Make up should be fun. And you should make your make up work for you.

This is the underlying philosophy of Jill Lowe International, a home-grown image consultancy company.

At a recent make up class held at the company's headquarters in Robinson Tower, its founder Ms Lowe taught participants various tips and techniques that would help them achieve their desired image.

The four-hour course covered the basics of skincare and the essentials of make up. Each individual's skin was also scanned by an ozone-ray scanner that revealed any underlying problems. A series of products were then recommended to fit each skin type.

It is no secret that many make up courses double up as showcases of a company's products, and in this respect, Jill Lowe International is no different.

However, there was little hard-selling - Ms Lowe simply recommended suitable products for the participants' skin types, had them thoroughly clean off the make up they were wearing before commencing on the make up section of the course.

She was also candid about her own (surprisingly simple) skincare regimen, and told the participants that most of them did not have any serious skin problems which could not be addressed by sufficient sleep and proper nutrition.

"All you need," she told one lady after scanning her face, "is three days of solid sleep, and lots of fruits and vegetables. And all these (pimples) will start to heal."

To me, she advised, "Just go on doing whatever it is you are doing - just avoid processed food and get enough rest."
(For someone who has been harangued by salesgirls on how terrible her skin was and how she needed certain expensive products to salvage her complexion, such advice was certainly a welcome change!)

The make up session itself was an eye-opener. Ms Lowe selected a participant to act as the model on whom she demonstrated the various techniques. She showed how to apply concealor to camouflage eye discolourations, how to apply and blend foundation, and various ways of applying eyeshadow (different techniques for those with and without double eyelids).

I appreciated the fact that each participant was provided with a set of clean brushes, cotton pads and various other tools - no worries of poor hygiene here!

Ms Lowe also revealed an interesting fact about eyebrows. I never knew that the shape of one's eyebrows could so drastically affect the impression one gave. Want to look sweet, feminine and demure?

Or do you want to appear authoritative, intelligent and competent? You just need to draw your eyebrows differently to subtly change the image you present.

The same thing goes for lipstick. As old-fashioned as lipliner may be, it is actually a very useful tool in creating various moods.

The transformations I witnessed in the make up class were astounding.

The best part of all was that Ms Lowe provided suggestions, upon request, on how you could customize your make up routine to suit your lifestyle.

For example, it doesn't matter if you do not have the time (or patience) to patiently blend foundation in the morning - a good pressed powder will do.

However, don't expect instant miracles from the course - some of the techniques taught require lots of practice before you can achieve them successfully, particularly if you are an absolute newbie to make up.

Even so, it was a useful, eye-opening experience. Each participant was also given a goodie bag consisting of some make up items in their personalised colours, so that they could continue to practice at home.

However, the fact that the class is conducted in a group does mean that one might get less personal attention, particularly if the class size is large.

Verdict: Best for those who are stuck in an image rut - this class equips you with the knowledge of the techniques that will help you portray the image you desire.