Grace's Face: Spring 2019
After prepping my skin with Embryolisse and face mist, I start my makeup proper with Bobbi Brown’s Instant Full Cover Concealer. Serum-like in texture but impressively pigmented, with a little layering (i.e. a concealer sandwich) this makes light work of covering redness and blemishes. I leave it on for a few minutes before I move on to applying my foundation. I find that when it’s dried down a bit it’s more likely to stay in place, no matter how vigorous my beautyblender ‘bouncing’.
I started using Milk Makeup’s Blur Liquid Matte Foundation last month. I’m not one for a matte foundations (I hate how they look and feel, and that prolonged use of one almost always ends up in a bad breakout), but this really isn’t matte in the conventional sense. In fact, in any sense at all. It gives skin a really fresh, bright finish so it looks like real skin but a bit glowier and even and, well, flawless. I mix it with my SPF (NIOD Survival 30) which thins it out a little bit and means I don’t need to use as much. Then I use a damp beautyblender to perform the above mentioned ‘bouncing’. Gamechanger.
Now for contouring, although I prefer to say sculpting - I’m no Kardashian. I’m using Trinny London’s Cheekbones in the shade Kate. I love how this cool, almost grey hue looks on my fair skin, and how creamy and blendable the texture is - it looks too pigmented when you apply it but it sheers out as soon as you put a brush to it so it’s very easy to use. Because it’s such a cool shade, it really doesn’t serve any warming or bronzing purpose, so I then apply the Fenty Beauty Match Stix in Suede which is a golden-toned brown in a cream formula. I put this on my cheekbones and temples and blend it out all round the edges of my face. I have a small face so I appreciate the size of these sticks, since it makes it hard to overdo anything. Top work, Rihanna.
Cheeks are next. I’m using Glossier’s Cloud Paint in Dusk, which is a subtle pink-brown. I’ve always wanted to be a liquid blush person, I just didn’t know where to start until this came along and made things a whole lot easier. The trick is to use a lot less than you think you need, and to dab it onto cheeks with your fingers then use a brush to sheer it out. If I accidentally overdo it, I put the excess on my eyelids.
I’ve finally met a brow gel pigmented enough for me to not need any brow powders, pomades, or pencils. Normally, I’d use one of those and then a gel for a bit of fluff and volume, but Milk Makeup’s Kush Fiber Brow Gel adds so much pigment, it makes brows appear thicker and fuller all on its own. It’s also one of the only gels I’ve used that keeps my brows in the exact same shape all day long. Low maintenance types, rejoice. Oh, and PSA, this is better than Boy Brow, in my humble opinion.
My current everyday eye look is a subtle wash of colour, and bold black liner if I’m feeling fancy. I’m using Jillian Dempsey’s Lid Tint in Lilac which I’ve wanted to try forever. It has everything I hoped for - buildable pigment, glossy finish, gorgeous shade - and it’s so easy to use, you just pat it on with your fingers.
Then, if I’m going ‘out out’, Linda Hallberg’s Eternal Eyeliner. To my eyeliner-wearing readers out there who are wondering whether this lives up to the hype, I’m here to tell you that it does (but you’ve gotta tread carefully). While the result is a perfect, fluid, uber-pigmented line, the pen itself has a free ink system which means the pigment really does flow. If you’re expecting it or are used to it, then it’s easy to get the hang of - in fact, it makes the whole thing easier. The other helping hand coming from the brush tip - as opposed to a regular felt tip, which means you get old school liquid liner results without the faff of a brush and pot, and it doesn’t thin out halfway through the line.
Lashes are my favourite thing, I just think mascara finishes off a look like nothing else. I joke that layering mascara pretty much takes up 50% of the time I spend doing my makeup, but actually that’s probably pretty accurate. I’m using another Milk Makeup product, the Kush High Volume Mascara. At first I hated it because it was really wet and gloopy but like all good mascaras, cheeses, and wines, it got better with age. It leaves my lashes soooo long and spidery and is also one of the softest mascaras I’ve ever used. Even though my lashes are about three times thicker and longer than normal, they still feel like bare lashes.
Finally, lips feat. Topshop’s Cream Lipstick in Saint. I’m not a huge conventional lipstick wearer (I typically much prefer tints or balms) but this I can get on board with. Topshop’s beauty range has some of the best bargain beauty finds and one of the best lipstick formulas - which I was relieved to find went nowhere after their recent revamp. Creamy, pigmented, and light, if you like MAC lipsticks you’ll love these.
