Break The Rules Beauty: Bold Eyes, Bright Lips

Can you rock a bright lip WITH a bright eye? I've always gone by the rule of 'eyes or lips' - just the same as the 'legs or cleavage' rule when you go out -  one but never both.

But sometimes, it can be fun to break the rules! So I tried out this bold black and bronze eye with coral red lips to prove that sometimes, sensible goes out the window.

Here's how I broke the rules and what I used:

Base

First up, the base. A heavy, powdery finish would look too much with the other elements, so I chose to go fresh and dewy with the skin.

I used Chanel Lift Lumiere foundation -  this is so lovely, light and hydrating. It's also packed with anti-aging ingredients, which is a total bonus. It offers a slightly higher coverage than their Vitalumiere formulation, so its perfect for night-time or problem skin days. It gives a candlelit glow that's really flattering.

To take down the shine down a bit and set my make-up, a very light dusting of No7 Perfect Light Loose Powder. It's a light-diffusing formula, so you don't get a heavy, caked-on finish. It also contains hyaluronic acid, attracting moisture to the skin -  so you can have a dewy, plumped-up finish without too much shine!

Cheeks

Again, any heavy contouring would tip this look over into 'too much territory', but with my lack of cheekbones, I need something! So to provide a little light definition, I added some MeMeMe Goddess Rocks bronzing powder.

These are gorgeous, pearlescent chunky nuggets of metallic pink, bronze and gold. You can use them separately or swirl a brush over the whole for a bit of a glow - and they're not like bronzing pearls, which get stuck in the brush, drop onto the carpet and cause such a mess. I used a fan brush to make sure that the colour was extra light touch.

To give my skin a fresh finish, I added some of my new favourite No7 Instant Radiance Highlighter. This is a chunky crayon with a lovely creamy finish, and its a soft pinkish-white colour when applied, which is so fresh for spring. Just a gentle swipe will do, and then use your fingertips to blend out any harsh edges.

Eyes

For the bold eye look, I wanted some black for definition but also to introduce some bronze tones to lighten the look up for summer!

I used two shades from the Maybelline MyShadow range - a gorgeous, coppery bronze that I washed over the lid and took along the bottom lash line with a detailing brush, and a charcoal black with a little bit of shimmer.

I used the chocolate brown shade from the Mac Royal Assets palette in 'Warm' over the crease, and pushed it into the corners with a fluffy brush to act as a bridging shade between the black and the bronze.

Going for a slightly winged shape to lift the eyes, the next step was to add the black Maybelline MyShadow over the outer crease and close to the lashline.

After that I used a black cream liner - Urban Decay Ink for Eyes in Zero - on a slanted brush to create a winged liner effect. Went for quite a thick black line to give my eyes the boldness for this look. You can get the same shape by tracing a narrow line close to the lash line, and then a line upwards diagonally from the outer corner, at an angle to meet the tail of your brow.

Then, draw a third connecting line from the outward diagonal back to the lash line - you should end up with a triangle shape that you can then fill in with liner - and you get a perfect wing!

Brows and Lashes

Bright lips need balancing with a strong brow, otherwise your face can look a bit strange. I went for a power-brow look, using the Seventeen Brow's That kit to get a strong shape, and slightly darker arches. The kit contains a tinted wax, a powder, mini brushes, and a pale pink highlighting shade that I dotted along the brow bone using a finger tip.

To get my flutter on, I used ModelCo LashXtend Extreme Black Lenghthening Mascara, which is packed with little fibres to boost the density of your lashes.

 

And for that extra bit of flutter, I applied some of my boldest falsies - these are an Eyelure set, cut down to cover the outer corners only, which really helps to give a cat eye effect. I've used them a few times before which is why they aren't too pristine!

Lips

A dramatic, dark red might have been too much with those eyes, so keep it fresh, I went for more of a bright, coral based red.

When using a bright lipstick, it can be really useful to use a lipliner as well, because getting a precise shape is so much more important - every shake and mistake is amplified. I started with Rimmel Exaggerate Full Colour Lip Liner in shade 024 'Red Diva'. Using the liner to fill in your lips first also helps to keep the colour on for longer.

I then filled in using Bourjois Rouge Edition in 'Fraise Remix' -  this is a gorgeous hot coral red, with a velvet finish.

The Finished Look

Bold black and bronze eyes, winged liner, a power brow and a hot coral lip - this is breaking all the rules for spring and loving it. What beauty rules have you broken recently?