Step Out Your Comfort Zone
Step Out Your Comfort Zone
By Bridget Foster
There will be lot of women out there who feel they can’t achieve the same look that a professional make-up artist can. Well, our in-house beauty guru, Bridget Foster is here to tell us otherwise and lets us into a few secrets on how we can all get that polished finish at home.
Over the summer months I have had a number of past clients re-book me for one-to-one make-up tutorials, and there’s always one thing I find; a lot of women aren’t confident enough with their own application and seek the reassurance of a professional to say ‘yes, you can achieve this look at home’.
One of those clients was boutique owner, Jane Coulthard from Jiggery Pokery in Carlisle, who recently invited me to her Autumn/Winter collection launch to offer up some make-up tips and tricks to her loyal customers.
Last time I gave Jane a one-to-one, I basically created a wearable fresh look that was natural yet polished. Jane’s is already quite adventurous with her style so I wanted to give her something she hadn’t tried before; break down a few barriers.
Jane was wearing a moss green shirt that she asked me to match on her eyes. I was quite hesitant as I don’t like to match eye shadow to clothing; I like to complement and enhance. Jane is not a fan of shimmer or glitter, as she feels this enhances lines; but my aim was to show her she can wear shimmers and a darker eye, and look great.
I started off with a Chanel Illusion D’ Ombre Cream to Powder Eyeshadow. They come in a variety of colours; I choose Mirage 95. It’s a beautiful glowing brown with a hint of gold and can appear slightly green next to a green outfit.
Although Jane was doubtful about the shimmer, I applied the product to her lid, creating depth and definition rather than a matt, flat look; the glow only enhanced the shape of her eye. I then used a matt brown eye shadow from my Morphe palette to enhance her socket bone and deepen the eye.
I taught the ladies how to create a ‘smokey’ soft eye that was easy and flattering. I lined the eye with a dark brown shadow and smudged the line upwards. I went underneath the eye with this and smudged along. This creates a dark line at the root of the eyelash and fades away from the lashes.
I then applied a black tight liner using my usual Maybelline Painting Liner and a flat brush. I showed them how applying a flat line to the root of the eyelash can make the eye look whiter and brighter and can be very subtle and not obvious.
Flat lining was something Laura Mercier taught me back in 2007. It can be worn alone or with a fully made up eye. It makes the eyelashes look longer and eyes whiter. I applied the black liner to the inner rim and blended it with a smudge brush so it wasn’t too dark, but ‘smokey’ enough to make an impact.
Jane doesn’t need much to make her skin look amazing. But for the purpose of trying a different look I wanted a more flawless and polished finish so I choose my Nars Sheer Glow Foundation – £31.
I highlighted Jane’s under eye to temple area with Clarins Instant Concealer – £21 which is a brilliant but very under rated concealer as it doesn’t sink into lines.
I used Boujois Rice Powder – £9.99 under the eye and set the rest with Laura Mercier Mineral Powder. I bronzed the skin using a bronzer from my Morphe palette and choose Nars Orgasm Blusher – £21, lightly on the cheeks to add colour; Jane loves blusher so again we were trying something a bit different.
After I helped out a few other clients Jane wanted a poke in my lipstick bag. “Have you got a berry lipstick?” she asked. I passed her a Mac lipstick and she applied this beautiful warm shade which changed the look completely. I liked it, and was surprised she wanted to go so strong on the lips.
Mac Cremesheen in Party Line – £15.50 is a lovely berry shade that is very wearable during the day and a great autumn/winter shade.
So whatever age or style, it’s good to venture out of your comfort zone and a sometimes a little bit of reassurance from a professional is all you need.
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