Our favorite Bajan singer-fashionista was spotted recently at Tank and Tyrese’s Fly & Flashy Birthday Extravaganza in LA on January 10th with a nude face and winged eye look. As simple as her makeup was, it was still gorgeous and fresh. I absolutely love looks like this because you can get them done in no time at all and they go with tons of outfits. Want to get Rih Rih’s look? Grab your makeup brushes and let’s go!
1. As always, start with a freshly cleansed, toned, and moisturized face. Also be sure to remove any stray hairs from your brows for a more polished look (coughandalsoanystrayhairsfromtheupperliporchinsneeze).
2. Next apply a foundation primer like Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer to smooth skin and mask the appearance of pores (if necessary). Then apply a liquid foundation like NARS Balanced Foundation or Maybelline Mineral Power Natural Perfecting Foundation only in areas where you need it. Determine if any blemishes need to be covered after these steps and if so apply concealer. Many foundations pack enough power to cover blemishes so in some cases you won’t need concealer. Set the foundation with a light application of loose powder like Becca Fine Loose Finishing Powder.
3. When doing a nude look, it’s still important to add a little bit of color to the face, especially on darker skin tones. Do like Rihanna and apply a vivid orange blush like NARS Exhibit A.
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Exhibit A may be intimidating because it looks so bright in its container (it’s much brighter than the blush pictured below), but rest assured it will look great on skin of color. Apply a dusting of loose powder over it if you want to tone it down some.
4. To create the winged eye, grab a liquid liner like mark On the Edge Liquid Liner and carefully apply it on the area where the lid and the lash line meet and let it extend slightly. Using liquid liner can be tricky, so practice makes perfect, but try and get it right because liquid liner makes for a beautiful winged eye. If you have trouble doing this freehand, you can use something like the edge of a business card to help guide you. To get a flat even plane to work with, you may need to “stretch” the outer corners of your eyes a bit with your index finger—not too hard though. If your eyes are small or close-set, don’t extend the black liner all the way to the inner corners of the eyes. Instead use an eyeliner brush to apply a pale gold or silver shimmery shade in the inner corners to give the appearance of a “bigger” eye.
To get the thickness of Rihanna’s eyeliner, grab a waterproof pencil like Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes and trace it over several times until you get your desired thickness. The added layer of liner also helps to keep it put so you’re not constantly touching it up.
Bring out your eyes with 2-3 coats of mascara wiggling the wand from left to right from root to tip for extra voulme. Try Dior DiorShow Mascara or Maybelline Lash Stiletto.
5. Last apply a sheer “nude” lip gloss. Nude here means a gloss close to your natural lip color. Fair skin should try a light pink shade like MAC Lustreglass in Morning Glory. Medium skin should try a sheer golden bronze color like MAC Lustreglass in Beaux. Dark skin should try a sheer pink-chocolate color like MAC Lustreglass in Tranceplant. Makeup brand Bobbi Brown also makes TONS of nude lip glosses for every skin tone.
~Danielle
January 13, 2010 11:03 am
I love this look but I really really hate foundation. I always feel like it’s so constricting. So is blush w/out foundation ok?
January 13, 2010 11:19 am
You can wear blush without foundation—but if you have trouble getting your blush to stick (since there’s nothing really helping it hold onto your skin), apply a creme blush in a similar color first, then apply powder blush. You will have cheeks for DAYS…lol.
January 13, 2010 12:11 pm
Great tips! LOL @ the cough and sneeze comment… funny, but true!
January 13, 2010 7:43 pm
i really disliked the way she looked here… eyebrows are too dark..the lipgloss isnt working for me.. but some foundation and some liquid eyeliner..anyone can achieve this look
January 14, 2010 12:17 am
I am another who loves the nude look. I think it really brings out women’s faces and shows their beauty. Lots of great tips in this post.
January 25, 2010 11:15 pm
Does anyone know where RiRi chain is from? Its hot!!
January 28, 2010 10:59 pm
agh!!! shes so freakin gorgeous!! love the makeup!