12 Posts Before Christmas: Christmas Dinner Party Makeup

Hello!

Christmas dinners are quite common events, and as I'm a uni student, society dinners and dinners with friends have made my evening makeup routine become a lot more standard and this is my go-to look for a nice dinner.

For the face, I use whatever foundation I feel like at the time, usually I go with the Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Airbrush Powder Foundation because I like the high coverage and I like the fact it is a powder as I feel it helps a bit with the oil. I love contouring and highlighting so on my cheeks I use the Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer, theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer, and Bare Minerals Ready Blush in the shade the Whisper which I can no longer find online. I find that this trio works really nicely together to give a really pretty look. The blush is understated enough to not look too bright and the highlight is just gorgeous and reflective.

For lips, I know that a red lip is considered the Christmas classic, but at a dinner, I don't want to be faffing around with re-applying or worrying about my lipline, so I go with a classic nude. This year I've been loving Clinique Nude Pop which I got a sample of in last month's Glamour magazine, but my go-to option last year was shade 08 from the Rimmel Kate Lasting Finish line. Occasionally I also pop Rimmel Exaggerate lip liner in East End Snob underneath to help it last longer.

Since I go relatively easy on the face, the eyes are really the focus. If I have time before the dinner, I try and get my brows threaded to get the shape really nice, then I fill it in with the Anastasia Dip Brow Pomade in Dark Brown. Then I use my Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion or the Helen E Stage eyeshadow primer. For the shadows my go-to is my Urban Decay quad that I put together myself. Not all the shades are available in the permanent line though. I use the shade Melt all over my lid, then Buck in the crease with Snakebite deepening the outer corner. I use the shade Minor Sin or my theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer for an inner corner and browbone highlight. 

I love a good liquid liner and my pick is the Kanebo Kate Super Sharp Liquid Liner as I find the fine brush nib very easy to use. However, the Amazon link I've added is a over-priced in my opinion and it's hard to get the product here in the UK. An alternative which I've only tried once and therefore cannot say if it's as good is the L'Oreal Superliner So Couture. It's a similar brush nib. In the waterline, I love the Rimmel Scandeleyes Waterproof Eye Liner in Nude on the bottom and the black on the top.

Final step in my routine is eyelashes. I use Benefit's They're Real Mascara on my top lashes and Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara on the bottom lashes. I love these together for making my eyelashes look longer and more volumised, though the Benefit mascara does clump.

I know this routine may seem quite natural for some people and honestly it's just an amped up version of my daytime look, but I find that a lot of the time, my friends don't really wear makeup and I'd rather not be the only one with a smokey eye and glitter everywhere. Also, for a dinner, I feel understated makeup is a bit more suitable, but it's up to you what you decide to wear!

Let me know what your go-to makeup look for a Christmas party/dinner is in the comments below!

Signing off now,

Dusty Foxes

Valentine's Day Makeup

I've never been a "Valentine's day girl". To me this day wasn't particularly special or anything like that. I didn't rush to get chocolates or to put heart-shaped ornaments around or even to do anything special. I remember that in previous years all my Valentine's gifts were from girls because a lot of my friends in an all girls school used to give their friends presents. This year I decided to do my makeup nicely and try something different. I, very intelligently, did not take any pictures of the look I ended up with, but I hope that this gives you some idea of what I wore for V-day.

I started with the 17 Pwoarr paint I mentioned in my Project 10 pan post. I just patted on a little under my eyes as that's where I need just a little bit more help. 

I then used my favourite foundation at the moment which is the Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Airbrush Foundation. This is what I pull out when I want a really flawless finish that feels really light on the skin and keeps me from becoming too oily. I apply this with the Airbuki brush and really buff it into the skin and it's just amazing.

For blush it was a close tie between this Sleek Blush in Pomogranate and the one in Antique. In the end I went for this slightly shimmery, plummy colour to perk up the skin a bit more. As Sleek blushes are so pigmented, I applied this very lightly using the Real Techniques Blush Brush. Personally, for the look I ended up going for, I wish I went for Antique or Coral as they would have suited it better.

Of course in the spirit of project 10 pan, I used this trio as well. I used the Barry M Natural Dazzle Matt Bronzing Powder to add a bit of a contour as I am addicted to it. I used the Real Techniques Contour Brush (part of the core collection kit) for my cheekbones and around my face and used an Etude House angled eye contour brush for my nose. 

I then dusted the Soap and Glory Glow All Out powder just on the top of my cheekbones very slightly using the Real Techniques Setting Brush. This is currently my everyday contour/highlight routine.

I use the MUA single eyeshadow in 20 mixed with a little of the Barry M bronzer to define my eyebrows. I used to use this by itself, but lately I prefer a slightly lighter and browner eyebrow look, so just a little of the bronzer makes this perfect. I use the Zoeva Wing Liner brush to draw little strokes and I love it.

For eyes, I went for the Sleek Vintage Romance palette. I mean, it is Valentine's Day makeup. I wasn't lucky enough to get this in the limited edition packaging, but I really like the colours in this palette.

I used the shade Bliss in Barcelona (purple-blue shimmer), which is the 4th shade on the bottom row all over the lid, blended out for a simple smoky eye and a bit of it under my lower lash line. I used the Zoeva Smoky Shader to lay down the colour then used the Zoeva Luxe Soft Creaseto blend it out. I then used the shade Romance in Rome (dark blue shimmer) (5th on the top row) as a definer colour and I used the Zoeva Luxe Pencil to make a sideways V-shape on the outer corner. A lot of blending later I used the shade Love in London (black with multi-coloured glitter) (last shade, bottom row) as an eyeliner and I used the Crownbrush Angle Liner Brush for that. Finally, to add a bit of light into my inner corners, I used the shade Pretty in Paris (white shimmer) (1st shade, top row) and the Zoeva Detail Liner Brush. 

I then put on lots of the Benefit They're Real mascara and Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara and a few of the medium and short Tanya Burr individual Lashes. As you can tell, I had some time to do my makeup!

In my last step, I blended a very small amount of the 17 Pwoarr Paint on the outer edges of my lips then used the 2True Cheek and Lip Tint blended onto the middle. I think I have the Rose shade, but I can't really remember. This is a technique I saw for a lot of Korean makeup tutorials and I really like the "just-bitten" look. Also, a tint is great if you're going to be kissing/eating lots of chocolates!

I hope all of you had a very lovely Valentine's day! Let me know if you'd like me to recreate this look and post it on instagram or something as I know that not everyone can picture what I'm talking about. Also let me know what you think of Valentine's day. Love it or can't be bothered or is it a day of "enforced romanticism"? Comment down below!

Signing off now

Dusty Foxes