiful eyes. “Most Bengali women have amazing eyes and Rani’s smouldering, expressive and intense eyes leads them all.”

His take on her? Only kajal and mascara is what she needs. Cory also has a soft corner for “the very Bengali eyes” of Bipasha Basu and Koena Mitra. “They have jet black eyes without lenses.”

Malaika Arora Khan. “The secret is the taut skin over her cheekbones. All it needs is a sweep of shimmering cream blush,” says Cory.

But for those who want to create the illusion of such stunning cheekbones, play up the area between the eyes and the cheekbones with a highlighter and then shade just under the cheekbone to bring it into focus.

Bipasha Basu. “I love giving her lips this pale, fleshy look,” says Cory.

Want to copy the Bips' pout? Line the lips with a pink-brown liner and shade with lip-liner along the edges of the lips. Dab a dot of foundation both on the lower and the upper lips and blend well (blending, says Cory, is the secret to great make-up.) Complete the look with a lightly frosted gloss. “Make the look slightly brighter or more brown depending on your face tone,” he suggests

Amrita Arora. Any person who gets completely transformed thanks to make-up, says Cory, has to have a very plain face. “Only then can she be like a chameleon sometimes sensual, sometimes innocent and sometimes goddess-like.”

Amrita with all her girl-next-door looks can transform into a “babe or a sex siren instantly, with make-up”.

Riya Sen. For her “naturally” pretty features. “Her skin is so fabulous that she looks perfectly made up with only moisturizer,” says Cory, who never feels the need to dab the greasepaint on Riya.

Tips and Tricks

Cory Walia has seventeen years of experience in the make-up industry.

He also thinks the mascara is, by far, the most underrated make-up product while the most overrated is, well, glitter. “Oh God, it’s a useless thing,” he says.

Here’s more from Cory Walia:

• Eye drops work wonders. Just squeeze in a drop each ahead of the cleaning, toning and moisturizing routine before beginning the make-up.

• To make the lipstick last longer, dab some eye shadow on your lips after applying the liner. “Choose an eye color that is close to the lipstick,” says Cory. Finish off with the lipstick and then gloss.

• Use your ring finger for blending under the eye. The ring finger, being the weakest and the softest finger, works best. “Use the patting motion to place the concealer under the eyes.”

• Use a water-based foundation like a pancake on squeezed pimple marks and other scars. Oil-based make-up products are not capable of covering marks. “This is because scar tissues don’t have pores and hence reject most make-up products,” he says.

• Cover smudged eye make-up with a concealer. Apply with an angular brush.

• Pull your eyelid up and then use an eyelash curler to prevent pinching your skin. Also, curl the lashes before coating with mascara to avoid mess.

• To line lips, perfectly, begin by defining the V. Then start with the outer corners and join inwards to get a smooth, straight line.

• Never forget to cover the throat, ears and back of the neck for a flawless finish.