Work face: what make-up to wear to the office

What a dilemma. If anyone can settle the argument, it's Bobbi Brown. Since launching a collection of 10 lip shades at New York's Bergdorf Goodman department store in 1991, her products are now sold in 56 countries. Hers is the go-to brand for Susan Sarandon, Brooke Shields and Yasmin Le Bon but also the one that gets real women out of the front door each morning looking and feeling a damn sight better than they did when they rolled out of bed.

Getting interview time with the 54-year-old make-up maven (who doesn't look a day over 40) is about as easy as scheduling coffee with Michelle Obama but she's in London to celebrate the brand's anniversary and has agreed to reveal her secrets for creating the perfect working woman's make-up.

"My ethos has always been that make-up should make women look like themselves - but just a little bit better," she says when we meet at the Connaught Hotel. "The time-short city woman needs to look groomed and professional without seeming to wear a faceful of product."

Stepping into the office looking effortlessly radiant is our aim but few of us really know how to achieve the elusive "no make-up make-up" look. According to Brown, the mistake we're making is jumping straight to "accent features" (bold lips and eyes), when really we should be letting our skin do the work. The rule is "lose the foundation". Or at least wear much less than we do now.

"Women often start by applying foundation merely out of habit," says Brown. "Instead, moisturise the face to immediately plump and hydrate skin.

"Then apply my Corrector (£17) just where you need it - usually under the eyes, around the nose and sometimes on the chin. You can top this with the Creamy Concealer (£17). Step back from the mirror and you'll be surprised how little foundation - if any - you need."

Shade-matching is Brown's forte. Her biscuit-toned concealers, she says, counteract purple or green imperfections in light skin tones - the peachy ones neutralise the flaws of warmer complexions. Then it's a case of adapting product textures.

"Skin changes from day to day - and even from morning to evening - so learn to adapt your routine," she adds.

Waking up feeling dry-skinned after a sleepless night? Pat moisturiser over make-up onto cheeks and temples to make it dewy. If your Tube ride has left you shiny, try a loose powder around the nose and across the forehead.

We should also stop expecting our make-up to last all day in centrally heated offices. If it lasts all day, it's usually because it's having a drying effect on the skin - and it shows.

Looking artlessly immaculate herself, Brown skips eyeshadow then lines upper lashes with the deep brown Long-Wear Eyeliner Gel in Espresso Ink (£16.50). Apparently many mascaras have a grey undertone - yet finding one that's true black will mean you don't have to load up your lashes to add definition to eyes. Brown swipes on two coats, skips the fiddly business of lash curlers and instead uses her index finger to hold them in a curled position for a few seconds while the formula dries.

Rootle around in a beauty editor's make-up bag and you're sure to find Brown's Pot Rouge for Lips and Cheeks (£18). A cream-based formula, it blends into the skin, rather than sitting crustily on top as many powders do, to create a natural flush that makes us look perkier without detracting from our professionalism by appearing too girlish.

Heading off to catch her flight home to New Jersey, Brown slips the Powder Pink shade (miraculously flattering on all skin tones) into her make- up bag to pat onto her cheeks and lips before landing. My guess is she'll step off the red-eye looking like she's had the best night's sleep ever- but not wearing a scrap of make-up. Only we know otherwise.

www.bobbibrown.co.uk

Bobbi's secrets for a perfect work face

* Get into the habit of patting moisturiser over make-up and topping up your cream blush for a lightning-quick lunchtime refresher. Use any product remaining on your eyeliner brush from morning to redefine the lower lash line in a way that looks natural.

* Travel light. Buy one of the empty customisable palettes, £12, and fill it with a small amount of your concealer, blush, a lip shade, eyeliner and shadow to hide gaps in brows. You'll have everything you need in one compact that slides into your bag.

* Ditch the "back of your hand" myth and test skin shades on the side of your face and forehead. Your correct match will disappear into your skin.

* Corrective products should be used to even out your skin tone - not change it. To add warmth, choose a non-shimmer bronzer and use a large, fluffy brush to sweep it across the top of the forehead, down the nose and onto the apples of cheeks.

* Pick up a free sample size of the Extra Face Oil on counters, pop it in your handbag and pat onto cheekbones and through brows for an instant skin pick-me-up while on the go.

* Groomed brows add instant polish to your face. Match a brown eye shadow to your hair colour and brush on in small, hair-like strokes. (And watch this space for the arrival of the Bobbi Brown brow pencil.)