Tutorial: Neutral Sculpted Look

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but when I was younger I used to be very self-conscious about my uneven lids. Oh, the tons of pictures I now regret deleting, just because at that time I couldn't bear my "hideous" eyes. I've largely made peace with it. I know I can't change that part of myself, and frankly, not many people notice until I point it out anyway.

But because of that, I don't do what I call "Asian makeup" very often. I prefer looks that give me more drama on the eyes, just because that would allow me to even out my eyes a little. Well, last week I threw on an outfit that felt very Japanese/Taiwanese (I'm abusing stereotypes in this post. Forgive me) and I thought I should have the makeup to go with it. It was a first for me, going for such a clean look, but guess what, it's now stored under my list of favorites waiting to be reused.

For a supposedly simple look, there are a lot of products and steps involved. I have the tendency to complicate simple things, so my apologies. Below is the breakdown for each part:

Hair

I combed my hair pin straight instead of leaving it as the scrunched up messiness you usually see on here. You're looking (perhaps for the first time) at my hair as it naturally is.

Skin

I wanted the skin to look flawless and glowy (let's ignore the dry bits. It's winter). I've been obsessed with dewy skin recently, and have always been curious about how to achieve it without becoming an oil mess within an hour. I think I just might have gotten it.

I started by prepping the skin with Sunday Riley Effortless Breathable Tinted Primer, then applied a pump of Burberry Fresh Glow Luminous Fluid Base all over the skin. Next, I swept a light pink highlighter all over the face (Guerlain Cruel Gardenia), and only then I applied Le Métier de Beauté Peau Vierge #2 as my foundation. Finally, I used a finishing powder to seal everything in. It is important to avoid mattifying powders because well, that defies the entire purpose. My loose powder of choice is Le Métier de Beauté Classic Flawless Finish Loose Powder #1 (which incidentally, has been discontinued by the company. If it is your HG, stock up while it lasts). Best thing is, all of these products were so lightweight I hardly felt anything on my skin (that's five layers we're talking about). It definitely felt like a rock star after such attention.  

Eyes

Shade in your eyebrows following your natural shape. 

I used a pearly white shade as an all-over lid wash (I used Bobbi Brown Metallic Long-Wear Cream Shadow in Opal 13), then lined my eyes with the tiniest flick of wings with MAC Fluidline in Midnight Blues and Le Métier de Beauté Precision Eye Liner in Noir. If you look closely at the second picture you can see the blue underneath the black. I used the remnants of blue ink on my brush to line my bottom lash line one-third of the way, then used Le Métier de Beauté Sugar to highlight the inner corners as well as the rest of the bottom lash line to give the appearance of wider eyes. 

Lashes were courtesy of Guerlain Noir G Mascara, the best curling, separating, lengthening, potentially volumizing mascara I've used in my life. 

Cheeks

I contoured my cheeks using Burberry Light Glow in Earthy Blush No. 07 and created the faintest of flushes with Le Métier de Beauté Romeo and Juliet Blushing Bronze Duet. 

Lips

I went for a semi-matte pink (think natural looking) shade, courtesy of Paul and Joe Lipstick C in 076 Meow!

And done! I hope you enjoyed my sudden tutorial. If you are inspired to recreate the look, please share it with us via Facebook. I would love to see it!