Hi everyone,
I did this very cute Valentine’s Day look for last year’s Valentine’s Day but became to ill to actually put it up before February 14th. This means I don’t know the exact products used in these pictures anymore, but I will tell you what I would use right now because I still think this look is very cute.
The thing about Valentine’s Day makeup is that most men don’t like women wearing loads of makeup, but when we wear no makeup at all that is not what they want. So we find a middle ground, we still feel sexy and comfortable, but we’re not doing the Red lip and false lashes in this look. We’re staying approachable and kissable. Also remember the most beautiful accessoire is a Smile!!!
I’m guessing I used the Naked Palette by Urban Decay for this look because it has all the colours needed for this look.
Always start looks off with a well cleansed face, don’t use a pore cleansing mudd mask the day before or you will have a breakout on the day itself because dirt will be drawn out.
You can use a mild scrub to ensure a glow if your skin doesn’t stay red afterwards. If you don’t wear makeup regularly, plan in enough time, you don’t want to have 5 minutes left and all of a sudden he’s early and you’re rushing and the date doesn’t start out relaxed and happy.
It’s a good idea (if you have the time) to take a pampering hour/hour and a half before the date. Drink tea, have a bath, de-fuzz, bodylotion, moisturize your face, do your hair, get dressed, brush your teeth and then start the makeup. That way the moisturizer can soak into the skin.
Use a primer before you put on your foundation (if you have oily skin use an oil free primer and foundation). If you’re extremely pale and you suddely feel like you need a little extra colour, mix a little tinted tanner (like Clinique – Face Bronzing Gel Tint (self sun)) in with your primer, that way you get a little extra tan (to blend into the hairline and down the neck very well. Don’t forget your ears and if you have your hair up, do the back of your neck too.
Now it’s time for foundation, creating the perfect canvas is something that I personally think is the most important thing, if you have great skin this will take less time then if you don’t, but a great eye-makeup on bad skin looks weird, great skin and only mascara still looks amazing.
I’m lucky when it comes to my skin, it’s pretty perfect most days. (I even don’t get so frustrated with the hyperpigmentation anymore). Here is me last week with only mascara: 
Choose a foundation that shows your skin through it, you can hide imperfections with a great concealer or some extra foundation later on, but you just want to even out the skin a little, you don’t want to look like you’re wearing a mask that will crack the moment you smile. I love Giorgio Armani Foundations and Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation, but you can also wear a heavier foundation but mix that with your primer (and fake tan if you chose to wear that), mixing is something I do a lot, mixing your primer with a foundation means it still will stay put, but you need less of both. I think I’m wearing the Dior -
Diorskin Airflash Spray Foundation that is ultra light on feel and coverage (unless you spray it more, you can build with this foundation).
Now look in the mirror and check your face, any streaks? any lines where you see that you’re wearing foundation (say at the hairline). If so, blend this out, if it’s at the hairline, I use a trick when I’m making blonds a lot more tan then they are, I use a clean toothbrush to brush the foundation into the hairline.
Now you’re ready for concealer, any spots? Use some green concealer over the red and blend it out (go over it with a little extra foundation to get the colours perfect again). Any darkness under the eyes? Use a salmon tinted corrector/concealer to help with the blue or use a light concealer or a brightener like YSL Touche Eclat to hide the darkness there. Again, a little goes a long way, we still need you looking like a human not like a doll. If you need to, powder your skin, if you can get away with it, powder only the T-zone or only where you need it.
Put a primer on your eyes right now, it needs time to dry before you apply shadows over it.
Now it’s time to contour, on my Basic Face Products post (incl. video at around 2 minutes) I tell you where to apply and several different products you can use for this. Please remember, you want to enhance your face, not end up with stripes over your face. Another post I did that’s very informative (if I do say so myself) is this How to contour post which tells you how to contour different face shapes.
Highlighting goes hand in hand with contouring, with a contour colour you push something in your face inwards, with a highlight you bring it out more, so for this look I contoured the side of my face, from my temples to under my cheekbones and under my jaw. I highlighted on the bridge of my nose, the browbone and on my cupid’s bow. Remember, you should look natural so BLEND!!!!
I don’t need a blush because I have rosy cheeks by nature, but if you need a little extra flush, use a colour that is the same as your cheek would be if you pinched it a little. Use it high on the cheekbones for a youthful look.
My brows only need a brushing through, but because you need to see how much colour your eyes need, do your brows now. When using a browpowder/pencil, use one that is one or two shades lighter then your natural haircolour if you’re a brunette (look for an ashy tone unless you’re a redhead). If you’re a blond, go for one to two shades darker then your haircolour, again stay clear of the red undertoned colours. Try to keep it very natural. If you find a stray hair, pluck it if it’s just one, if it’s more, leave it, you don’t want red skin around your brows tonight. If you’re reading this longer before your date, pluck your brows 2 days before your date. Don’t do a complete shape makeover unless you’re able to hide it if anything goes wrong.
As you can see this makeup is pretty but not harsh, I think I used only the Urban Decay Naked Palette.
I expect I used Sidecar from the Naked palette on my lid and blended this up, leaving my browbone untouched because I’d already highlighted that before. I’d also put this on the lower lashline. I’d blend Sin into the inner corner and on the “ball” of the lid. Next I’d blend a little of gunmetal into the outer V (you can see I kept the ball of the eye clear). I’d also blend this very softly onto the top lashline (except for the inner corner) and on the outer third of the lower lashline. If you want to darken it up even more, use Creep to darken up the outer part of the top lashline even more.
Now it’s time to curl your lashes and add mascara, I personally like the more natural look of my lashes, so I prefer the littlest amount of mascara to make then look like they’re just growing like that. If you use a waterproof mascara your curl will stay in the lashes longer. I didn’t use a lot of mascara on my lower lashes, only some on the outer corner lower lashes. This is because I don’t want any darkness under my eyes.
If you have a red waterline because of a hard day behind the computer, genetics, allergies, a cold or any other reason, use a skin coloured pencil on your waterline to hide this redness.
Add a lipbalm (tinted if you prefer) on your lips and you’re ready for your date 
You can sprits some perfume on if you want to smell extra amazing.
Now have a GREAT Valentine’s Day!! Don’t think about your makeup, it will be perfect. Think about your date, the conversation and everything else that will make this a wonderfull day.
