Carrie Underwood Inspired Prom Look

I love when clients have an idea of what they want done. Something as simple as colors they know that they would like on their eyes, or even photos. My client had saved a few photos of Carrie Underwood to show me. Carrie is known for having that beautiful, blown out smoky eye look. That is exactly what we were going for with this look, but suited to a prom style. I wouldn't say this is an EXACT recreation of a Carrie Underwood look, but definitely an inspired Carrie look!

How gorgeous is the highlight?! Seriously!! Let's break this look down...

1. When using darker colors on the lids I always prefer to start with the eye makeup. I primed the eyes with Tarte Creaseless eye primer, followed by MAC "Painterly" paint pot. For shadows, I created this entire look with just three eyeshadows. However, I layered these shadows on one another to get this very smoky look. To start the eyeshadows I grabbed a mid toned gray from the MAC RiRi Smoked Cocoa quad on a Sigma F40 brush. I worked this all in the crease. Following that, I grabbed the darkest gray color, almost black, but not quite, on a Sigma E25 and worked that continuously into the crease. I did not push this color up or down, I wanted it to stay in the crease. I used windshield wiper motions to really keep this color in it's place, but blend it out. As for the lid color, I grabbed the shade "WOS" from Urban Decay Naked Basics palette. I love this shade of cream. It packed onto the lid very nicely with a Sigma E55. I also used this same shade to highlight the brow bone. To build the color and smokiness even more, I kept picking up the darkest shade and placing it in the outer V, but using a Sigma E30. This gave a very precise shape.

2. I lined the eyes using Maybelline Linestilleto liquid eyeliner in black. To tight line, I used L'oreal kohl eyeliner in black as well. Carrie is known for having a lot of black eyeliner. I thought it was very necessary for this look! To finish off the eye makeup, I applied Ardell eyelashes in "Demi 120". 

3. Moving onto the face, I first cleaned up any shadow fall out with a Neutrogena makeup removing wipe. This is why I prefer to do the eyes first, so I have the ability to start with a clean slate on the face.

4. To prime the face, I used Korre's Greek Yogurt Primer. This will ensure long lasting makeup. As for foundation, I used YSL foundation. To apply the foundation I used a Sigma F80 brush. I pressed the foundation into the skin at first, and then buffed it out. This gives the skin the most coverage possible. 

5. To highlight the face, I used MAC Prep and Prime pens in "Light boost" and "Radiant" under the eyes, on the bridge of the nose, the chin, the cupid's bow, the corners of the mouth, the jawline, and the forehead. With darker, smoky looks all of the attention can tend to go straight to the eyes. Attention to other points of the face can be lost, if the makeup isn't balanced correctly. To blend this highlight out, I used a Sigma F84. I wanted to add another touch of highlight under the eyes, since the eye makeup was so dark, so I went in with a few dabs of MAC Prolongwear concealer in "NW20", and blended that out with the same brush.

6. To set all of this liquid highlighting in place, I used the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour kit. I used the shade "Banana" on a Sigma F35, and placed this under the eyes, on the bridge of the nose, on the forehead, on the chin, the sides of the mouth, and the jawline. To contour the face, I used the shade "Havanna" on a Sigma F05. I placed the contour along the hairline, temples, hollows of the cheeks, jawline, and down the neck. As for blush, I wanted something more natural. In most of Carrie's looks she uses a very natural cheek color. I used Clinque's blush in "Peach pop" applied with a Sigma F40. Kristen was concerned of a rounded looking face with all of the highlighting/contouring/blush, but by applying this from the temple and downward, it gave a natural flush to the cheekbone, and less emphasis on the actual cheeks. As a highlighter on top of all this, I used MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in "Soft and Gentle".

7. I felt I lost some of her natural brows between all of the foundation and powders, so I lightly went over the brows with a powder and sealed them with Benefit Give Me Brow in the shade "Light/medium". This brought the brows back to life.

8. As for a lip color, Carrie is very well known for her nude lips. I applied MAC lipstick in "Hue" with MAC lip glass in "Patience Please" on top of it. This is the perfect pinky-nude combination for this look. It doesn't mute out the lips, but doesn't take attention away from the face.

9. To set the entire look in place, I sprayed Kristen with Model in a Bottle Setting Spray. This will ensure the makeup will last the entire night.

Pictures just don't do this look justice!! This highlight was sooooo gorgeous in person, along with the eye makeup. Kristen was so much fun to work with, and such a beautiful girl inside and out! 

Carrie Underwood inspired prom look- XO!

Soft Smoky Eye: Prom Edition

I was SO looking forward to doing some more prom makeup this week! Prom girls have become some of my favorites to work with. They're so upbeat, excited, and want dramatic makeup! For this makeup look, my client wanted something smoky, but nothing too dark or bold. Using browns, tans, and taupes is the perfect way to achieve a softer version of a smoky eye. Let's break this look down...

1. The first thing I wanted to work on was the skin. Kelly had flawless skin that barely needed any covering! I started by priming the skin (as always) with Keihl's Greek Yogurt primer. To achieve a dewy, natural look I used Urban Decay's Naked foundation with a damp Beauty Blender. She has drier skin, so this foundation with the beauty blender gives a very dewy look which is great for dry skin.

2. I decided to move onto the eyes after the foundation was applied. I began by priming the eyes using Tarte's Creaseless eye primer and MAC's Paintpot in the shade "Painterly" as a base. Kelly didn't want anything too smoky or too dark, so by using browns and taupes it was easy to achieve this balance. For this look I gravitated towards Urban Decay's Naked 3 palette. Using the shade "Limit" all over the crease and up to the brow bone.  This was the transition shade. I applied that with a Sigma E40 brush. To deepen the look I grabbed "Nooner" on a Sigma E25 brush and really pushed that shade into the crease. As for keeping the lid a bit lighter I used "Strange" on the inner half of the lid on a Sigma E55. To give this look a more metallic look I grabbed MAC's Mineralize Skinfinish in "Superb" and placed it on the middle of the lid. I applied it on a Sigma E55 with MAC Fix Plus. This gave the color better payoff, and brought more attention to the center of the lid. To deepen the outer V I grabbed "Factory" and "Darkside" from the Naked 3 palette and used a Sigma E30. This pulled the entire look together.

3. As for eyeliners, mascaras, and false eyelashes I used a variety of products. I applied Maybelline Linestilleto in black, and L'oreal kohl pencil in black to the water lines. As for mascara I used Benefit's Bad Gal lash to prep and blend the false eyelashes. I used Ardell's lashes in "Demi 120". The lashes really gave the look an extra something!

4. Going back to the skin, I began highlighting using MAC's Prep and Prime in "Light boost" and "Radiance" under the eyes, on the bridge of the nose, forehead, chin, corners of the mouth, and along the jawline. I blended this out with a damp Beauty Blender. To add a touch more of under eye highlight I mixed MAC Prolongwear concealer in "NW 20" and "NW15" together. This was also blended out with a damp Beauty Blender.

5. To set the liquid highlights, and begin contouring, I used the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour kit. Mixing the shades "Vanilla" and "Banana" together I placed this under the eyes, on the bridge of the nose, along the jawline, on the chin, on the corners of the mouth, and on the forehead. All of the highlighting was done with a  Sigma F35. To contour the face, I mixed the shades "Fawn" and "Java" on a Sigma F05. I placed the contours on the temples, in the hollows of the cheekbones, along the jawline, down the neck, and around the hairline. I also went in with a pencil brush and lightly contoured the nose.

6. As for blush, I used MAC blush in "Peaches" on a MAC 168 brush. This was applied on the apples of the cheeks, going back towards the temple. As for a highlighter I grabbed MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in "Soft and Gentle" and placed this on the tops of the cheekbones using a fan brush.

7. Naturally, Kelly has very strong eyebrows. They barely needed any work done to them! I felt some foundation covered up the tails of the brows so I lightly filled them in with an Anastasia Brow Wiz in the shade "brunette". To hold the brows in place I used Benefit's Give Me Brow in the shade "light/medium". 

8. I find using nude lip shades are always the easiest to maintain, especially at prom. Using a Sigma E05 I applied Milani lipstick in the shade "Nude Creme" all over the lips. This was the perfect pinky nude. It didn't wash her lips out too much, but also wasn't too pink. To finish the look off, I applied MAC's lip glass in "Patience Please". 

9. I used Model in a Bottle Setting spray all over the face, to ensure the makeup would last all night long. 

Here is the final result... I really loved how this makeup came out! We both went into this look without any inspiration or ideas, pretty much clueless, but it worked out so well. I loved working with Kelly! She was a total doll, and had the most amazing personality to compliment her beauty. 

Seriously loved this look- XO!

New Take On Old Hollywood Glam - Prom Edition!

The theme of this prom night was Old Hollywood Glamour- and I don't think I could have been anymore excited for this makeup look! My client, Abby, had a few ideas in her head of what she wanted; A more toned down smoky eye, flawless skin, and red lips. I was WAY too excited to work with colored lips this time around...

Let's break this look down...

1. Primer! I swear by priming the face it makes the makeup last all night through dancing and eating. I used the Korres Greek Yogurt primer all over her face, followed by Tarte Creaseless 24 hour eye primer.

2. I always start on the eyes first. At first, I went to my LORAC Pro palette. I used "Taupe" to build a transition shade and "Expresso" to deep the crease. Next I grabbed my RiRi Smoked Cocoa quad from MAC to work with the grey toned shadow. I worked it into the outer V and crease area. As for the primary lid color I grabbed Urban Decay's Naked 2 palette and used the shade "Verve". To give it a very metallic look I used MAC Fix Plus with it. I used a MAC 217, Sigma E55, Sigma E25, and Sigma E30 to apply these shadows.

3. As for eyeliner, she had wanted a very classic winged eyeliner, but nothing too crazy. I used my favorite L'Oreal liquid eyeliner in black for this. It is one of the blackest liquid eyeliners I have worked with. As for lashes, I gave her a few coats of L'Oreal Voluminous and she was good to go! 

4. Once the primer set in, I was able to go to work. For this look I wanted a very full coverage foundation. I turned to Covergirl 3 in 1 Outblast foundation (Can you tell I'm obsessed with this foundation?!). I used a Sigma F80 brush to give the fullest coverage. 

5. Moving onto highlight and contouring, I used MAC Prolongwear concealer in NW15. I placed this under the eyes, the bridge of the nose, the chin, the cupids bow, the jawline, and the forehead. This brought emphasis to these places. To blend out the concealer I used a Sigma F86. To set the concealer in place, I used the Anastasia Beverly Hill's Contour kit. Using the shade "Vanilla" on a Sigma F35, I placed this under the eyes, bridge of the nose, chin, and forehead. To contour the face I used the shades "Fawn" and "Java" mixed together on a Sigma F05. I placed the darker shades in the hollows of her cheeks, jawline, and forehead.

6. As for blush, I used the BH Cosmetics Glamorous blush palette, applied with a Sigma F40 brush. I found the blush was a bit too matte for my liking, so I added a little bit of MAC MSF in "Soft and Gentle" on top with a fan brush.

7. As for eyebrows, I didn't want to go too crazy with filling them in. I used a Sigma E65 brush and the Smashbox Eyebrow duo in "Blonde" to lightly shade them back in. To set it in place, I used a clear brow gel.

8. Going back to the eyes, I took a Sigma E30 and worked a mid-grey toned shadow underneath the eye to give it more dimension. I also tight lined her eyes with Tarte Smolder eyes in "Black". To finish the eyes off, I took another small pencil brush and worked the darkest shadow into the outer V a little more.

9. As for my favorite part of this entire look, the lips! I lined her lips using MAC's lip liner in "Cherry". This gave a very precise edge. I mixed two lipsticks together to create this color. First I applied MAC "Diva", but found it was a bit too drying. To counteract that, and give a more blood red look, I used Lime Crime's "Glamour 101" (Isn't the name perfect?!). By mixing these two colors together it gave just the right color and texture that we wanted. I set the lipstick in place using some ELF HD loose translucent powder with a big fluffy powder brush. 

10. To set the entire face in place, and guarantee it last all night, I used Model in a Bottle setting spray in the sensitive formula.

Abby looked absolutely stunning! I loved this look, and I loved working with a more colorful lip. This is one of my favorite Old Hollywood Glam looks I've done yet! 

So stunning & beautiful! XO!

Stunning Smoky Eyes & Pink Lip - Prom Edition

I was back glammin' prom girls this weekend, and this is one of the looks I had come up with. Ali was a total sweetheart (and not to mention a stunning girl) to work with, and she was one of the few clients I've ever had that knew almost exactly what she wanted done! 

So let's start the break down of products...

1. First I primed her face with Korres Greek Yogurt primer. Applied with a duo-fibre brush. When doing a darker eye look I prefer to start the makeup with the eyes. To prime the eyes I used MAC Prolongwear in NW20. This lays a perfect base for shadows.

2. I reached for the LORAC Pro palette and MAC RiRi Smoked Cocoa quad to use for shadows on this look. I began using LORAC shadow in "Taupe" to give an easy transitional shade. I followed the colors with the grey toned shadow from the MAC quad. I applied a gunmetal shade all of the middle third of the eye, followed by a very basic black shadow on the outer third and up into the crease. I used MAC 217, Sigma E55, Sigma E25, Sigma E30, and Sigma E40 to apply all of these shadows.

3. As for eyeliner, I created a simple wing using L'oreal liquid eyeliner. I find this is one of the blackest eyeliners I have ever used, and love using it! For this eye look we skipped on applying false eyelashes because she has naturally long lashes. I applied a few coats of L'oreal Carbon Black mascara, and the eyes were complete!

4. Moving onto my favorite part of the makeup, face makeup! I applied Covergirl 3 in 1 Outlast foundation. This is my favorite drugstore foundation- by far- And that is why I have so many shades of it. It wears extremely well, and looks great on any skin type! I applied this foundation using a Sigma F80.

5. Once the foundation was applied the face was one color and very monotoned. To highlight her face and bring more attention to certain features I used MAC Prep and Prime in "Light Boost" under her eyes, bridge of her nose, sides of her nose, chin, sides of her mouth, cupid's bow, forehead, and jawline. This brought features forward and helped to prevent losing them in photos. I blended the highlight out with a Sigma F86.

6. To finish the highlighting and contouring of the face I used Anastasia's Contour Kit. Mixing the shades "Banana" and "Vanilla" together to create a custom highlight shade for setting the liquid highlight. To contour the face I mixed "Havana" and "Fawn" from the same palette. I applied the contour on the forehead, temples, cheekbones, and jawline. I applied the highlight using a Sigma F35 and contour with Sigma F05. 

7. To give some more color back to the face I applied MAC's blush in "Melba" on the apples of the cheeks using a MAC 168. Since Melba is a matte blush I lightly dusted MAC MSF in "Soft and Gentle" on top of the blush. 

8. To add the finishing touches to the eyes I mixed a grey toned shadow with a matte black and worked that under the eye area on a Sigma E30. Once the shadows were blended out I tight lined using Tarte's Smolder Eyes eyeliner in "black". I finished the entire look by lightly filling in her eyebrows using Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in "brunette". 

9. As for the lip color, I created a custom color by using Maybelline Vivids lipstick in shade "Hot Plum" mixed with MAC's cremesheen lipstick in "Pure Zen". To top the colors off, I applied Stila's lipgloss in "Sparkling Grape".

10. To set all of the makeup in place I sprayed the entire face in Model in a Bottle Setting Spray. This will guarantee at least 12 hours wear of this makeup. 

Here are some additional photos...

I love how this look came out. Ali looked absolutely stunning and was a complete sweetheart to work with. I hope to work with her again in the future. There will be more pictures posted in my "work" tab. XO!