My make-up makeover: From rescuing over-plucked boomer brows to solving mature skin woes, author KATE MOSSE, 62, transforms her look - embracing a red lip!

It would be fair to say that Kate Mosse doesn’t have a great deal of spare time for experimenting with make-up. 

The bestselling author of ten novels and short-story collections (including the multimillion-selling Labyrinth), three works of nonfiction and founder director of the Women’s Prize for Fiction (and now for Nonfiction) is used to being onstage at events and award ceremonies and to being photographed.

‘I know what suits me,’ she says, but acknowledges it’s nevertheless often hard to come up with new ideas alone. ‘After [our YOU magazine shoot] I looked in the mirror and thought, “OK, I would never have done that myself!”’

What the 62-year-old is definitely not interested in is attempting to appear younger. ‘I’m comfortable with my look,’ she says, ‘but I thought this would be fun and informative.’

Kate before her makeover

Make-up that doesn’t take expert skill or hours to perfect is what Mosse is after, plus anything that will work well under bright stage lights.

Who better, then, to help the busy author expand her repertoire than make-up artist Caroline Barnes? Now in her 50s, she has worked for glossy magazines including Vogue, Elle and Red and celebs such as Kylie Minogue, Keira Knightley and Naomi Campbell. 

When she’s not making-up stars, she’s sharing (with the 80k+ subscribers to her YouTube channel Speed Beauty) the secrets of the industry insiders. So, what tips, tricks and solutions to beauty dilemmas did she have for Mosse?

How to rescue the over-plucked boomer brow

Like so many women of her generation, the 1970s took their toll on Mosse’s brows. ‘I plucked them to within an inch of their lives,’ she confesses, ‘so I have always filled them in a bit.’ She is aiming to return them to a natural look.

To achieve this, Barnes advises using brow ink (as opposed to powder, which can make them look too ‘done’). Wipe the brows with micellar water before you start to remove oil and make the product last longer.

Barnes’s favourite brow ink is Nyx Lift & Snatch! Brow Tint Pen. In fact, this is the product Mosse already uses, so Barnes teaches her how to achieve better coverage (while keeping the look natural), using very fine strokes.

The two-mascaras trick

Mosse has always felt she can get away without mascara, but has also noticed that the lashes at the outer edges of her eyes have thinned as she’s got older.

Barnes suggests that if she wants to branch out into mascara, then Mosse may as well use two – one of Barnes’s favourite tricks. She recommends depositing Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Push Up Lashes! Mascara right at the roots – where you want the weight and bulk of the product – and then a coat of Clinique Lash Power Mascara (£25, lookfantastic.com) over that to really lift them. Barnes then used the Lisa Eldridge Kitten Flick Liquid Eyeliner (£25, lisaeldridge.com) in between the lashes to give a subtle line.

Solving mature skin woes

Like many women her age, Mosse has noticed that, just when her skin needs a moisturising product under make-up, it becomes less able to tolerate products.

‘I’d always had great skin, and then during the menopause it became quite troublesome,’ she says. ‘I suffered from rosacea, so now I’m very careful about what I put on it. I’ve noticed my skin is thinner as I get older and that I burn more quickly in the sun. I’ve also learnt anything that dehydrates it is not good.’

Barnes advises using a hyaluronic acid serum before applying make-up – her favourite is Hydr8 B5 Intense from Medik8. This product is very hydrating but has nothing irritating in the formulation to trouble sensitive skin.

Mosse was pleased to discover that her instincts were right when it comes to foundation. ‘I use a light-reflective one by Lancôme [Teint Idole Ultra Wear Nude, £35, harveynichols.com]. If I have a patch of red, I’ll use a concealer. I don’t use powder.’Barnes agrees that heavy foundation can dehydrate mature skin and make  it look flat. 

For Mosse, she picked U Beauty The Super Tinted Hydrator (£98, net-a-porter.com). ‘You want a smooth surface that bounces the light back,’ she says. ‘Remember, foundation is about enhancement not coverage.’

Shirt, hobbs.com, necklace and bracelet, katieloxton.com 

The great red-lipstick divide

The world tends to be separated into those who are comfortable with red lipstick and those who aren’t. Mosse is in the latter category and tends to go for a lip liner and a neutral lipstick. 

‘I associate red lipstick with flamenco dancers – and I don’t particularly like it,’ she says. Although Barnes found the perfect shade of red for her, the author is not an out-and-out convert. ‘I’m not convinced I’ll buy a load of it,’ she says, ‘but maybe I’ll wearit for a big event I’m doing soon.’

Whatever shade of lipstick you choose, Barnes advises first prepping the lips with a hyaluronic acid product (try The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5, £8.80, boots.com), then locking in the moisture with balm and allowing it to sink in. For colour, she used Signature Lip Matte Lightweight Lipstick by Merit in Vermillion. 

‘It’s a beautifully pigmented lipstick that doesn’t dry the lips but also has a matt texture, so it stays in place,’ she explains. ‘I think Kate liked that it felt soft and light on her mouth.’

Kate's new kit 

Dior Mono Couleur Couture. eyeshadow in 658 Beige Mitzah, £31, dior.com; Vieve Modern Radiance Cream Bronzer in Light, £31, vieve.co.uk

Hydr8 B5 Intense, £59, medik8.com; Merit Signature Lip Matte Lightweight Lipstick in Vermillion, £28, meritbeauty.com; Beauty Pie Super Luminous Skin Genius, £25 to members, beautypie.com

Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Push Up Lashes! Mascara in Super Black, £28, charlottetilbury.com; Nyx Lift & Snatch! Brow Tint Pen in Taupe, £11.99, boots.com

• Kate Mosse's The Ghost Ship will be published in paperback on 20 June (Pan Macmillan, £9.99). To order a copy for £8.49 until 28 April, go to mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937. Free UK delivery on orders over £25. A new historical novel, The Map of Bones, will be published in October in hardback