Makeup guides

Makeup decisions: shade, colour and finish

Choose foundation, lipstick and eye makeup with guides to undertone, shade testing, face shape and makeup trials. Plan a look before buying or booking.

Start with the choice you need to make: a foundation shade, a lipstick colour or a full look. Use daylight swatches to confirm colour and a makeup trial to check wear. A virtual preview can help compare ideas, but it cannot replace a shade test on your skin.

Woman considering makeup colours at a dressing table Featured Beauty Intelligence

Virtual makeup try-on: the 2026 guide

Most makeup try-on was built to sell you a lipstick. Used well, it is something better, a decision tool that shows a look on your face before you spend a dirham. Here is how to read one honestly.

Editor's desk
Three neutral fabrics and unbranded makeup samples for colour comparison Beauty Intelligence

How to find your undertone before choosing makeup

Depth and undertone are different choices. A repeatable foundation comparison is more useful than a vein, paper or jewellery verdict; here is how to build a practical shortlist.

Editor's desk Adult woman inspecting foundation swatches along her jawline Beauty Intelligence

Foundation shade matching: get it right before you buy

Foundation is the hardest thing to buy online and the easiest to get wrong in person. The fix is a method: depth picks the row, undertone picks the column, and a jaw-line test settles it, before oxidation has its say.

Editor's desk Rose, berry, terracotta and nude lipstick samples on a white palette Beauty Intelligence

What lipstick suits you: shades by skin tone and undertone

The wrong nude makes you look tired; the right red makes your teeth look whiter. The difference is two things you already know, your depth and your undertone. Here is the map, with the MENA shades that actually sell out.

Editor's desk Beauty Intelligence

Makeup by face shape: where contour, blush, and brows actually go

Most makeup tutorials place blush and contour in one fixed spot, as if every face were the same. They aren't. The same blush an inch higher or lower lifts one face shape and drags another. Here is the map for yours.

Editor's desk Beauty Intelligence

Eyeshadow for your eye colour and eye shape

Eye colour decides which shadows make your eyes louder; eye shape decides where to put them. Most advice gives you one and skips the other. Here is both, with the kohl note for MENA eyes.

Editor's desk Adult woman wearing softly blended neutral eye makeup and rose lips Beauty Intelligence

Soft glam vs full glam: the MENA going-out makeup guide

Soft glam and full glam aren't two products, they're two amounts of the same five decisions. Once you can see the dial, you can land anywhere on it for any night out. Here's the dial, MENA-tuned.

Editor's desk Beauty Intelligence

Bridal makeup trial: what to test and tell your artist

Turn the trial into a useful decision: test coverage, eye makeup and wear, then leave with a written plan your artist can repeat.

Mademoizelle editorial desk Adult woman with subtle everyday makeup and natural skin texture Studio Notes

No-makeup makeup: the five-minute everyday face

No-makeup makeup isn't no effort, it's effort you can't see. Five products, five minutes, and a face that looks like you slept eight hours and drank enough water. Here is the routine, and the shades that vanish.

Editor's desk A soft upper-lash eyeliner shape on an adult woman wearing a neutral sheila Beauty Intelligence

Eyeliner for hooded eyes: hidden lines, transfer and broken wings

Find the actual eyeliner problem before widening the line: hidden colour, wet transfer and a wing crossing a fold need different trials.

Editor's desk A satin-finish evening makeup example with a neutral sheila and natural skin texture Beauty Intelligence

Cakey or separating makeup at an event: identify it, then touch up

Powder does not answer every makeup problem. Distinguish heavy buildup, slipping coverage and friction before touching up the area.

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