Wedding Bells: DIY Make-up for a Natural Look

Posted by: Sienna Orlando

July
11
2011

Wedding bells were ringing . . . and ringing, as my groom waited nervously at the altar for his do-it-yourselfer bride to arrive.

Choosing to have our wedding in an extremely remote part of California meant I wasn't going to have a make-up artist. A few weeks before the wedding I appealed to my sister for help and together we created a look that I loved, and would also work well for pictures.

What they tell you about wedding pictures: Cake on the make-up. Wear waaaaay more foundation and everything than you would in real life.

What I decided on: I just felt too uncomfortable greeting my family and friends in a flesh-colored mask of paint. I decided to go with a medium to light coverage of foundation, concealer under the eyes and pops of color on the cheeks and eyelids. It's a very subdued, natural look indeed, but no one can say I wasn't a blushing bride!

Here is my entire palette laid out for you with one exception: item 7 1/2 was my favorite Revlon Perle Eyeshadow in Sunlit Sparkle (an almost white shimmer that was too loved to photograph).

Clear skin was my friend that day, and I had a simple but strict regimen of washing my face twice a day with none other than St. Ive's Apricot Scrub. The entire application of my make-up took about 5 minutes, and while I did use a brush for item 6, almost everything else was applied with fingertips!

Face:

1. Smashbox Photo Finish Facial Primer 2. Smashbox Sheer Focus tinted Moisturizer 3. M.A.C. Studio Fix Fluid 4. M.A.C. Studio Finish Concealer 5. Smashbox Creamy Cheek Color & Brush 6. M.A.C. Magically Cool Liquid Powder in Honey Rose

How To: Moisturize (2), Prime (1), then cover your face evenly with a comfortable amount of foundation (3).

Touch up with concealer (4); I used M.A.C.'s heavy duty concealer to eliminate dark circles under my eyes.

Finish with a soft helping of blush (5) and a light swath of shimmery powder (6) along cheeks.

Eyes:

7. Smashbox Photo Finish Lid Primer 8. Smashbox Eye-Beam Double-Ended Brightener 9. Smashbox Eye Shadow in Ambient 10. Smashbox Hyperlash Mascara in Blackout

For eyes: Prime (7) and cover with a light eye shadow (7 1/2).

I used the eye brightener (8) along my upper lid and the inside corners of my eyes.

Dab a bit of gold at the corners of lids (9) and finish with plenty of mascara!

Lips:

11. Smashbox Limitless Lip Stain and Color Seal Balm in Petal

Lips: Pretty self-explanatory. I probably could have used a touch-up before pictures though, I think I smooched a bunch off at the ceremony!

Do you have any favorite looks for wedding make-up?

Smashbox: the Try It Kit

Posted by: Sienna Orlando

June
23
2011

If you're surprised to see a beauty blog by me, it's because I don't wear a lot of make-up. Preferring a low-maintenance, natural look, I stumbled through the Smashbox website looking for some quality products for a special occasion and found the Try It Kit!

With five fun products to play with, this not-so mini kit includes the following:

• Photo Finish Foundation Primer
• Photo Finish Lid Primer
• Hyperlash Mascara in Blackout
• Lip Enhancing Gloss in Illume
• Limitless Eye Liner in Onyx

My Favorite by Far: The compact little mascara really only takes a touch to boost my Italian lashes into bright black perfection. Oh, and it doesn't smear and give me raccoon eyes halfway through the day which is always a plus. (I actually bought a tube of mascara that did that one time and ended up looking like part of the Thriller video, yikes!)

Runner Up: The eyelid primer. You know how your eye shadow never seems to stay on past lunch? Well, a little smear of this lid primer will totally help your favorite shimmer stick around for a while!

Why did I choose Smashbox?: Because most of the products used on the models here at LuLu*s are Smashbox, and every time I have gotten to dabble with them I've never been disappointed.

Results?: Overall I am totally impressed with the quality of everything that came in this exciting little box, and definitely found it worth the money. What do you think, would you try it?

Get The Look: Hot Fushia Lips

Posted by: Kathleen McHatton

September
24
2009

All of us here at LuLu*s just had to have the latest addition to the photo shoot makeup bag: Smashbox's Photo Finish Lipstick in Flirty. This pretty fuchsia shade is just perfect for any time of the day or night, and surprisingly flattering on most skin tones.

You can find it modeled on Kyndra from today's photo shoot!