This one is a mega post, long but fun! In a world where everything beautiful is said to be subjective to taste I still have my personal standards, especially when it comes to makeup for little women. Call me old-fashioned but when it comes to prom makeup I still strongly think that it ought to celebrate youth and not mask it entirely. I feel like breaking out into a rash whenever I hear about young people pulling all sorts of strings to try to look older at prom. I spent the other night helping prep my cousin Stella who was invited to an all boys' school prom. I did her makeup upon request.
There's a fine line difference between looking older and looking of age and I always sincerely that hope girls decide on the latter just as Stella did. Read on for a before and after shot, products used, details on how I did it and a sneak peek at Stella's personal makeup kit at the end.
Stella is a very lovely girl and does not wear makeup daily, only on occasion. The only stuff she tends to put on daily is at most lip balm, sunscreen, and Benefit Sun Beam liquid highlighter which flatters her tan nicely ( Note: we did not use Sun Beam in the prom look). Stella almost finished her first Sun Beam bottle and her Mom repurchased a second one for her while were at the hotel. She claims that using a bit more makeup on occasion has increased her interest.
PRODUCTS USED (In order) BASE After prepping Stella's face and lips with Pixi Glow Mist and Bioderma lip ointment I began with foundation. MAKE UP FOR EVER HD Foundation in 125 (Original formula,not Ultra) was blended from the center of the face outward and under the eye area, then thinly around the rest of the face and slightly down the neck.
CONCEALERI used CLINIQUE EVEN BETTER foundation in Neutral as a concealer because Stella's skin clear anyway so I didn't want to use a heavy, regular concealer on her young skin. So I picked this slightly illuminating foundation that had more coverage to function as a lighter concealer on darker areas.
MULTIPLE SETTING POWDERS (I used 3, but it doesn't look like 3 on her face because I had a plan):FS COSMETICS Cake Powder Foundation in Mocha is always a great "padlock" for makeup if I want it to last. It's a heavier coverage powder that I use to pat, press in, and lock down all the concealed areas and the T-zone but I DON'T use it all over the face unless I'm going for the "showbiz" damp application. I avoid using FS powder on the cheek and broader surface areas because it completely knocks out the radiance of the foundation and might not allow the beauty of Stella's own skin to show through. I brought this down the neck also to set the base on he neck.
ELLANA MINERALS Loose Powder Foundation I lightly dusted this over certain areas only to help set the rest of the foundation without completely masking it.
BOBBI BROWN Skin Weightless powder foundation is a less dense powder than the previous two but is super flawless as an overall setting powder used to tie it all together. It has the most finely milled oil controlling texture that doesn't get patchy and turns to a beautiful finish once the face starts to oil up so that's why I picked this to be the final surface powder lightly dusted over the face. One thing my aunt said about her daughter's makeup was"It looks like she got prettier as the night went on..." after she saw some online snapped photos taken under irregular lighting.
CATRICE Matt Bronzing Powder for Darker Skin was used to lightly define and add tones to Stella's complexion. I didn't want to harshly contour her face
HAPPY SKIN's Sculptacular Contour Kit was used to highlight and shape the nose just in a subtle way, but the contour shade in this kit was used more as a deepening eyeshadow for Stella's eyes.
SHISEIDO blush compact in "Starfish" OR 308 is my go to peachy/orange-y blush. It's a warmer slightly more golden version of NARS Madly. I applied this generously across the apples of her cheeks. I was torn at first whether to give stella a rosy pink or a sunlit peachy glow...I went for the latter so that warm tones wouldn't fight with her tan and golden, sparkly Debbie Co dress.
Not in the photo above is the #05 Santee baked mineral powder highlighter I used to give Stella a bit of glow on the high points of her face.
BROWSStella's brows are beautiful, but I still lightly shaved some stray hairs underneath the arch with a disinfected blade ( Hygienix ethyl alcohol) and then set to work with product. I then brushed the brows up and outward before defining.
I used MAKE UP FOR EVER Pro Sculpting Brow Pencil just to deepen some areas then to define the brow shape and make sure it lasted the night I used Tony Moly's 7-Days Tattoo Eyebrow pen.
EYESI primed Stella's lids first with NARS Smudgeproof primer as a first step.
There were two things I forgot to include in the product flatlay shot above, the Jane Iredale Getaway palette from which I used the nude pink shade all over the lid and MAC All That Glitters eyeshadow popped in the center. I also forgot to take a shot of Stella looking down so you could see that, sorry. I worked and blended in the HAPPY SKIN Sculptacular contour kit deep brown shade in the crease of the lid. I then finished by dusting Catrice Matte Bronzing Powder also all over the eyelid with a fluffy brush to unify the eye look and warm it up.
I did mascara first before eyeliner just this time because I wanted to see if the look could fly without eyeliner. I curled Stella's long lashes with my trusty Fanny Serrano lash curler ( they don't sell this lash curler anymore, the one with his name in cursive). I then applied Browhaus waterproof HD Mascara and her lashes went boom even without false lashes. I had Dolly Wink false lashes on standby but ended up not using them because of the impact after mascara on Stella. I did decide though that she still needed eyeliner. She liked this shot because it showed off her goofy personality and the makeup at the same time, seen here with her dad.
I used Dolly Wink LineBeat Waterproof Automatic Pencil Eyeliner in black to create subtle winged eyeliner, the sort of subtle winged liner Kate Winslet would wear, not too out there. I didn't use a liquid pen liner because I didn't want the eyeliner to look too graphic and sharp. Stella didn't want eyeliner on her bottom lashline so I just added the same mascara to her bottom lashes and used a pencil brush to smudge across that with brown eyeshadow and deepen a little.
I defined and slightly filled Stella's lips with MAKEOVER lipliner in Natural and then filled them with MAX FACTOR's waterproof Lipfinity Color & Gloss in the bestselling shade Crystal Bronze. I told her to wait before rubbing her lips together because Lipfinity needs a few minutes to set over the lips. Then I applied clear gloss on top so it wouldn't feel tight.
As a finishing touch I applied Benefit Bathina balm to Stella's shoulders and collar bone to give them a subtle, light reflective glow
Stella was also game to show her personal to-go makeup stash for regular days, a nice little one to take whenever she wants to touch up and look fresh.
STELLA'S STASH:Benefit Sun Beam liquid highlighter, BeneBalm, Kiehl's Lip Balm in cranberry, Maybelline Hypercurl waterproof mascara, Maybelline Eyestudio gel liner in black, Benefit High Brow Glow pencil.
So this was the finished look! Stella's lovely slightly vintage hairdo by the way was done by Eddie Mar Cabiltes (@eddiemarcabiltes on IG), a hair professional and my trusted and good friend whom I've worked with already for a couple of years. So makeup by myself and hair by Eddie Mar :).
Hairstylist Eddie Mar () trained and taught students at L'Oreal Academy so he knows how to cut and color hair as well, you should also know that he was assigned to Leighton Meester (following the height of Gossip Girls popularity), Zac Efron, and Ian Somerhalder when they came here for Penshoppe and recently, The Vamp boy band. I hope you enjoyed this LONG entry, but it's jampacked with product details and techniques I used. I had a paid internship has a junior salon manager locally in Forbes Makati, then I took makeup courses with MAKE UP FOR EVER Singapore. I flew back home after Singapore training to begin work a couple of years back in TV commercials and advertising. If you're interested to hire me as a pro makeup artist (shameless plugging that I don't do enough of) for proms, fashion projects, advertising, occasion or event makeup you can email me at [email protected].
