What do you do when you’re invited to interview Napoleon Perdis, a businessman and makeup artist that is world renowned?

First you pick your jaw up off the ground; then fret about the outfit; and, of course, spend about two hours doing your makeup.

Napoleon was coming to the ACT to deliver a Master Class to 60 Canberra ladies keen to learn a little more about applying makeup, choosing colours and getting a great look at any age.

I was lucky enough to get an opportunity to interview him, and upon arriving at the Canberra Centre store early there was a complete rockstar vibe. There was already a line of fans, there were women already getting their makeup done by Napoleons creative team, and lots of hustling and bustling within the store.

As we heard he was just around the corner, the music was turned up and the creative team started clapping and cheering, which of course got the crowd totally into it as well. He walked on up, shook hands with everyone, said hello to everyone single client that was in their seats getting their tips and settled in for interviewing by the media.

Guess who got in first – HerCanberra of course!

This was Napoleon’s first visit to Canberra in six years and in tow was his creative team of 10 makeup artists, all who have worked for Napoleon for over 10 years and were the cream of the crop.

Napoleon’s Top Tips

Given our fair city has a lot of corporate types, I couldn’t resist asking how to achieve a professional corporate look with your makeup. His top three products are:

Matte flawless foundation (China Doll Foundation), Mascara (Magnif-Eyes Mascara) and Matte lipstick (Mattetastic Lipstick in Ava)

His tips for Autumn and Winter mimic his advice for the corporate look, “This season it’s all about flawless matte skin, big eyes and deep lips” said Napoleon, his favourite lipstick for the cooler months being the Mattetastic Lipstick in Veronica.

That then brought us to the ‘must have product’ every women needs, which is the Auto Pilot Pre-foundation primer – my personal favourite when it comes to Napoleon products.

With an impressive resume boasting 4,500 stores since first opening in 1992, you can’t help but take his advice, because to be successful in this industry for that long means he’s doing something right.

What’s the look this season?

So your takeaway for this coming season’s makeup:

• Flawless matte skin
• Big eyes, using mascara or false lashes
• Statement lips using red, bordeaux and purple.