Now that you know all the beauty basics, it's time to divulge the number-one makeup secret that industry insiders have employed from time immemorial. Every look is based on one of four eye/lip combos — light eye/light lip; light eye/dark lip; dark eye/light lip; dark eye/dark lip. It's about balancing your features and mixing and matching. Once you have these "beauty building blocks" down, not only will you be equipped to create any look under the sun, you'll also know which basic combo flatters your features most.

You heard it here first.

Watch the latest video about what to buy for dark skin and how to apply it.

			Look 1: Light Eye/Light Lip It's all about looking natural-fresh, dewy, romantic, radiant. This is a sauntering-through-SoHo-wearing-a-Chloé-sundress look. No-makeup makeup. TIPS: Use matte neutral shadows for an ultra-clean look and shimmery creams for a fresher, more dewy finish. On lips, stick with warm camels, coffees, and toasts — anything with a bit of a golden undertone works.
			Look 2: Light Eye/Dark Lip Almost bare eyes with deep lips are classic and elegant — very 1950s, very ladylike. And if you have a beautiful mouth, or feel like your smile is your best feature, this look might be a trademark waiting to happen! TIPS: Skip shadow altogether and load on the black mascara — so pristine. Now go ahead, punch up your mouth with the deepest, most dramatic shade you can find — burnished plum, true crimson, deep bronze. Just make sure you blot and reapply, so that the color lasts all day. Or night.
			Look 3: Dark Eye/Light Lip Equal parts designer highlights, 7 jeans, and Jimmy Choos, this is the quintessential sexy-party look. And since the spotlight is on your eyes, there's no lip maintenance during the night — so go ahead, kiss that boy till they turn the lights on. TIPS: Contrary to popular belief, smoky doesn't mean only gray or black. Get colorful with purples, emeralds, even maroon — but keep lips subtle with a slick of gold gloss.
			Look 4: Dark Eye/Dark Lip This look is not a game — we're talking deeply serious glamour. This is the girl with the mink stole (it's faux, don't want to ruffle any feathers, as it were) casually strewn across her shoulders, her Versace vixen gown clinging to every curve. TIPS: Now's not the time to be timid, but to avoid looking clownish, make sure you pick eye and lip shades in the same tone. If you're working a shimmery bronze eye, try a golden-chestnut lipgloss. If it's a purple eye, the lip could be an eggplant stain.

Excerpted from "The Beauty of Color" by Iman. Copyright © 2005. Reprinted by permission of Penguin Books.