How to Wear Makeup That Doesn’t Look Like Makeup.

February 8, 2011 | 31 Responses

As much as I love wearing my bright eyeshadows and bold lipsticks, my boyfriend doesn’t appreciate the look as much as my beauty blogger friends do. The terms “clownish” and “’80s” have been thrown around a few times. Hrmph. I’m not bitter. Anyways.

Source: Style.com

Lucky for us, the no makeup look is so on trend this Spring (and forever). It is a versatile look that can take you through your day in school or the office without scaring the boys. While I wish that I naturally look this good without makeup, there is work to be done before I get there. It really isn’t that difficult to do, and it only takes five steps from being scary to looking cute.

#1 — Tame the Brow Beast, or Fill In Your Non-Existent (air quotes) Brows.

If you have sparse or very light brows, fill them in with a pencil or brow powder. I still love my MAC Brun eyeshadow and MAC Spiked Eye Brows. If you have a lot of brow hairs (me), use a brow gel to keep the beast in place and fill in any bald spots. You are trying to get natural looking brows, so go in with a light hand.

#2 — Fake a Good Complexion the Right Way.

Unless you’re a model who doesn’t have a single imperfection or dark circles (and in that case, stay far far away from me!), then grab your favourite concealer now. I like theBalm Time Balm and MAC Pro Longwear concealer. Apply it under the eyes, all over the lids, and around the nose to conceal darkness and red areas.

If you want to, you can also apply a little bit of foundation mixed with a highlighter like NARS Orgasm Illuminator or MAC Gold Studio Finish Powder to get a glow all over. Again, minimal foundation is key to fake good skin. You might want to invest in a good brush like the Sigma F80 or F82 brushes to buff in that foundation.

#3 — Go Forth and Glow Like Edward Cullen.

Just kidding. You want to glow like JLo, and not like that vampire. Blush is another thing that’ll depend on your skin’s undertones. Pick pink if you have more pink in your skin, and choose peach if you are more yellow. On my skin (NC35 – NC40), I use either MAC Peaches or MAC Cantaloupe (PRO) blush, and top it with a sheer highlighter with a low amount of shimmer. A satin (translation: skin like) finish is what we’re after. If you have a cream blush, that’s even better. Apply to the apples of the cheeks to achieve the most natural look.

#4 — You Can Always Have More Lashes.

There’s nothing like a clumpy mascara to ruin a minimal makeup look. Apply a great non-clumping mascara to your top and bottom lashes. Rimmel Glam’Eyes and CoverGirl Volume Exact mascaras are my drugstore picks. Apply brown eyeliner to the upper waterline to make it look like you have more lashes at the root.

#5 — Wear a “Your Lips But Better” Colour.

Finish off the look with a very sheer lip product (lipstick, balm, gloss, or stain) that mimics your natural lip colour. I used Revlon Life’s A Peach lipgloss all over my lips.

Aaaand you’re done! Easy, right? Now step out of the house and tell everyone: “Why yes, I woke up this morning looking this fabulous, thank you!”

Wearing My “No Makeup” Look

I really like this fresh face and I might start doing it more often. Do you wear the no makeup look? Doesn’t it make you want Spring to arrive now, pleez can haz nao?

Mad Men Inspired Look (with Two Different Lip Colours)!

October 29, 2010 | 23 Responses

Today I decided to do sort of a Mad Men inspired look for a special occasion. BF and I are celebrating our 6th anniversary together and I wanted to glam it up with the hair and makeup. I have to say that this is one of my favourite looks that I’ve showcased on this blog so far. I really liked this look, or shall I say, these looks, since I am showing two different options for lip colour. I ended up wearing the rosy lips out to our dinner date because BF doesn’t like bold lips.

Swatches (from left): MAC All That Glitters, Urban Decay Buck, MAC Coquette, Revlon Soft Rose Lipstick, MAC Party Line Lipstick

Get the Look

For the eyes, fill in your brows with powder or a pencil (MAC Spiked Eye Brows). Then, pat a shimmery beige eyeshadow to the lid (MAC All That Glitters). Using a pointed crease brush (MAC 226), apply a medium matte brown eyeshadow (Urban Decay Buck) to the natural crease and lightly blend. Using a small detail brush, pick up a matte taupe (MAC Coquette) and trace along the lower edge of the crease to deepen the colour. Using the same colour, apply to the lower lash line to add a subtle shadow.

Start lining the eyes with a creamy black pencil (Urban Decay Zero) but do not wing out the colour. Before the pencil has had a chance to set, drag the pencil to create a wing and also to soften the line. This will give the winged eyeliner a softer look, and at the same time, create a guideline for the gel eyeliner. Line again with a black gel eyeliner (MAC Blacktrack). Apply black waterproof mascara (CoverGirl Lashblast) to the top and bottom lashes. If desired, add false lashes (Ardell 110).

For the cheeks, lightly dust with a low shimmer bronzer (Annabelle Haute Gold) to get an over all glow (on forehead and chin, too). Contour the hollows of the cheeks with a dark matte brown (MAKE UP FOR EVER #17 Espresso). Finish with a rose blush (Chanel Rose Temptation Joues Contraste Blush).

For version 1 of the lips, first line with a berry lip liner (Annabelle Burgundy). Fill in the lips with a berry lipstick (MAC Party Line).

For version 2 of the lips, apply a rose lipstick (Revlon Soft Rose). Easy, right?

Read on for more pictures!

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MAC Hello Kitty Stately Black FOTD: Smoky Eyes with a Fresh Twist.

October 23, 2010 | 8 Responses

I mentioned in my last look that my makeup is rather uninspired at the moment. Well ladies, I am back! Yesterday, I downloaded so many face charts from MAC’s previous collections that I wish I could paint all of them on my face at once. I recreated another MAC Hello Kitty face chart (in case you missed it, here was the first), called Stately Black. I personally liked how this looks in person. It was a smoky eye with a fresh twist. I never thought I could wear punchy pink lips with a smoky eye, but obviously this has proven me wrong! Also, please forgive my weird choice for brow highlight. The sun was in hiding today, and well, it was kinda hard to judge the colours on my skin. So, let’s get to it!

Swatches (from left): Urban Decay Naked, Urban Decay Creep, MAC Carbon, MAC Undercurrent Pearlglide (this will be repromoted in MAC Holiday 2010 collection! )

Get the Look

For the eyes, apply a sparkly dark grey (UD Creep) using a fluffy shader brush all over the lid stopping short of the crease. Blend out well using a fluffy blending brush (MAC 217). Smudge a matte black eyeshadow (MAC Carbon) to the upper lash line. Clean off your smudger brush, then take the dark grey again and lightly apply to the lower lash line. Highlight the brow with a matte light beige (UD Naked). Line the lower waterline with a sparkly turquoise (MAC Undercurrent Pearlglide) for an unexpected punch of colour. Curl your lashes, and apply volumizing mascara (Marcelle Power Volume Mascara) to the top and bottom lashes.

For the cheeks, buff a low shimmer warm pink (MAC Dainty Mineralize Blush) to the apples of the cheeks.

For the lips, go with a medium pink (Revlon Carnation Colorburst Lipstick) and top with a sparkly sheer gloss (Chanel Maline Glossimer).

Read on for more pictures!

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