How to: Stunning Holiday Look

December 11, 2009 at 5:00 am Beau Nelson Leave a comment

Happy Holidays everyone!  Here’s a look from one of my latest photoshoots with the super talented photographer Owen Bruce, the stunning Alana Zimmer and the ultra talented Creative Director of Shu Uemura Art Of Hair Ryoji. The team worked amazingly together and we got some stunning shots, some of which are absolutely perfect for holiday–like this one!

The Look: Dramatic Lips, Silver eyes

I started by using Shu Uemura Nobara Cream foundation Stick (my new obsession) with Beauté foundation brush to create flawless, glowing skin. This foundation is great because not only is it portable, but the coverage is also completely adjustable (everything from super sheer to airbrushed), and it never looks heavy.

When doing foundation. I use powder quite minimally because I like the skin to glow.  Generally, I use a smaller brush (Beaute Contour) to deposit powder wherever I need it, which is usually the sides of the nose, a little around the mouth, and a minimal dusting under eyes to set foundation.

I used an upcoming product from Beauté to contour her face under the cheekbones and under the jawline. I also used another upcoming shimmery product to highlight the tops of the cheekbones and the brow bone.

With a soft blender brush, I applied a silver metallic shadow (NARS Bombshell) to the lid and just above the crease. I swept the shadow under the eye with a smaller brush and blended to blend the edges so it was seamless. I then used the same blender brush to apply a darker gray shadow (MAC Print) to the crease. I curled lashes using the Shu Uemura lash curler and applied my favorite mascara: YSL Faux Cils.

When doing a strong lip, I often feel the need to balance the face by defining the brow. I never like heavy brows, so I tend to do this lightly and with care. One product I have found indispensable lately is the Kevyn Aucoin brow pencil; this comes in three shades, but I only carry one in my kit, which is the dark taupe color: a universal shade. I apply this in small feathery strokes and then use the spoolie end of the pencil to brush through the brow, diffusing the color even further. I then set the pencil with a slightly paler powder shadow using the Beauté Brow brush. (If eyebrows are very fair, I tend to skip the pencil and apply only the shadow, which gives a much softer look.)

Clean, perfect red lips are often hard to achieve at home and to upkeep throughout the night. To create these lips, I started by staining them deep red with Beauté Fever liqui-gel stain for cheeks and lips, taking care especially at the edges of the lip. For precision I used the Beauté lip brush to create a sharp edge and let the color set and dry between applications. I used 2 applications here to get a deep red color. I then applied Beauté Masochist Weightless Lip Creme over top and finished with a touch of Urge Gloss. This layering technique, while not essential, is helpful in maintaining the color. The stain lasts far beyond most other lip products, so when the gloss and lipstick layers have faded, lips are still stained deep red and there is minimal touch up required!

Entry filed under: Beauty How-To. Tags: Beau Nelson, Beaute, Kevyn Aucoin, MAC, Masochist, NARS, Red, Shu Uemura, Silver, stain, YSL.