Catwalk makeup looks for less: Part 2
The second article in a short series, picking up on some of the major catwalk-led makeup trends from the A/W2010 collections. Now you can get the look without breaking the bank – nothing here costs more than a tenner.
In the first article I covered glamorous grunge, and now let’s turn to the ‘cashmere skin’ look. This was seen on many catwalks, especially at Chloe, and also at Ralph Lauren, Gucci, DKNY and others. It uses natural colours to get a healthy look, but be warned, there’s a lot of makeup involved! It’s all quite refined and luxurious, with a slight nod to the 1970s in some cases.
Examples of this look can be seen here, here and here.
The most important thing to get right here is the base. Foundation is definitely needed, preferably one that’s a good colour match to your own skin and that gives you a subtle glow. One of the easiest ways to get this effect is to pick an ‘anti-ageing’ or ‘anti-fatigue’ foundation, regardless of your age – they tend to have flattering light-diffusing properties. These can be picked up for a tenner or less from Revlon, L’Oreal, Max Factor, Bourjois, Boots and M&S (look out for 3-for-price-of-2 offers and other sales), and are pretty good quality.
The second most important part of this look is highlighter, adding a gleam to the tops of cheekbones and browbones. The aim here is to get glow, not sparkle or visible pieces of glitter. The cheapest option is to use a highlighter eyeshadow here if you already own one, especially if it’s soft cream or oyster coloured, and blend in well. Failing that, try an NYC (New York Color) Color Wheel Face Mosaic in ‘translucent’ for subtle glow at £3.99, or E.L.F.’s shimmer palette for £3.50 (see picture above) or Shimmering Facial Whip in ‘spotlight’ for £1.50. For more of a gleam, you can also try MeMeMe’s Beat The Blues Illuminator in ‘moonbeam’ for £4.50.
Cheeks are either coloured with honey/peach blusher or sculpted with matte bronzer, or have a mixture of both. For honey/peach, paler skins might like NYC’s powder in ‘Sutton Place peach’ for £2.99 or an E.L.F mineral blush for £3.50, or darker skins might prefer Rimmel’s Powder Blush mono in ‘010 peach’ (possibly discontinued but can be picked up on eBay for about £2.50, incl P&P). Rimmel also have a 3-in-1 Multi-tonal powder blush for £4.99 in ‘003 Autumn catwalk’ that might suit. It’s hard to find reasonably-priced non-sparkly bronzers in natural colours, but it’s worth looking at NYC and Rimmel again here, for products around the £5 mark. You can also find discounted Pop Cheeky Cakes in ‘beach beauti’ (colour and bronzer in the same tin) for only £2.99 at DirectCosmetics.
Eyes have an almost glossy look to the lids, mainly in browns, taupes and caramels. Try some of the shimmering natural shades in the Sleek I-Divine palette in ‘Storm’ (see pic above) for £5.99, or try one of the newer Revlon Luxurious eye shadows in a satin finish, such as ‘sienna’ or ‘bronze’ for £4.99. Eyeliner is soft in coffee or charcoal, or absent. Try a GOSH Velvet Touch or Kohl Eyeliner for £4.50, or a BodyShop Eye Definer for £7.50. Or just use a dark eyeshadow and a dampened fine brush.
Lips are either in soft, healthy nude colours and soft peaches, or in shades of brown. I like Rimmel’s Vinyl Gloss in ‘730/cosmic’ for £4.99, or you could try one of the new Bourjois Sweet Kiss Natural lipsticks in one of the neutral colours, for £7.99. You could also hunt around some of the official discount beauty websites to find offers on satin-finish lipsticks from more expensive brands.
If you’re really broke: make do with any foundation and concealer you already have and head to Superdrug to pick up the Sleek I-Divine palette (you’ll probably be able to use the lightest eyeshadow as a cheekbone highlighter) and a nude/neutral Sheer Colour Lipstick from Sleek (£3.69) or a peachy or caramel-coloured lipstick from NYC (£1.99). Not bad – under £10 for more than one look.
