Hey there, pretty ladies! Danielle here with a Beauty Bomb!
Actress (and object of my girl-crush) Gabrielle Union was recently spotted in a gorgeous “I’m naturally this beautiful” nude makeup look at the 27th Annual PaleyFest presents “FlashForward” in Beverly Hills. While the natural look is one of the most requested makeup looks, it can actually take more to pull off than its brighter counterparts. But yours truly has got the scoop on how to snag her look. Check it out:
1. As always, beautiful makeup starts with beautiful skin. Be sure to rid your face of sneaky facial hair and groom your brows. Then follow with cleansing, toning, and moisturizing your skin according to your skin type.
2. Give yourself a smooth background to work with by applying a foundation primer like Make Up For Ever Microperfecting Primer after you moisturize. Foundation primers help to smooth out any fine lines and pores and gives your foundation something to adhere to. Follow with a full coverage foundation that appears virtually invisible on your skin like Make Up For Ever HD Invisible Cover Foundation. Set with a loose powder like Becca Fine Loose Finishing Powder.
3. To bring out your eyes, choose three eyeshadow colors: one should be about your skin tone, one should be about 2-3 shades darker than your skin tone, and one should be about 2-3 shades lighter than your skin tone. Also grab an eyeshadow primer like MAC Paint to help your shadow stay put. Use the skin tone shade on the lid with a blending brush like MAC #224, use the dark shade in your outer crease (also known as the ‘V”) with a heavy blending brush like MAC #217, and use the light shade on your brow bone with a clean blending brush (so you don’t “muddy” the two colors). For some eyeshadow shade suggestions, check out A Guide to MAC Eyeshadows.
Line your eyes with a waterproof eye pencil like Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes in Mat Black OL. If black is too harsh, try a brown like Pearly Brown 2L or Light Brown 19L (both by Make Up For Ever).
Then apply 2-3 coats of a volumizing mascara for that “doe-eyed” look. Try Benefit BADgal Lash. Perk up sleepy eyes with Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat, a concealer pen that adds radiance to the under eye area.
4. For a beautiful glow, apply a bright and pigmented blush to your cheeks. Now don’t freak out—bright blush colors don’t read as “bright” on darker skin tones but are perfect to show up on all shades of brown skin.
If you’re light skin (think Rihanna or Jurnee Smollet) try a bold peachy-pink blush like NARS Blush in Amour.
If you’re caramel skin (think Queen Latifah or Halle Berry) try a cinnamon blush like NARS Blush in Mounia.
If you’re brown skin (think Nia Long or Gabrielle Union) try a mid-tone rose blush like NARS Blush in Taos.
If you’re dark skin (think Kelly Rowland or Alek Wek) try a bright reddish-orange blush like NARS Blush in Exhibit A.
You can choose any blush color outside my suggestions, but as a rule, the darker your skin, the brighter the blush. But definitely go with color because a nude look can make the skin look flat. For a refresher on blush, check out Blush 101.
5. Dress your lips in a nude lip color. “Nude” means something different for each skin tone. If you’re light skin, try a medium pink like MAC Lipstick in Blankety; caramel skin try a taupe brown like MAC Lipstick in Shitaki; brown and dark skin try a pinkish-brown like Bobbi Brown Lipstick in Cocoa Berry. Or try a universal brown girl nude like Dior Addict High Shine Lipstick in #714 Model Brown. Bobbi Brown has a great selection of nude lipsticks for every skin tone, so hightail it over to a counter if you’re still stumped.
Sometimes in order to get a true nude, you may gave to blot out your lips with a bit of concealer so they’re more even toned. It’s common amongst women of color to have two-toned lips. Also use a lip liner in the same tones of your lip color or your natural lip color to help your lipstick or gloss stay put longer.
6. Finish the look with a few spritzes of MAC Fix+ to give the skin some radiance and to avoid the dreaded powdery “cake face” look.
What do you think of Gabby’s nude look? Would you try it?
~Danielle
March 19, 2010 11:01 pm
Gabrielle’s skin looks flawless and I AlWAYS use an eyeshadow primer because then eye make up goes on so smooth and becomes very pigmented.