I was looking for Valentine's Day makeup inspiration the other day and not really finding anything I liked. Most of the looks that came up were on the heavy side, with false lashes, graphic eyeliner, glitter on the eyes, strong highlighter or matte lips - more often that not all of of the above. While I think those looks are beautiful I have no desire to turn myself into an Instagram "queen" to celebrate Valentine's Day. Don't get me wrong, I love a good dramatic look and I wear smokey eyes and bold lipstick to go to the grocery store. But for Valentine's Day I prefer a much softer, romantic look that lets my actual face, and not my makeup, be the star of the show.

So I decided to just create my own and here's what I came up with: a 10 minute, super easy look for a fresh flirty face that will work no matter your age or skill level. And I guarantee you already have all the products you need in your makeup bag!

I was inspired by makeup artist and Lancôme creative director Lisa Eldridge's work: she always creates very fresh and clean looks that focus on beautiful skin and colors that flatter the complexion. She's light-handed, and her models always end up looking gorgeous but very natural. If you haven't already, you should watch her videos on Youtube. She's so sweet and kind, I find watching her very calming!


For this Valentine's Day look, I tried to achieve healthy-looking skin that glows from within and big bright eyes, using fresh pink on the lips and cheeks, and a soft taupe on the eyes. I'll list the products I used below for reference, but you should be able to create something similar with products you already own. Of note: I'm not a makeup artist, and I'm not even particularly talented. I'm just a girl over 35 with a passion for makeup and a very large collection.


PRODUCTS I USED




FACE


In order to erase dark shadows under my eyes I used a salmon color corrector (Bobbi Brown) before my concealer (Clarins). I applied the Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation which was a perfect match for this look since it evens and smoothes out the skin but remains very natural, with a soft radiant effect. Any light to medium foundation with a satin or dewy finish would work, and you can use your favorite primer underneath for longer wear.

As a finishing powder I used the Guerlain Météorites Strobing palette that I reviewed just a few weeks ago. It leaves a soft, slightly blurred finish but it's also very luminous with the subtle shimmer. Products that would create a similar effect: any other version of the Météorites powder, Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder. If you don't own any luminizing finishing powder, just load your brush with your usual powder then gently dab it on the most subtle pressed highlighter you own before swiping all over your face.


EYES


I know Valentine's day is all about pink, but it's not my favorite color to wear on the eyes, so I reserved it to the cheeks and lips. Instead I prefer to wear a soft shimmery taupe to brighten. For this look I used Burberry Eye Colour Cream in Mink because I like cream shadows, but you could use any of your taupe powder eyeshadows. Wet N Wild Nutty is one of my favorites at the drugstore. Pick a lighter or darker shade depending on your skin tone and how much of a brightening effect you want.

After applying my taupe cream shadow with my fingertips from the lash line to the crease, I applied a rosy transition shade into an just above my crease, using a rounded tapered brush. The shadow I used is by Kiko. Use any of your favorite transition shade with a rosy or pink undertone to match the lips and cheeks.

The next step is one I never skip and that makes a huge difference: tightlining. The idea is to fill the gaps in between your lashes to give the illusion that they are fuller. You can do this with a pencil liner and there are different techniques to achieve this result. The one I find the easiest is to use a very thin square liner brush dipped into a dark eyeshadow (surprisingly powder eyeshadow lasts longer on my waterline than any pencil eyeliner). I gently touch my upper waterline with the brush, trying to stay as close to the lash line as possible. The shadow I use to tightline is Bobbi Brown Espresso from a palette I've had for years.

Finally I used a mascara that gives volume, length and helps keep the curve I create with my eyelash curler. For this look I used the popular L'Oréal Voluminous Lash Paradise, but I'm actually not 100% sure how I feel about it yet. My favorite mascaras that would work well for this are: Lancôme Grandiôse, Lancôme Monsieur Big, Urban Decay Perversion. You want to choose a mascara that adds a bit of drama rather than something very natural for this look, since we're keeping the eyes very simple. Work your mascara specifically on the center and outer corner of the upper lash line, but on the inner corner of the lower lash line. It makes your eyes look bigger.

For my brows, I also kept it very natural with Benefit's Gimme Brow tinted fiber gel. It's now discontinued but you can find similar products at the drugstore.

Optional:
- take your taupe shadow down along your lower lash line and blend it with your transition shade. For this look I would be very light-handed on the lower lash line because we're trying to go for a big doe-eyes look. With my eye shape adding color to the lower lash line can weigh down my eyes, so I skipped it completely for this look.
- use a white or beige eyeliner on your lower waterline to intensify the "big eyes" look. I already have large eyes naturally so I don't really need to do that, but if you have smaller eyes it would make a visible difference.
- do a very thin line with a black eyeliner on your upper lash line with a little flick on the outer corner. Nothing too big with a huge wing though!


CHEEKS & LIPS


That's where I went for the bright pink color, still keeping it very soft and fresh. I used the shade Fuchsia from Stila's Sunrise Splendor palette. This is a cream product for both the cheeks and lips, and Fuchsia is a cool-toned, vibrant medium pink (second from the left on the photo above). I applied it a little heavier than what I normally do on the cheeks (I know it doesn't look like it on the photos but blush really tends to disappear on camera) to get that fresh, brightening effect such a bright pink color provides on my complexion. If you don't have cream cheek & lip products, use one of your brightest pink blush in a shade that you know looks very luminous on your skin tone. Or use your favorite bright pink lipstick: get some color on your fingertip and dab gently just below your cheekbone, making sure to blend well.

To emphasize the soft glow I created with my luminizing powder, I used a liquid highlighter in a pale champagne shade that gives a very natural, dewy finish. It's a past limited edition cushion highlighter from Lancôme, but any liquid highlighter can do if you only apply a tiny amount (Wet n Wild now makes a cushion highlighter). What we're trying to do here is to give your skin that healthy lit-from-within look so less is more. I applied the highlighter on my cheek bones then ran my brush from my forehead down to my chin, along my nose and cupid's bow.

On the lips I applied the Stila Convertible cream in Fuchsia very lightly with a lip brush for a stained matte effect. To add volume and dimension I added Huda Beauty Lip Strobe in Snobby, a gloss with gold and rose shimmer, to the center of the lips. I like this gloss because it doesn't melt the lipstick underneath and it stays right where you apply it rather than smudge all over your lips. But you could achieve the same effect with any clear shimmering gloss, just don't use very much of it.




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