Dressing up for Chinese New Year is something that is expected for those who celebrate it.

With bright colours and splashes of red, gold and who knows what else, it is only common sense that dictates us to keep our make up simple and sweet for the season.

Otherwise you could look like you have taste — bad taste, that is. We will walk you through the steps of what you should apply on your face this Chinese New Year.

And while this is the year of the tiger, you would not want to be mistaken for one.

1. Apply foundation all over your face — a liquid one would provide the best coverage. Then, dust on loose powder to ensure that it stays all day long.

This is pertinent as you would be going from place to place visiting relatives and the last thing you would want is for your make up to get all streaky and smeared.

2. Start on your eyes. Try to use waterproof eye make up as much as possible for the same reasons as above. Use a neutral colour, and cover your whole eyelid up to your brow bone.

Then pick a darker colour from the same family and apply it from your lash line up to the crease. While picking
the colours, remember that less is more.

3. Line your upper lashline with a dark brown eyeliner for a softer look or a black one for a slightly more dramatic effect.

Then, curl your eyelashes with an eye lash curler and coat your lashes with mascara for a flirty effect. Fake eyelashes work too but go for the natural ones and not the 5 inch ones that look like feathers!

4. Use a blusher or a bronzer and sweep it lightly over your cheeks, following your cheek bones. When picking up the blush with the brush, make sure to tap the brush lightly over a tissue to shake off excess powder of you could end up looking like a clown.

5. With this look, you can choose either to play up or play down your lips as the rest of your face should still look quite natural. Buff your lips to get rid of dry skin and then apply foundation on your lips.

6. After applying foundation, line your lips with a lipliner closest to the lipstick colour you plan to use. Then apply your lipstick.

Blot and reapply. If your lipstick is a light colour, then you can opt to add on a layer of gloss. If it runs more towards deep red, gloss would just make it look quite obscene.

7. For a professional finish, highlight your face strategically, like your nose, cheeks and browbone. Blend properly! This is not advised if you don't know what a highlighter is.

Chinese New Year's must haves in your handbag are your lip colour, oil blotters and your press powder. After a long day of visiting, you will probably need it. If possible, hide a small vial of perfume as well.