Old Hollywood Glamour

Earlier this week, I shared photos from my spectacular Valentine's Day date at the French Embassy Ball.  Not only was it a wonderfully romantic date with my guy, it was such a fun reason to get glammed-up!  To go with my black lace gown, I chose old Hollywood inspired make-up with pops of red.

This week, Bri at Work Clothes, I Suppose is hosting her Third Thursday Threads series featuring beauty!  I thought that this would be a perfect opportunity to talk a little bit more about the primping I did before the ball.  

Just as a disclaimer, I love to play with make-up but I am by no means an expert.  I have always enjoyed learning make-up techniques and trying new products.  I have also been known to play "make-up artist" for my sister's proms and even my best friend's wedding!  I am guilty, however, of wearing pretty boring make-up on a day to day basis (but who really wants to play with make-up at 5:30 every morning?).  That being said, I stepped-out of my comfort zone when doing my make-up Friday evening.

As I said above, I wanted a classically glamorous look to go with my black gown and I thought pops of red would be appropriate for the holiday of love.

I started my look by applying my concealer, foundation and eye shadow.  I used the Naked 2 pallet by Urban Decay to create a soft and subtle eye.  I didn't want anything too dramatic since I knew that my eye liner and lipstick were going to be the stars of the show.  I used "Foxy" to highlight my brow bone, "Bootycall" on my lid, and "Chopper" in my crease.

The trickiest part for me was mastering the "cat eye" look with a winged liquid black liner.  I used Bobby Brown's Ink Liner in "Blackest Black."  I started by simply lining my upper lashes.  I started with a thin line and slowly made it thicker until I achieved the look I wanted.  Remember, you can always put more on but it's harder to take some off.  Next, I drew a short line from the corner of my eye in the direction of the outer edge of my eyebrow.  From there, I drew another short line back towards my eye to create a thin triangle.  Finally, I filled-in the triangle.  I finished my eye look with Rocket mascara by Maybelline as recommended by my friend Allie at Buttons and Bees Beauty.

For my lips, I used NARS lipliner in "Jungle Red."  I lined my lips and then colored them in (that way when your lipstick wears-off you aren't left with the "just lipliner" look.  Finally, I used "Red" by Bobby Brown to complete my lip!

What I'm Wearing:

• Foundation: Mary Kay (exact)
• Eye Shadow: Ulta (exact)
• Eye Liner: Blue Mercury (exact)
• Mascara: CVS (exact)
• Lip Liner: Blue Mercury (exact)
• Lipstick: Blue Mercury (exact)