summary
*out reading*
Painted face
I've recently been buying and experimenting with makeup in preparation for doing my own for the wedding. Usually, I'm completely barefaced, especially at work during the week. I tend to go to the gym in my lunch hour, which makes wearing make-up fairly pointless, and while I like the way I look with makeup on, I dislike the way it feels on my skin.With the wedding in mind, I've made some makeup purchases, notably some super-long-lasting lipsticks and some translucent powder to use on my face. One day a week at work I've been practicing different possible versions of my wedding Look, which I'm sure is puzzling my colleagues.At present, I begin with moisturiser, then foundation, and then powder over that. Today is the first day I've tried the powder, so I'm not sure yet whether it lives up to its claim of making foundation last longer. After the powder, I smile cheesily at the mirror, and dab on a little blush on my cheeks. Did you know there are videos on YouTube demonstrating makeup application? I suppose given the sheer number of videos on YouTube this is not a big surprise, but I had never thought about looking there for ideas. I'm using the blush technique I picked up here.After blush, a little neutral eyeshadow goes on, along with a brown eyeliner along my eyelid. Then I swipe on the long lasting lipstick, let it dry, and pop on the moisturising top coat. For those not in the know, the way those "kiss proof" lipsticks work is with a bottom layer of the colour, which you let dry onto the lips, and a clear moisturising coat which you can reapply throughout the day to keep the colour look shiny. While it's true that the lipstick doesn't come off on people, if you've just applied the moisturising coat you might get people rearing back from you and wiping off the tacky residue you've left on their skin.I find it very hard to judge what colour a lipstick is going to look like on my lips just from looking at the bottle. While I'm not above surreptitiously smearing a bit of a tester lipstick onto my finger and then my lips, that method doesn't really work with these lipsticks - the little bit of colour you smear on doesn't come off, so you're stuck with very odd looking lips. I ended up buying three different shades of a Max Factor lipstick which I found on special - the first shade was quite a dark purply pink, and not quite the subtle look I was after. The second shade looked pretty when smeared on my hand, but was in fact far too subtle when applied to my lips - it looked as if I was wearing a clear gloss. Irritated, I tried layering the two shades, but the end result was still a bit purple for my taste. The third shade is a winner, I think - a pleasant deep pink which goes well with the rest of the Look. Colours aside though, I'm really pleased with how this brand lasts, and it doesn't feel like I've smeared liquid concrete on my lips, which is always a bonus.In order to get this maquillage off my face, I've been using some makeup removal wipes, which deal with even the very determined lipstick. I'm rather pleased with the ten minute little routine I've developed for week mornings - I feel confident that given a more leisurely preparation time, I can create a very satisfactory wedding Look, and something that will fit my criteria of subtle, long lasting, and looks-pretty-in-photos.
I've recently been buying and experimenting with makeup in preparation for doing my own for the wedding. Usually, I'm completely barefaced, especially at work during the week. I tend to go to the gym in my lunch hour, which makes wearing make-up fairly pointless, and while I like the way I look with makeup on, I dislike the way it feels on my skin.With the wedding in mind, I've made some makeup purchases, notably some super-long-lasting lipsticks and some translucent powder to use on my face. One day a week at work I've been practicing different possible versions of my wedding Look, which I'm sure is puzzling my colleagues.At present, I begin with moisturiser, then foundation, and then powder over that. Today is the first day I've tried the powder, so I'm not sure yet whether it lives up to its claim of making foundation last longer. After the powder, I smile cheesily at the mirror, and dab on a little blush on my cheeks. Did you know there are videos on YouTube demonstrating makeup application? I suppose given the sheer number of videos on YouTube this is not a big surprise, but I had never thought about looking there for ideas. I'm using the blush technique I picked up here.After blush, a little neutral eyeshadow goes on, along with a brown eyeliner along my eyelid. Then I swipe on the long lasting lipstick, let it dry, and pop on the moisturising top coat. For those not in the know, the way those "kiss proof" lipsticks work is with a bottom layer of the colour, which you let dry onto the lips, and a clear moisturising coat which you can reapply throughout the day to keep the colour look shiny. While it's true that the lipstick doesn't come off on people, if you've just applied the moisturising coat you might get people rearing back from you and wiping off the tacky residue you've left on their skin.I find it very hard to judge what colour a lipstick is going to look like on my lips just from looking at the bottle. While I'm not above surreptitiously smearing a bit of a tester lipstick onto my finger and then my lips, that method doesn't really work with these lipsticks - the little bit of colour you smear on doesn't come off, so you're stuck with very odd looking lips. I ended up buying three different shades of a Max Factor lipstick which I found on special - the first shade was quite a dark purply pink, and not quite the subtle look I was after. The second shade looked pretty when smeared on my hand, but was in fact far too subtle when applied to my lips - it looked as if I was wearing a clear gloss. Irritated, I tried layering the two shades, but the end result was still a bit purple for my taste. The third shade is a winner, I think - a pleasant deep pink which goes well with the rest of the Look. Colours aside though, I'm really pleased with how this brand lasts, and it doesn't feel like I've smeared liquid concrete on my lips, which is always a bonus.In order to get this maquillage off my face, I've been using some makeup removal wipes, which deal with even the very determined lipstick. I'm rather pleased with the ten minute little routine I've developed for week mornings - I feel confident that given a more leisurely preparation time, I can create a very satisfactory wedding Look, and something that will fit my criteria of subtle, long lasting, and looks-pretty-in-photos.