This weekend I had my makeup done by Yvonne at Smashbox for a 21st I attended. Lately I have found myself stuck in somewhat of a rut, always using the same products and I was looking for some fresh inspiration. I will usually go with a brown/black shimmery eye and a neutral/red lip for a night on the town.
I had never really tried Smashbox products so this was the perfect opportunity for me to freshen up my makeup collection.
Yvonne started with my eyes. Lately I've been very stressed and finding it hard to sleep and so have been noticing my dark circles becoming more prominent. Yvonne put a little bit of Colour Correcting Primer under my eyes before applying Concealer in Light/Medium. I invested in the Concealer in Fair/Light for everyday use. One of Yvonnes top tips was pat the concealer on under the eye in order to increase blood flow to the area. This will naturally brighten the skin. She used their new Full Exposure eyeshadow palette, which is not yet available on Boots.ie, but is available in store. I think it costs around €35.
Although I do usually stick with a neutral eye palette, this was slightly new for me in the fact that the colours Yvonne used were matte. The top line of shadows in the palette are shimmers and the bottom line is totally matte. She first primed the lids using their eye primer, and then used the 4th colour in the bottom row (ivory/white) to fill in the lid up as far as the browbone. She then used the 5th colour in the bottom row all over the lid before using the darker brown next to it to draw in a contour along the upper lashline and into the crease. She used a blending brush similar to the No.7 brush I mentioned in my Favourites Post to blend the contouring colour out over the lid before darkening the colour in the crease by patting the black colour on the right into the crease with a small brush. She then used the same blending brush to blend this up towards the browbone. All of the colours were very pigmented and it was very easy to build the colour up to the desired smokey effect.
I usually don't do my eyeshadow before my base, but Yvonne made a very good point in that you don't have to be as careful in applying the shadows and avoiding fallout. Before applying my foundation she primed my face with their original primer. The primer dries in evenly and quickly without leaving a film on the face. You don't have to apply foundation straight after primer. Foundation can be applied after allowing the primer to sink in or immediately. She used their heavier coverage foundation all over the face. She applied it with a flat foundation brush and alternated the direction of her brush strokes in order to reduce the appearance of visible brush strokes. I invested in the lighter everyday foundation in shade 1 for everyday use.
Yvonne explained to me that she doesn't like to do the face piece by piece but likes to move around and give things time to settle, and give herself the opportunity to think about what she is doing. After my foundation was applied she moved back to my eyes and filled in my brows using their brow powder in Brunette. She applied the wax before the powder, which was new to me. I was under the impression that wax was applied after in order to set the powder.
She then applied some pressed powder to my T-zone and chin where I would be likely to become shiny throughout the night.
I really wanted a cat-eye flick as they are still in for SS/14 and I can't do them myself. She used their gel eyeliner and the Real Techniques Eyeliner Brush to create the perfect flick. What's unique about this brush is that it is all one piece. This prevents little hairs from going astray and messing up your line after a few washes. I asked Yvonne to share some tips for creating the perfect eyeliner for people like me, who struggle with liquid liner. Her advice was to look down into a mirror which is placed on a table in front of you. This will cause your eye to half-close, stopping you from blinking. Also she advised that when you come to the edge of your eye, rather than carrying on the line to extend into the flick, turn your brush and draw your flick in to meet the line. I have been practising using these tips and the results have been amazing! After finishing my eyeliner she applied their Mascara. While there was absolutely nothing wrong with the mascara there also was nothing remarkable about it.
She then used a fan brush to highlight my cheekbones using a powder and to contour using a gorgeous shimmer brick that could easily be used individually for different things. To keep my face relatively neutral as I wanted to go with a strong lip, she used a coral blush to add some colour to my cheeks.
Finally she used a purple eyeliner to line and fill in my lips before covering it with their lipstick in Vivid Violet.
The lipstick was a fantastic colour, but didn't last all that long.
This was the finished look.
The lipstick didn't last very long and had to be topped up throughout the night using my Collection lipstick in Scorned, which I can't find on Boots.ie but is available in store. I already mentioned this lipstick in my Make Up Haul Post. The rest of the makeup did seem to last fairly well, although my face looks abnormally white in several photos. This is what it looked like after almost 8 hours.
I even managed to somewhat recreate the look the following morning for work.
Smashbox also provided me with a free Try-it Kit which I will be reviewing soon.
Let me know your thoughts below and if you will be investing in any of the products I've mentioned.
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