He's worked with some of the country's most beautiful stars but now make-up artist Car Ryan is turning his attention to the women of Darlington. He talks to Jenny Needham.

IT'S a long time since I've had the undivided attention of an attractive 31-year-old man, even longer since one has stared attentively at my face for upwards of an hour.

Even more flatteringly, this is a man who has been up close and personal with some of the most beautiful women on the planet.

My companion is Carl Ryan, make-up artist to the stars - and much more down-to-earth mortals - and he's doing his best to bring my make-up routine into the 21st century.

He succeeds. An hour later I'm looking at a face in the mirror which looks younger and brighter, with eyes subtly shaded and eyelashes touched by mascara for the first time in a decade. But then Carl has had lots of practice.

After working on stage in the West End for seven years, he decided to change tack and put his degree in fashion and make-up to use. His talent for making ordinary people beautiful and beautiful people stunning meant he soon rose up the ladder. Carl's work now includes doing the make-up for OK and Hello! magazine shoots - though he declines to gossip about any of the celebrities - and he makes frequent television appearances. He also does a lot of teaching with Saks.

"My initial interest stemmed from my theatre days," he says. "I had to make myself up every day and became quite adept at it. Then, when I did some market research, I discovered that a lot of women have no idea how to apply their cosmetics correctly or efficiently. I'm just trying to address women's needs, bearing in mind that most women don't have an awful lot of time."

Carl believes passionately that make-up does make a difference. "We live in a very, very superficial age and, like it or not, people do judge you by how you look," he says.

Carl comes up from London every couple of months for one-hour, one-to-one make-up sessions with clients at The Beauty Room on Woodland Road, Darlington.

"For first ten to 15 minutes I just need to find out what you want, how you see yourself, rather than how I see you," he tells me. "It's important to have that vibe because at the end of the day, you do not want to walk out of the door looking like someone else."

I show him the sad contents of my make-up bag - sun protection cream, cream foundation, blusher and brush, eye pencil, deep pink lipstick - the same for evening, but just laid on a bit more thickly. Carl isn't critical, but immediately suggests additions.

Use the sun protection cream, by all means, he says, but don't miss out on toner, something I've always avoided as it always left my already dry skin feeling dryer and tighter. "Then you've been using the wrong one," he says. "A bad toner can strip the skin, but a good one moisturises and balances the skin. It's essential."

As a freelance make-up artist Carl only puts his name to one range of products, the Spanish Skeyndor range, and suggests the elastin toner. "It's got natural marine-based firming properties and will slowly rebalance the skin," says Carl. After two weeks of using it, I'm a total convert.

Then it's on to foundation. "This is just there to provide a blank canvas," says Carl. "Never try to darken your skin with foundation; use blushers for that," he says. For older skin, he suggests light reflective, rather than matt foundation, a cream rather than powder. "Powder just sits in all the lines and makes them look worse," he says. "And you should never use foundation on the neck."

For blusher Carl recommends a "double blush" technique, a darker colour under the cheekbones, a little lighter tone above.

Then the eyes. Mine rarely see an eyeshadow brush but a dash of browny purple on the lid and lighter just under the eyebrow looks sophisticated and subtle. Mascara enhances the eyes, but Carl warns against the waterproof version. "It's impossible to get off and you'll end up pulling around the delicate skin around the eye. The skin round eyes is wafer thin anyway and eyes, mouth, neck and hands will age first."

Carl believes a good skincare routine is a much better way to younger skin than more invasive procedures. "I've got lines there but I don't believe in injections or things like that. If you freeze muscles the other ones will just have to work harder to compensate for it. In the long term you end up increasing the ageing process instead of decreasing it."

Carl recommends Skeyndor serums as a first step to better skin. "Eight weeks on, I promise you, you will see a difference," he says, "and at the end of the day, make-up only looks as good as the skin it's sitting on."

"I'm not in the business of changing what women do, just showing them how to enhance their faces. What we want people to say is 'you've got lovely cheek bones', or 'you look nice and healthy' - if they comment on your make-up, you've failed."

* For an appointment with Carl contact The Beauty Room, 6-8 Woodland Road, Darlington (01325) 484858. His next available dates are September 15 and 16. Skeyndor products are available exclusively in the North-East from The Beauty Room.