Kate Hudson used to practise her make-up skills on her "poor brother".

The actress recalled childhood memories of using her sibling as a model for her face paint attempts.

While the star didn't reveal whether her guinea pig was brother Oliver Hudson or one of her two half-brothers from her parents' subsequent relationships, she added that she was given free reign when it came to trying out colourful looks.

"My poor brother," she told People. "He was kind enough to be my mannequin, and let me experiment on his face. I'd put blue eye shadow on him and we'd laugh."

Kate likes high fashion make-up like Lady Gaga's, but prefers a natural look herself.

The blonde beauty joked that if she had sexier lips she would be inclined to experiment more with different looks.

"I love that side of make-up: crazy, almost Gaga-ish looks," she said. "But on a daily basis I'm as quick and natural as possible.

"If I had the Angelina Jolie or Scarlett Johansson lips, I'd probably have a lot more fun with lips. But I concentrate more on my eyes. But it depends on every face - and that's what's so fun about being a girl."