Friday night is in the air…the weather has finally thawed out and feels sunny and spring-like, which puts me in a great mood for going out with my favourite girls for a few cocktails to celebrate love, life and payday.
For tonight, I wanted to create a sort of ‘natural glamour’ look, so I watched a lot of tutorials on that, gathering particular inspiration from Jodienas on YouTube, who does some great informative videos. Of course I adapted her tips for the make-up I have and shades that suit me. I’m normally pretty much addicted to smoky eyes when I go out, and always wear dark eyeshadow in the evenings, so not to dig out the greys and blacks, and to focus a bit more on lip colour, was a big departure for me!
It’s strange the little comfort zones we get into regarding style but it’s probably a good thing to challenge these and try out different stuff that might suit us better. I was also inspired by Katy Perry, who seems to wear this look well with a balanced, but still defined evening eye and brighter colours on the lips.
Anyway, here’s a breakdown of how I got this look:
Face
Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse foundation ‘008 Light Beige’ – I mentioned this product in my recent ‘drugstore haul’ post. It’s not new to the market by any means, but its new to me, and I’ve never used a mousse formulation for my face before. For the price point, this product performs very well, delivering a hyper-real finish. I’m hoping its mattifying properties will mean I don’t need to squeeze a separate powder compact into my evening clutch!
Sleek Face Contour Kit – another recent buy I mentioned. There’s a very matt bronzing powder, which I used to sculpt under my cheekbones, on my temples and around my jaw line to visually disguise my face shape flaws a little. Also a golden-toned highlight powder, which I used in an elongated ‘C’ shape, joining the tops of my cheekbones out to the temples, and my brow bones. I dislike products that look too heavy and obvious on this area, so this powder suits me, doing just enough to enhance my bone structure.
Mac Blushcreme ‘Posey’ - This is my new make-up addiction. I have a serious problem finding blushes that suit my skin tone. I wanted something pink, but not too fake and ‘dolly’. This colour really makes a mark. I’ve been using an Eyeko Fat Balm to add cheek colour during the winter, and I must say I’ve gotten to really like cream blushers as their so blendable and easy to build up. But the Blushcreme is a very superior formulation. I’ve you just contour with bronzer and skip the blush, your skin can look really flat, so this just gives a nice lift to the overall look, plus if you’re in a rush, you could use this as a lip colour too.
Eyeko Touch Up and Glow Highlighter pen- I used this under the highlighting powder from the Sleek kit, it’s a very natural pinky toned highlight cream in a pen format that goes on really sheer and natural, and I just used it to build up a bit more dimension on my face.
Eyes
Mac Eyeshadows in Phloof!, Shale and Showstopper (limited-edition from the Royal Assets Warm Eyes palette) – Like I mentioned, I wanted a more natural eye than I usually have, but still with enough impact for evening wear and to balance my brighter lips. ‘Phloof!’ is like a paler, shimmery champagne colour that I normally wear as my everyday eyeshadow. I washed it across my lids, blending up into the brow area with a brush, then dipped the point of my little finger in the shadow and pressed it into the inner corners, so there was more impact on this area. I used ‘Shale’ - sort of a purple-grey (Mac describe it as a ‘muted mauve with subtle shimmer’) in the crease, extending it to the outer corners and creating a ‘wing’ shape to the outer edge. I finished with ‘Showstopper’ a matte, bitter-chocolate brown, along my lashline at top and bottom, flicking it at the outer corners and blending it into the wing shape I’d made.
Bourjois Liner Feutre black – Pretty much my go-to liquid liner as its fool-proof felt-tip application allows real control and the black is dark and long-lasting. Normally, I might not have used this product for the look I was aiming for, but as I was wearing false lashes, it was essential for disguising the join. I kept the line thin, thickening it slightly at the edges while making an upwards motion to ‘lift’ the eye.
Eyeko Magic Eyes Mascara ‘Magic Black’ – I’ve pretty much raved about this before, so I won’t go into detail here. Suffice to say its really good at thickening and darkening my lashes, without becoming too clumpy.
Eyelure Girls Aloud strip lashes ‘Nadine’ – I bought a couple of pairs of these lashes when they were on offer, and I’ve been really impressed. They go on nicely and are really durable. I wore the ‘Cheryl’ ones a couple of times already and they’re still in good enough shape to use again, plus the glue it comes with is in a proper re-sealable tube with applicator, not one of those pathetic toothpaste-tube type efforts that dries up halfway through the first night, so you don’t have to buy additional glue. The ‘Nadine’ lashes are a little more natural-look than ‘Cheryl’, and alternate short and long strands. I cut a little off the inner corners for them to fit my eyes – this is always where they should be trimmed if you need to shorten them.
Max Factor Colour Perfection automatic eyeliner ‘Brown 30’ – I skimmed the softer dark-brown crayon along the bottom lashline, inside outer corner of my waterlines, and also used it to gently fill in the sparse areas of my brows. Talk about a multi-tasker!
Lips
Miss Sporty Mini-Me Lipliner ‘Toffee’ – I used this fleshy coloured pencil to just give my lips a bit of definition as I was wearing a proper lipstick over a gloss.
Vaseline Lip Therapy with Rose and Almond Oil – I adore this pink-tinted lip balm and have been wearing it non-stop through the long, harsh winter we’ve suffered through! I used it to prep my lips, as lipsticks can look dry and a little harsh without something underneath, especially when wearing a brighter shade like…
Mac Frost Lipstick ‘Costa Chic’ – I picked this up the other day, wanting to try something new and a bit out of my usual comfort zone in terms of colour. It’s a really bright coral colour, which kind of reminds me of ‘Saved by The Bell’ (is that really bad?!) just that sort of early-90’s flouro! It could be a bit of a tricky colour for some, but I have a light olive skin which hopefully means I can be a shade braver! My friend who was with me when I bought it claimed it made me look ‘a bit like a dizzy secretary’, but I took that as a complement! It’s a lot sheerer with the Vaseline underneath to dilute it. A bit of a departure for me, but I’m actually liking it!
With my hair, I wanted straight with some root volume. I washed last night with just a regular Charles Worthington shampoo (I switch shampoos each time I buy a new bottle) and then I tried some James Brown Scandalous Intensely Glossy Treatment in place of a conditioner. This made my hair fairly shiny, but nothing can disguise the bleach damage from my blonde days, unfortunately. I also finished-rinsed with cold water to encourage flat cuticules. Styled with some Charles Worthington Gloss Polish, which is a shimmery gel you add to damp hair to encourage a shiny finish. I straightened in small sections with my GHD Pure stylers, using some Front Row Stay Cool Heat Defence Spray as I went. I backcombed and sprayed a little at the roots, then finished with a blast of Gliss Hair Repair Colour Protect Shine Tonic. This is a shine spay I loved when I was a teenager, and its pretty good for a budget product – I’ve recently returned to it.
I also used some Sally Hansen Firming Leg Shine lotion as I was braving bare legs for the first time this year! I’ve been using Johnson’s Holiday Skin Light Glow body lotion this week to build a little bit of colour up as well.
Outfit
Navy bandage dress with grey hem – Topshop
Studded bronze and black gladiator sandals – Office
Black patent mock-croc clutch – Primark
Grey stiped fitted blazer – All Saints
Bracelets – various from ASOS and Therapy at House of Fraser
Have a fun and fabulous weekend!
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