This look is a brown smokey eye which I have been loving lately. Even though I have hooded eyes, I find that I can really work with a smokey eye because if it goes wrong I can just blend it out! I love brown smokey eyes more than black smokey eyes as it looks like I've been punched in the eye when I try to recreate a black smokey eye.
I start off with the Clinique anti-blemish solutions clarifying lotion. I then moisturise with the dramatically different moisturising gel. My routine does have a few Clinique products as I find they don't react with my skin and break me out like a lot of brands do.
I jumped on the bandwagon and got the Nivea men post shave balm. After seeing a lot of beauty gurus say how well it worked as a primer, I had to try it for myself! Now I do switch up between this and the Clinique superprimer universal primer. This is a sample I got with my foundation from them. I find my makeup lasts just as long with both of these, but I tend to be less oily with the post shave balm and I find I'm not having to powder as often as I normally do during the day.
Once I've primed my face, I use the Clinique anti-blemish solutions foundation. For Christmas I got a beauty blender and I love how my foundation now applies. I'm over the moon with my beauty blender and will definitely be buying more in the future. It gives such a great finish and doesn't leave marks on my face like a brush does. This foundation is great, the coverage is amazing without looking cakey, it has the properties in it which help to fight spots and it doesn't feel heavy on the skin. I wear the shade 01 fresh alabaster which is the lightest shade and matches me perfectly. I set my foundation with the soap and glory kick ass instant retouch pressed powder. This is a translucent powder and doesn't add any colour to my skin.
I recently got the seventeen define and conquer contour kit in the shade fair. This is a great contour kit and it isn't that expensive. For my pale skin it works well and doesn't look dirty or muddy which I found the benefit hoola bronzer did. In the pan it looks very orange and I was actually scared to use this as a colleague of mine recommended it- she's just as pale as me! It doesn't look orange at all on the skin which made me really happy and I'm glad I got this kit. I use the makeup revolution vivid baked blush in all I think about is you. This is a very natural looking blush which can be built up if I want a more intense colour, but never makes me look like a doll. I don't always use a highlighter but when I do I use the makeup revolution hidden lights. This came in the advent calendar they did at Christmas and I love it. It's not over the top but still adds that great highlight. When I got the advent calendar (as I got it when it became £20, instead of £45) I opened it as soon as I got home as I couldn't wait!
After my base is done, I move onto my eyes. I always use a primer and for Christmas I got the Urban Decay original primer potion. This stuff doesn't budge! I have super oily eyelids but with this stuff, my eye makeup lasts all day! To even out my eyelids, I use the MAC paint pot in painterly. This acts as a nice, even base and gives my shadows something to stick too. I always start with a transition shade in my crease. This just helps to blend everything together once I've applied the shadows. Once I have applied my transition shade in the crease, I go in with the lid colour. This tends to be a light, shimmer shade as I find it makes my eyes pop and works better with a smokey eye. Sometimes I use a light, matte shade but I mostly use a shimmer colour. Once I've applied the shimmer shade all over my lid, I take the same blending brush I applied the transition shade with and start to blend this out. This makes it easier to blend the darker shade. I then go in with a dark brown shade and start on the outer corner of my eye, usually in a V shape. After I have applied that, I go back to my blending brush and start using back and forth motions. I go back to the darker colour and add a bit more to intensify this shade. I then go back and blend it out. I repeat this step till I have the intensity I desire. Once I have the amount of colour I want, I go back with the lighter brown shade I used as the transition colour and blend everything together.
For brows I use the NYX micro brow in chocolate. This is great at outlining the brows and then I fill them in with the duo brow powder from freedom cosmetics. I haven't tried the Anastasia Beverly Hills duo brow powder but I'd say it's a dupe for it as it looks exactly the same! The shade I use is medium brown. For mascara I switch between the No7 velvet lash (their newest mascara) which I wear at work and the Clinique High Impact mascara. This is also a sample which I got along with the primer when I brought my foundation. I love both of these mascaras as they both give volume and length. The only difference is that the No7 makes the lashes feel soft rather than feeling like you have a lot of product on or making the lashes feel stiff.
Depending if I'm having a busy day or not, I will set my face with the makeup revolution oil control fixing spray. I've mentioned this setting spray before and I love it, would 100% recommend it for anyone with oily skin!
Xoxo
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