Planning your makeup for a night out is just as tricky as picking the right outfit. The holidays are just around the corner, so expect party invites to come in left and right.
Here are easy makeup tips on how to perfect a sultry and glamorous, yet easy-to-do, smoky eye look:
- Skincare
Flawless makeup starts with a well-prepped skin. Start off with a soothing, skin-conditioning toner like Hydrating Face Tonic. Follow with Vitamin Enriched Face Base, an oil-free primer-and-moisturizer-in-one formula that creates a smooth canvas for a seamless makeup application.
- Base
The less layers you put, the more natural and long-lasting your makeup will be, especially in a tropical country like the Philippines. For your base, go for a hybrid product like Intensive Skin Serum Foundation SPF 40—a potent liquid that combines the benefits of a serum, foundation, and sunblock in a single drop. It’s buildable, so you can just add more to areas where more coverage is needed. I recommend using Bobbi Brown’s Full Coverage Face brush to apply.
For dark circles, apply Tinted Eye Brightener on the under eye area and blend using your fingers. If you want more coverage, apply Creamy Concealer as close to the lower lash line as possible and form an inverted triangle towards the center of the cheek. This way, your eyes will look more lifted, unlike when you just follow the eye’s natural shape. For puffiness, apply product below the bag, right where the shadow is. Under eye products are brightening, so this trick will make the area recede less. Blend and set with Retouching Powder. Dust Sheer Finish Pressed Powder all over the face to set and mattify your base.
- Bronzer/contouring
Apply Bronzing Powder at the hollows of the cheeks, starting from the ear towards the corner of the mouth, around the circumference of the face, and the sides of the nose. This instantly warms up and slims down the face by creating an illusion of a more chiseled look. Just make sure to blend harsh lines to make it more natural-looking.
- Brows
A well-groomed pair of arches frames the face, giving you a more polished look. Bold eye makeup is best paired with strong brows, too.
Start with brushing up your brows with a spoolie. Using an angled brush, gently shade them with a matte eyebrow powder duo like Bobbi Brown’s Brow Kit. For a more defined shape, line the lower and/or upper brow with Brow Pencil and use it to draw hair-like strokes to fill in sparse areas.
- Eyes
The trick to smoky eye makeup is to start with a light color and just build it up. Apply Long-Wear Cream Shadow Stick in Taupe all over the lid and blend using your finger. Follow with a medium-colored product like Bobbi Brown’s Eye Shadow in Grey and apply on top. Take a dark brown color like Eye Shadow in Mahogany and sweep it as close to the lash line. Blend afterwards.
Black eyeliner completes a smoky eye. Draw your lines using Long-wear Eye Pencil in Jet, making sure there are no spaces/light areas visible and that the upper and lower lash lines meet when doing a fully-rimmed look. Curl the lashes and apply two to three coats of Intensifying Long-wear Mascara. Start by depositing the product at the bottom part of the lashes and wiggle the wand upwards to achieve length. This will make the eyes look bigger and the lashes fuller.
Put more attention to the eyes by adding shimmer. Take Bobbi Brown’s Eye Shadow in All Spice and gently pat the product onto the center of the lid, just above your eyeliner, using a brush or your ring finger.
- Lips
A dark, bold eye makeup calls for a nude lip. To find the your perfect nude, pick a color that matches your natural lip color or one that’s either two shades lighter or darker.
- Cheeks
Choose a blush that flatters your skin tone and sweep the color on the apples of the cheeks—upwards towards the temples. Try Bobbi Brown’s Blush in Pale Pink.
There you go, simple and easy-to-do beauty tricks for you to try! You don’t always have to stick to neutrals, though, for a night about town. Try experimenting with a bit of color on the lids or keep the eyes muted and pair with a bold lip (I recommend using Bobbi Brown’s Art Stick—a lipstick and lip liner in one. You can even use it as a cream blush, too!).
All products by Bobbi Brown and are available at all Bobbi Brown counters in Rustan’s Makati, Rustan’s Shangri-La Mall, Essenses Rockwell, Rustan’s Ayala Center Cebu, SM Mall of Asia, SM Megamall, SM North Edsa The Block, and Bonifacio High Street Central Square
[Makeup: Tamara Pineda for Bobbi Brown; Model: Samantha Sadhwani; Background music: Vacation Uke by Albis]
