I don’t know about you, but I’m embracing Valentine’s Day wholeheartedly this year. Even us single ladies can get on board the love holiday, (self-love is the most important of all!).
Whether you’re going on an extravagant date with your one-and-only or are partying hard with your gals, Valentine’s Day presents some stunning makeup opportunities.
Voila, 5 Valentine’s Day makeup looks to try, (and no, they’re not all pink!).
Lilac eyes and nude lips: soft and romantic
View this post on Instagram
Nothing says romance like soft lilac hues accentuating the eyes and pouty nude lips. You can go as subtle or as defined as you like with this look, from all-out watercolor haze to jet black liner and falsies.
How to:
- Apply your go-to base, less is more with this look! I go for a tinted moisturizer and cancel out any blemishes or redness with a creamy concealer
- Build up rosy blush over the cheeks and slightly toward the temple
- Apply your favorite highlighter, to the tops of the cheeks, nose, and cupid’s bow. I love an ethereal silvery highlight for this look
- Lay down an eyeshadow primer or skin-matching cream shadow
- Buff a matte or slightly shimmery lilac shadow across the lid, into the crease, and under the lash line
- To further define the eyes, buff a little taupe or matte brown into the outer corner and crease
- Add plenty of mascara
- Line the lips with a nude liner with a slightly brown tone (Caramel is amazing)
- Add a pale, creamy pink-nude lipstick and top with a little smudge of gloss
Jet-black wings and glossy red lips: sexy and striking
View this post on Instagram
Try a high octane look for your Valentine’s Day date/party/general merriment this year. Sharp-as-a-knife and black-as-night wings on otherwise clean eyes, with high-shine glossy red lips. You’ll be ready to slip into your latex catsuit in a flash.
How to:
- Lay down a full-coverage base that flatters your skin type best (you’re the expert when it comes to your skin!)
- Add a little dimension and color back to the skin with subtle contouring and a little peachy-pink blush
- Cancel-out the lids all the way to the brow bone with a skin-matching cream shadow or eyeshadow base
- Add back a little depth with a little touch of taupe shadow in the crease
- Use your liquid or gel liner in deep black to draw a line from the inner corner to the outer corner, thickening as you go. Add a short yet very sharp wing at the outer corner. Use a q-tip or a flat, clean eyeshadow brush dipped in makeup remover to clean up any errors. Replace any lost base makeup or shadow
- Add PLENTY of mascara
- All that’s left to do is apply your glossy red lip. Glamrock is perfect for this look.
- If you don’t have an opaque red gloss, just use a red liner or liquid lippie topped with clear gloss. I use Cherry Pie and Dandelion
Oodles of blush and matching stained lips: Renaissance-inspired romance
View this post on Instagram
Sometimes being ultra-feminine and romantic is what hits the spot. Other days we may feel a grungy, sharp, or angular look is where our style compass is guiding us. That’s the great thing about beauty…we can change by the hour. Let’s hone in on that romantic, femme vibe and take inspiration from modern renaissance interpretations. Plenty of watercolor blush, unlined eyes, and stained lips with no sharp lines.
How to:
- A matte base void of any bronzer is the most obvious choice for this look. However, you could freshen it up with a satin or even dewy finish depending on what’s most comfortable for your skin type
- If your base is matte and powdered, take a powder blush and load your fluffy brush (a new tongue twister?!)
- Buff the color into the cheeks and up toward the temples, almost connecting with the eyes
- Take the color into the crease of the eye and diffuse it with a clean, fluffy brush
- Brush the brows and add a little definition with a gel, pencil, or powder. We’re going for soft and bushy
- Add mascara to the upper and lower lashes. Brown mascara works really beautifully here, or just go with your classic black
- Take a peachy-pink or red-toned lip color and use your ring finger to dab and spread over the lips, diffusing the edges (I love Bloom for this look). Soften the lips and add a little comfort with a thin layer of balm over top
Monochrome peach and gold: modern, fresh, and gilded
View this post on Instagram
Pinks and reds may be the obvious color choices for Valentine’s Day, but I think peaches and golds are just as flattering. These warm, toasty, light-catching tones look incredible on tanned or deeper skin tones and lucky guys and girls with green eyes.
How-to:
- Apply your go-to base and make sure any redness is canceled out. I would go for medium coverage with a satiny finish for this look
- Dust a light layer of matte or satin bronzer just under the cheeks, over the nose, and into the hairline for a touch of warmth
- Take a peach blush and apply generously over the cheeks and dust a little through the crease. Tie it together by taking the excess blush on your brush and lightly dust over the nose
- Take a peachy-orange shadow (Fly High, Cocoon, and Caterpillar from the Whimsical Garden palette are glorious) and buff into the crease and over the lid
- Take a rich, metallic gold and press into the inner corner and inner third of the lid
- Buff your peachy shadow into the lower lash line
- Either go liner-less or press a black liner pencil into the lash line and smudge with a stubby brush
- Apply oodles of mascara
- Slick on a gold-flecked peachy gloss (Salsa was MADE for this!)
Smoky charcoal eyes and 90s nude lips: club-ready sexy
View this post on Instagram
And finally, we have the classic sexy look…smokey eyes and nude lips.
This look will always persevere, even through no-makeup phases and pastel crazes. “Back in the day” I would do my friends’ makeup for our school dance and the smokey eye was the most requested look. I had a little pot of dark charcoal shimmer and I put that stuff to good use along with a retractable black liner. (And yes, we used buckets of Dream Matte Mousse and Revlon Colorstay foundation).
How to:
- Apply your go-to base and aim for clean yet even. I think a satin or slightly dewy finish keeps this look fresh
- NOTE: you can apply your base after your eyeshadow if your shadows have a lot of fall-out
- If you’re contouring, keep it subtle and make sure you’re using a cool-toned contour as opposed to a bronzer. Sometimes, a charcoal smokey eye with warm bronzer can get a little busy
- Add a little natural blush to the apples and finish with a non-chunky highlight. A cream or balm-based highlight looks stunning with this look as it catches the light without giving a white cast when you turn your head
- Lay down a layer of eyeshadow primer or skin-matching long-wearing cream shadow
- Keep it super simple by using just one shadow, in a cool shade ranging from deep grey to black, depending on your skin tone
- Take your shadow on a medium fluffy brush and buff over the lid and into the outer corner, don’t go too high up toward the crease just yet
- Take the almost-clean brush and buff out the edges so they are diffused, taking a little bit of the color up to the crease
- Take a black kohl pencil and buff generously into the upper and lower lash lines, no need to be tidy!
- Use a stubby brush to smudge the black liner so that it blends up toward the lid
- Clean any fallen shadow from below the eyes and add mascara
- To create an even more sultry look, you can add liner to the upper and lower water lines. If you like a wider eye, keep them clean
- Apply a nude lipstick that flatters your skin tone! For warm-toned skin, a peachy nude looks fire, while cooler tones can rock pink-based nudes (we love Plane Jane and So Fly for the perfect nude lipstick shades)
LiveGlam