Cheryl Cole? Back on the X Factor? Oh yes. For one week only it might be, as Gary Barlow's helper at judges' houses, but a single glance and you can tell she means to make a lasting impression. L’Oreal’s hair and make-up artist Lisa Laudat, who created the look, agrees.

‘Cheryl takes her position on the show very seriously. If any of us were in that position we would want to feel the part too,’ she told ELLE.

‘Cheryl’s very thoughtful about how she looks – she has strong ideas about what she wants,’ says Laudat. ‘She wanted to be chic yet cool so we chose a deep, dark lipstick – L’Oreal Paris Color Riche lipstick in Plum Passion – which is very on-trend’. Although Cole doesn't tend to look to the catwalks for inspiration, ‘She has an instinct with these things, about how she wants to look and feel on a particular day.'

Cole’s can’t-live-without-it beauty product, according to Laudat, is her L’Oreal Paris Glam Bronze Duo for Brunettes. And of course she loves lots of definition around her eyes. ‘She’s been using False Lash Telescopic mascara for years and years,’ says Laudat. ‘In fact, she got me into using it!’

With a sturdy, almost spiky, wand you can really get into the root of the lashes – it’s so easy that Cole tends to make-up her own eyes, ‘Because, like anyone, she knows her own face better than anyone else,’ says Laudat. Lisa recommends pulling the wand up and in, rather than up and out. ‘It opens up the eyes,’ she says.

To continue the elegant feel to her hair, instead of the tumbling waves Cole often wears, Laudat pulled her brunette hair into a bun. She prepped the hair with L’Oreal Paris Studio Line Silk & Gloss Volume Mousse to give texture and shine before securing into a ponytail on top of her head. ‘I then split the ponytail in two, twisting one half one way and securing with pins, then pulling the other half the other way and securing.’ This technique gives the bun extra oomph.

The show was shot a month ago but the look, complete with the romantic goth-esque lip, is perfect for this time of year. ‘The hair and make-up is usually guided by the outfit and it’s always really new,' says Laudat. Cheryl wore monochrome black and white – a trend we've also spotted just this week on the spring summer 2013 catwalks.

The X Factor is on ITV tomorrow night at 8pm.

Click to subscribe to ELLE magazine...