This Spring I am putting away all of my smoky-eye, smudgy, dark make-up and going light. A lot of the casual looks I pull together don't go with a fully made-up face so I am going minimalist... although it takes just as much time. (and just as much make-up) I am in love with peaches and blush pinks right now... so here is how I put it together:
PREPPING:
After toner and moisturizer, I prep my face with
NARS foundation primer. This leaves a thin layer of silicone on your face that fills up all the pores and imperfections so that your foundation and color go on smoothly and naturally. I've tried a couple of primers but my favorite is still the NARS. Then I use
Laura Mercier's tinted moisturizer in Fawn. This LM tint is light and sheer but comes on dewey and gives my skin a healthy glow. The combination of these two items is perfect for the flawless skin look during the day! For nighttime, you can replace the tinted moisturizer with your favorite foundation. For me though, I don't like heavy foundations so I save that for special occasions. On a regular night out I stick with the tinted moisturizer but I set it with Chanel loose powder.
HIGHLIGHTS:
My favorite base for the eyes is the
Christian Dior Skinflash. It is kind of like a concealer and highliter in one. The brush is a little bit hard to use, so I only use it to apply the skinflash on my entire eye area (lash line to browline) with a few strokes then I blend in with my pinky finger. I put a small amount under my eye too, to get rid of darkness underneath the eyes. Just this much of the skinflash immediately opens up the eye area and brightens it up!
CHEEKS:
On the cheeks I like to use a combination of two things. Sometimes I use one or the other, and for nighttime I use both (cream blush first, then set with powder blush)
My favorite cream blush of all time has to be the
NARS Multiple Stick. For Spring, I've chosen South Beach. This is as easy as make-up gets, just a couple of swipes across your cheekbones then blend with your fingers.
Another favorite of mine is the
Benefit blush in Georgia. Again, my main theme for this Spring is peach so this is pretty much the centerpiece. I apply it to the apples of my cheeks for a flush of color. For a more dramatic look, I add Benefit bronzer in Hoola at the hollows of my cheek and brush upwards towards my ear. This creates a highlight and gives the cheeks more depth. (Which is great for days I'm feeling bloated ~.~)
EYES:
With the peachy cheeks being the centerpiece, I like to keep the eyes simple. They've already been highlighted with skinflash (for a flawless, satin finish in skin tone). I just add a couple of strokes of
Chanel Ruban Perle in Moonlight to accentuate the highlighted eyes. (In the evening I like to use Sunlight. I know, it's backwards, but it really works with the look :P)
Then, again keeping it simple, I've ditched all of my eyelines and I go straight to Mascara. My favorite is
Shu Uemura Basic Mascara because it glides on smoothly without and clumps and adds just the right amount of length and thickness.
A brow brush is essential for flawless lashes: first to get rid of any clumps and second to separate each lash for a natural look.
LIPS:
The only variation I have with my looks lately are for my lips. This is really to match any mood or outfit.
For casual days, I put on a couple of layers of
Too Faced Lip Injection. The plumping effect has pretty much worn off on me but I love the naturally flushed color it gives my lips. Because the "stinging" brings more bloodflow to your lips (hence making them plump) this also results in a naturally pink pout. It's also great to keep your lips moist all day!
For dressier days, I like to do a completely nude lip. The best equipment to do this is by
Scott Barnes: a combination of his lip pencil and lip slick which will give you a solidly nude (but glossy) pout.
For my denim days I've fallen in love with
Shu Uemura's Sweet Lip Gloss in Orchid Candy. Maybe I love the way these glosses smell more than anything but they are a good upgrade to Lancome's Juicy Tubes.
