A Sultry But Simple Valentine's Look

Another tutorial just for Valentine's since it's gonna come in around 2 days. I made this tutorial that features a subtle balance of sultry eyes and colored lips. There is such a rule as focal point, that focus on the eyes or lips and not both but I thought I'd break it a bit in this look and create this very sexy but very simple look for a Valentine's Day dinner using my Coastal Scents palette!

Anyway, I went for a subtle earthy smoky eye and a sheer plumy-red colored lip. Since purple has been the trend nowadays, I went for that color but not too purpley.

So, first we start with our usual clean and moisturized face. Apply foundation, concealer, and powder (mineral or traditional, it's all up to you) and define the eyebrows and contour if desired. We'll talk about contouring later.

Now for the eye. I usually like starting off with a base because I want my shadows to have something to hold on to and to prevent eyeshadow fallout. I'm not a fan of the wet technique of applying eyeshadow. For my base, I used a combination of a smudgy soft black eyeliner (such as a kohl pencil) and a cream color base or creme eyeshadow in a frosty skintone color. I lined my eyes with black eyeliner (also on the inner rims). On the upper lashline though, I applied the liner thickly and smudged it halfway up the lid. I blended in a cream color base from lashline up to the browbone, but I'm careful not to mix in any black liner on the browbone. Here, I used MAC cream color base in Shell.

So here's my almost-nude eye that has just foundation, defined brows, smudged eyeliner and the cream color base. Cream color base grabs color quite well, and this is advisable for powdery eyeshadows or if you want more color to grab on the skin. However, if your lids are oily, you may want to stick with other non-emolient primers such as MAC Prep+Prime or MAC Paint Pots in a neutral skin tone shade.

Okay, so here's the fun part -EYESHADOWS! I kinda borrowed this style from Nikki, when she does her tutorials (hi Nikki!) since I find it efficient in illustrating where to put the eyeshadows. I have numbered here the shades I used in my palette and where I applied them.

[click for a larger version]

And here's the diagram:

I applied BLACK eyeshadow (#1) on the upper lashline, and blended it upwards. Since black is quite intense and we have put a base already, it's best to use little product on the brush and build on as you go. I also applied black eyeshadow on the lower lashline to set the black eyeliner.

Next, I applied a golden-bronzy-brown color (#2) on the lid on top of the black and blended this up to the crease. In applying eyeshadow, for color intensity, I deposit the product first on the lid and then blend. Don't forget the inner eye as well.

After that, for more crease definition, I deposited a tad of a darker copper color on the outer crease and blended this to the browbone (but not touching the brow). Blend upwards and outwards and make sure both sides are symmetrical. Finally, highlight the browbone in a peach color (#4). Blend to make sure the colors are seamless.

I curled my lashes and applied lots of mascara. For more definition, I went over the black eyeshadow with more black for that extra sexy smoky effect.

For blush, I chose a deep rose color and swept it across the apples of my cheeks upwards and outwards. I just used a little color since too much of this can be too intense.

Finally, for the lips I applied a sheer plum red color such as Clinique in Guava Stain

another alternative: YSL lip color in Plum Fusion

And here's the finished product:

Eye Detail:

Those with really, really small eyes can line their inner rims with a skintone eyeliner or nude lipliner instead. :). Black can make eyes smaller and more bedroom-y.

Happy Valentine's Day!