Makeover: Anna

Another Sunday, another makeover ... please meet Anna:

Anna came to me a couple of weeks ago, wanting to look more polished, and also to see how to create a smokey eye that would suit her beautiful grey-green eyes.  We decided on a neutral brown palette from Pixi to create the look around - I can't read the name on the packaging anymore, sorry - and I thought keeping the focus on those lovely eyes was definitely the way forward.

First things first, as always, we start with creating the perfect base.  Anna has some red marks, and a few pigmentation issues, so a foundation that could double up as a concealer was ideal.  I chose Benefit Play Stick foundation in Jax.  I really like these foundation sticks as they're really versatile, and you can amuse yourself painting pictures on your face before you blend them in! (Yes, I am a child).  We dotted a little extra over the problem areas,  blended well, then finished with a layer of Benefit Bluffdust to even out the complexion.  Here's how it looked after:

Already a little more polished! From the eyeshadow palette below, I used shade two as a colour wash all over the lid, and used shade 1 as a brow highlight (this is a well loved and much abused palette, so please forgive how it looks!):

I thought these colours worked really well on their own and would be suitable for a pretty and polished day time look with just a touch of mascara.  Anna wanted something a little more defined however, so I went on and used shade 3 to add some contour definition, and shade 4 as a liner:

 

Then, of course, it was time for mascara, we added a layer of Lancome Hypnose, and it really made her eyes stand out:

After this, we added blush (MAC Blushbaby) and a tiny slick of lipgloss (Prescriptives Stellar) and the look was finished:

Polished, subtle, slightly smokey, and really lovely.  Here's the before and afters:

Still waiting to hear how the date went, Anna!