I am no makeup artist, by any stretch of the imagination; I can barely apply eyeliner! What I am is a painter. I love to play with color - something that I tended to focus on in art classes, rather than shape or composition.
When I first started my Etsy shop years ago (to fund this blog), I sold custom headbands. One of my favorite order requests was a large floral headband made of life-like fabric roses: just like the one behind my ear. To create my Rose Sunset look, I used a variety of vegan makeup brands all listed below.
The Look: Rose Sunset
Foundation: E.L.F Flawless Finish (a great foundation that only costs $6!)Brows: E.L.F Ultra Precise Brow Pencil ($5)
Eye shadow: Revolution Reloaded Palette in Iconic Fever ($7) ( used lower left corner color)
Mascara: Bare Minerals LASHTOPIA™ Mega Volume Mineral-Based Mascara ($20)
Lip: Charlotte Tilbury K.I.S.S.I.N.G. lipstick in Stoned Rose ($34), blended with NYX Retractable Lip Liner in Nude Pink ($5)
Blush: Milani Rose Powder Blush in Romantic Rose ($6-8)
Begin by applying your primer and foundation. After applying foundation (I used a cheapo $5 beauty blender), shape and pencil in your brows. I really like the E.L.F. Ultra Precise Brow Pencil because it allows for feather-like strokes, keeping your shape and brow feeling natural while also providing major definition should you want it.
Moving on to the eyes. I struggle with eye shadow so I aim to keep things as simple as possible. Using a fluffy blending brush I slowly worked an orange-y shade (with warm undertones) across my lid, and up to the base of my brow bone. I kept it soft on the edges - buffing the color out until the edges were perfectly hazy. When applying, bring the orange to the outer corner of the eye, then use a skinny, compact brush, and add the orange shadow to the lower lash line. Buff that out. Then take a mauve-y pink shimmer shadow (with cool undertones) and pat across the center of the lid. I used my finger. Buff the edges to both the inner and outer corners of the eye with a brush.
For my blush I used a Bare Minerals Seamless Buffing Brush (which also creates stunning clouds for my landscape paintings) working the color down from my temples (where my eye brows come to a tapered point) in a U shape to the apples of my cheeks. Then for good measure I also applied a bit of blush across the bridge of my nose. The Milani Rose Blush in Romantic Rose is stunning because it has flecks of gold, and a bit of shimmer to it making it multidimensional.
On my lips I first outlined them with the NYX lip liner, filling in with Charlotte Tilbury's Stoned Rose, and then blending the two together for the perfect shade. The K.I.S.S.I.N.G. lip colors are super creamy, and blend beautifully.
Finally, pile on a hefty dose of jet black mascara (although I bet this would be beautiful with brown for a softer look) to complete the look.
♥
