Pretty and Chic Party Make-up for Summer Evenings

My make-up philosophy is derived in equal measure from the lovely Lisa Eldridge and the piercing observations of my makeup-averse husband. Both profess the merits of keeping it simple and subtle, and while I am too stubborn and wilfully deaf much of my own person to pay heed to random opinions, past experiments with heavy-duty make-up - foundation + heavy kohl-rimmed eyes + blush + glossy red/pink/orange lips - have me cringing with embarrassment and horror when I look at the pictures now. Don't scoff, I'm sure everyone goes through these phases!
But with the passage of time and numerous helpful blogs and Youtube videos on make-up techniques, my awareness of what actually works for me has increased, and I can make myself look presentable with a fair amount of expertise now. I also believe that make-up should enhance, rather than mask, whatever natural beauty we possess, and so most of the time I reach for colours and textures that go well with my personality - easygoing and effortless. It is also to be noted that being the mom of a pre-schooler AND being the lazybirdie that I am, I simply do not have the time or the inclination for any elaborate make-up routine, so most of what I do is likely to take not more than 15-20 minutes at the max. Anything more and the husband starts pacing irritably, my sari/jeans/skirt/anarkali starts getting pulled by my son and I feel like tearing my hair quickly lose interest.
Which brings me to to today's post. I'd posted a picture on Facebook of the look I wore to a party recently, and apart from being appreciated by my husband for its simplicity, quite a few of my friends commented and complimented me on how nice it looked. Dewy skin, softly-smoked yet defined eyes and naturally-pink, glossy lips... nothing goopy, dramatic or heavy duty, just a simple, fresh, ultra-feminine look which is polished yet light enough for the sweltering summers. So I thought of posting a tutorial here for future reference as I'm quite forgetful and it might come in handy in the future. Please note that I don't claim to be an expert (as yet!), just an amateur with a fair amount of practice and an eagerness to learn and try new things. :-)
Products used:


1. Biotique Bio-Seaweed Anti Fatigue Eye Gel (not pictured)2. Just Herbs Fruity Firmskin Skin Radiance Cream3. Biotique Bio-Redwood Naturally Tinted Moisturizer - Olive4. Avon Ideal Luminous Pressed Powder - Medium Wheat5. Sleek Blush - Squash (Sleek Blush-by-3 palette in Pumpkin)6. Lakme Eyeconic Kajal - Black and Brown7. Lotus Herbals Maxlid Botanical Eyeshadow Palette - Rose Beach8. Avon Blackened Plum eyeshadow (Onyx Luster palette)9. Maxfactor Eyebrow Pencil - Ebony10. Clinique High-Impact Mascara - Black11. Loreal Paris Rouge Caress Lipstick - Aphrodite Scarlet
Technique:

Face:
1. Cleanse-tone-moisturise as per routine. Apply eye-gel to soothe the eyes.
2. Prime your skin. You can use any regular primer, or if you have extremely sensitive skin like me, then just skip. The Just Herbs cream that I use is not only an excellent moisturiser, but wonderfully smoothens out the large pores on my cheeks and makes my base adhere better, making it last through a good 6 hours, so I don't feel the need for a separate primer. Just use a pea-sized amount for the face and neck.
3. Apply a pea-sized dollop of Biotique Tinted Moisturizer with fingers and palms on the face and neck. Make sure it is properly blended and fully absorbed into the skin. In case of marks and pigmentation, apply a little bit more on those areas. My t-zone is a problem area so I follow this rule in place of a separate concealer.
4. Dust some powder over the face and neck to set the base. Lightly dust some powder on the eyelids upto the browbone and on the under-eye area too.
Eyes:
5. Take the black kajal and apply a thick line over the upper lashline. No need to be precise as we'll be smudging it anyways.
6. Using a Q-tip, brush or finger (I just use my ring finger - no time to use and wash a thousand different tools and brushes!) smudge the kajal all over the eyelids, taking care to let it remain dark near the lashline and gradually lighten it towards the crease.
7. Pat and sweep a shimmery brown eyeshadow (middle shade in the Lotus palette) all over the lids, taking care to let it remain just below the crease. Apply a thin line of the same shadow on the inner 2/3rd section of the lower lashline with a Q-tip or pencil brush.
8. Take some plum eyeshadow (lowest shade in the Avon palette) on a fluffy blending brush and sweep it on the curve of your crease, starting from the point just above your eyeball till the outer edge of the lid. Now blend using @@@ and windshield-wiper motions so that the colours seamlessly melt into each-other without any visible harsh edges. Apply the same eyeshadow on the outer 1/3rd of the lower lash line.
9. Highlight the inner corner of the eyes and the browbone using a pale shimmery champagne shade (bottom shade in the Lotus palette).
10. Tightline your eyes - line the upper waterline with black kajal and the lower waterline with brown kohl. At this point you can use a liner to line the upper lashline with a slight kitten flick, but I chose to leave it just like that for a softer effect.
11. Apply 2-3 coats of mascara on upper and lower lashes (after curling the lashes if you wish. I'm mortally scared of using a metal instrument on my eyes so still haven't experimented with eyelash curlers).
12. The eyeshadows I used are not very powdery and so don't really make a mess. But it's always a good idea to lightly run a dry cotton ball on the under-eye area after the eye make-up is done to clean up any fallout. Just dust some powder lightly afterwards.
To finish:

13. Fill your brows and groom them into shape. Don't 'draw' artificial brows - just fill in any gaps which might be there with light, short strokes and comb them to blend. It looks far better and natural that way, trust me!
14. Apply a pink blush (Sleek Squash) with a light hand, sweeping upwards from the apples of your cheeks towards the temples.
15. Apply a glossy, semi-sheer lipstick like the Loreal Rouge Caress Aphrodite Scarlet to give the impression of healthy, naturally pink lips.
16. And we are done! Let your hair down, put on some eye-grabbing earrings and preen! :-D

Reading the step-by-step instructions might make you think this is an elaborate and time-consuming ritual, but honestly it hardly takes 15 minutes from start to finish once you get a hang of the eyeshadow blending.
Also the look can be easily customised with any other light lipcolour- nude, peach or coral- just make sure to co-ordinate the blush with the lipstick.
If anyone is reading this, do let me know how you liked the look and whether you'd like more such posts. Better still, try out the look yourself and let me know how it turned out! :-)