In the interest of fairness, seeing as how we have Valentine’s Day to celebrate lurve, and Galentine’s Day for your gal pals, shouldn’t there also be a holiday to commemorate V-Day for cat lovers and our cats? Like Feline-en-tine’s Day? Or Cat-en-tine’s Day?
Ooh! — I’ve got it. Meow-entine’s Day! ? ? Happy Meow-entine’s Day, fellow cat ladies, LOL!
Valentine’s Day is a few weeks away, a fact that occurred to me at 7:55 p.m. the other night at See’s Candy (5 minutes before closing), where I went on an emergency last-minute chocolate run.
They had their heart-shaped candy boxes on full display, and it was like a sudden cocoa-infused wake-up call that this is a perfect time for romantic, soft makeup looks. I think this monochromatic peach one would be great for a daytime date, or an evening date, or a date that goes from day to night, ooh-la-la!
Why I ? monochromatic makeup
Because it takes the aspect of color coordinating, and figuring out if this purple goes with that bronze, or if this pink goes with that teal, out of the picture and makes it easy to use multiple (but related) colors together (i.e., so you don’t have to think too hard).
But I really ? monochromatic makeup with a twist!
Instead of just being a peach-on-peach-on-peach party on the eyes, cheeks and lips, this look also relies on subtle transitions and different cream and powder textures, matte and satin finishes, and varying levels of coverage and intensity.
On the eyes, matte and satin powder eyeshadows are layered on top of a cream shadow, and the cheeks and lips are both sporting the same peach color and cream finish, except that the cheeks are sheer, and the lips are opaque. And the creaminess of the blush and lipstick also plays off the matte areas of the skin.
Sheer skin for balance
My foundation is purposefully sheer in this look because, with all of the drama happening on my eyes and the opaque lip, I feel like the face, cheeks and lips need to dial it back a bit to keep everything looking balanced.
A 15-minute look from start to finish
The choice to do sheer skin is also a timing thing, because I’m still really into makeup looks that I can finish in 15 minutes or less, and doing sheer skin saves lots of time and lets me spend most of it on my eyes.
What you’ll need
Here are the products I used…
FACE PRODUCTS
- Face primer (Urban Decay Urban Defense Complexion Primer)
- Sheer face tint, or a CC or BB cream (Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Tint in Honey)
- Makeup setting spray (MAC Fix+)
- Powder foundation (Sweat Cosmetics Mineral Foundation in 200)
- Concealer for your under eye area, if you want (MAC Matchmaster Concealer in 4)
- Cream peach lipstick (MAC Lunar New Year Lipstick in Good Health, an LE shade available now online and at select MAC counters)
EYE MAKEUP
- Brow gel, either clear or a color that matches your brows (Hourglass Arch Brow Volumizing Gel in Warm Brown)
- Cream stick shadow similar to your skin tone (MAC Pro Longwear Waterproof Colour Stick in Sand Bar)
- Three powder eyeshadows: a matte peach eyeshadow, a matte taupe and satiny bronzy brown (MAC Lunar New Year Eye Shadow X9 in Luck and Fortune, an LE palette available now at select MAC counters)
- Two pencil eyeliners: a black and a bronzy brown (Chanel 88 Noir Intense and MAC Costa Riche)
- Mascara (Tarte Lights Camera Lashes)
Let’s get started
First, you’ll be bouncing back and forth between working on your face and working on your eyes, because when every minute/second counts, you gotta multitask. But it won’t be stressful or scary, I promise. 🙂