Today's question comes from Michelle M. out of Wyomissing, Pennsylvania:
"I love seeing color used in makeup... like completely unexpected color... but, I guess I feel like I need a way to ease into it, to use stand-out color but not have a wild looking face. Is there a way to use bold colors that look somewhat natural?"
Excellent question. In fact, this question is related to one of the most common things I hear: "I love your colorful makeup, but I just can't wear color." I get this all the time, especially when I do vivid, wild makeup. Here's the thing: I wasn't born wearing colorful makeup. In fact, I didn't start wearing it overnight, it was a progression. So, Michelle, here's what we're going to do: your questions is going to be answered twofold, part today and part next week on Follower Friday. Congrats! You hit the nail on the head for so many women's makeup concerns! Today I will address the issue of actually wearing color, and give you a starting point to progress from the au naturale to colorful makeup. Next week, I'll explore varying ways to use bold, unexpected colors without looking like you stepped out of the circus. Here we go!
What you will need:
- Tinted moisturizer (Philosophy The Supernatural is my favorite)
- Concealer (Benefit Erase Paste reigns supreme)
- Powder (Sephora's Mineral loose powder today)
- Bronzer (Today I used Wet n Wild Ultimate Minerals Bronzer in #167, Amber Glow)
- Highlighter (I used Wet 'n' Wild MegaGlo Illuminating Powder in Catwalk Pink)
- Pinky-plum colored blush (I used Estee Lauder Tender Blush in #660 Plum Nuance)
- Light, neutral eyeshadow (Today was MAC's frost eye shadow in Naked Lunch)
- Eyeshadow duo (or separate colors) containing a shimmery, warm pink and a shimmery, pinky-brown shade (I used Clinique High Impact Color Surge Eyeshadow Duo in Strawberry Fudge)
- Black inner rim eyeliner (Today I used POP Beauty In Liner in No 1 in Black; this is still my absolute favorite!)
- Shimmery purple eyeliner and shimmery gold eyeliner (I used the Al Dente and Unicorno shades, respectively, from the tokidoki Brillante Glitter Eyeliner Set)
- Lengthening dark mascara (I used Maybelline Lash Stiletto Voluptuous Waterproof Mascara in Very Black)
- Sparkly pink lip gloss (I tried out Tarino Tarantino Sparklicity Gloss in Parade)
- Vivid medium or dark pink lip stick ( used one of my favorites, Tarte LipSurgence Natural Matte Lip Stain in Lively)
Instructions:
Today's challenge is all about progressing into using color in your makeup. First and foremost, you have to decide what color you want to start exploring first. Most people can't dive feet-first into a wide variety of color (especially vivid colors!) all out once. After all, imagine one day arriving at work or school, or even saying good morning to your significant other or family, with your makeup drastically different from what you typically wear. You might not get the reaction you were looking for. This can be discouraging, and it may lead you back into the world of boring makeup. My biggest advice for starting out with using color is to think about what you wear on a daily basis. What color is most prominent in your wardrobe? When you're thinking about this, keep in mind that black, brown, grey, tan, white, etc., is not color! You may not wear color daily, but what color do you wear the most often? Whatever color it is, this is your best bet for trying out color in your makeup. This shade is something you already know you like, and you know it looks good on you, so it may be a lot easier to coordinate it into your makeup. For today, I decided to use one of my favorite colors, and in keeping with our theme for the week, it's pink! Once you pick your color, it's time to progress!
To start off, apply your base. I went with my standard base of tinted moisturizer, concealer, a dusting of powder, bronzer and highlighter to contour the cheekbones, and, of course some shimmery pinky-plum blush on the apples of the cheeks. For the first step in your progression, which can be your first day entering into color or even your first week (however long it takes you to begin to adjust), begin with a soft application. Something subtle. I started with my eyes. I applied a shimmery neutral eye shadow on the entire eyelid, up to the brow bone and into the inner corner. For my eye color, I opted to go with an eyeshadow duo. This helps you to pick two colors that you know work together. For my eyeshadow duo , I selected a shimmery pink shade with a coordinating pinky-brown color. I applied the pink shade to the eyelid, starting at the inner corner and extending to mid-lid. I then worked the pink shade into the entire crease, including extending the color up above the crease outward to just past the outer corner of the eye. (Check out yesterday's post for instructions on this) I then applied the pinky-brown shade along the eyelid from where the pink shade ended at the center lid to the outer corner. I applied black inner rim eyeliner to the inner rims of the eyes to give them some definition. (Check out my Moody Makeup post for inner rim lining tips!) I finished the eyes with one coat of the lengthening black mascara to the upper lashes only.
To slowly edge into the overall colorful lock, I applied a shimmery pink lip gloss to the lips. As you can see from the first set of photos above, the look is more natural, with a subtle hint of color. If you are the kind of person that typically wears a bare-faced look, this is a good way to slowly start working color into your daily routine.
When you're ready to make your next step of progression into color, start off with the base and eye steps above. A good way to make your next step is to add more emphasis on the eyes. For this step, I applied a medium line of the purple shimmery eyeliner along the top lash line, around the outer corner of the eye, and along the lower lash line to the center of the eye. I then applied the gold shimmery eyeliner to the inner corner of the eyes and along the bottom lash line to meet the purple eyeliner at the center of the eye. This adds a bit of shimmer and a touch of color. I finished by adding a second coat of mascara to the upper eyelashes and one coat to the bottom. As you can see in the second set of photos, this makes the eyes pop without over-doing it.
Ready to take another step? A natural progression would be to build off of what you've already established above and add a vivid lipstick . After following the steps above, I picked a bright medium-pink hue. As you can see in the third set of photos, the color just makes the lips stand out so much more, and it's a good transition into something a little bit brighter to wake up the face. If you're not quite ready to go with this bright lip color, you can start off with a lighter shade and slowly work your way up.
If you're brave enough to all of these steps from the beginning, go for it! Be sure to follow along next week for Follower Friday, when I'm going to talk about adding different pops of color in unexpected places. See you then!
Share your photos and experiences, and show me your best pink makeup for Breast Cancer Awareness Month! Post your photos, ask any questions you may have, or share any ideas you want me to try our via reply post or Email Me!
See you tomorrow for Day 15 of The Great Makeup Challenge!
Note: All products I recommended above are available from Sephora, Ulta, your local department store, your local drug store, or through Amazon.com.
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