If you've been reading this blog for a while, you probably know that I'm a bit of a blush evangelist: I regularly preach that pale skinned people should seek out clean colors, bright-ish shades with zero brown in them. I think those colors brighten fair complexions (which can easily look dull and washed out), whereas browns and beiges and traditional "nudes" can look like muddy or weird.
But sometimes, those really brown shades are used very, very carefully on fair skin for runways or photoshoots, and the effect is very striking. This trend really caught my attention when I noticed it on Abbey Lee Kershaw, a model/actress I became mildly obsessed with after she portrayed The Dag in Mad Max: Fury Road.
Clearly a striking, unearthly, fascinating-looking woman. I should not try to copy any of the makeup they put on her face!
But I did. And here we are.
First, let's be honest: I do not have Kershaw's bone structure or general angelic qualities, so the makeup is never going to look as good on me as it does on her. But I like some of this. Obviously, Urban Decay Native is my favorite nude lipstick. (Actually, it's one of the only nudes that really works on my skintone.) And I'm kind of enjoying that haze of matte brown around my eyes; it doesn't look nearly as icky or aging as I thought it would.
Now for more honesty: I should not have tried a new brow product with this look. I'm pretty sure it's too warm for me. And holy shit, are you seeing how orange my blush looks in these photos?! I swear it was a rosey brown shade in real life; I'm not sure WHAT made the color morph so much under flash.
I used two layers of MAC Face & Body foundation for my base. I dabbed Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer on my spots, swiped NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer and a dash of Maybelline Dream Lumi Pen in Radiant on my undereyes, and blended all of the concealer out with a damp Beauty Blender. I also used the damp BB to pat on some D&G powder foundation: I wanted the whole thing to stay relatively luminous and skinlike. Although, you know, I used a boatload of Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector, and the Stila Convertible Color in Peony is extremely emollient, so I don't think I was in any danger of looking truly matte.
The eyes are mostly MAC Wedge, with some Wet n' Wild Brulee under the browbone and the tiniest bit of Urban Decay Twice Baked in the crease. I'm using the Hourglass Film Noir mascara for Beauty Roulette (and I'm really liking it!), so I used some of that on uncurled lashes and tightlined with the Marc Jacobs Highliner Gel Crayon. Too Faced Shadow Insurance was my base.
The lips are, again, Urban Decay Native, which is my boo to end all boos. After applying the lipstick, I traced around my lips a smidgen with the NYX lip liner in Nude Pink, but only a little.
I like the look! My hair color seems to make quite a difference as to what blushes I can pull off, maybe because my skin tone is pretty neutral, though pale. But with redder hair, I can do orange-brown blushes and they look healthy and natural, whereas with cooler hair, they can look odd, and I have to stick with pink/red.
ReplyDeleteI think when I had bright red hair, peaches definitely looked better on me!
Delete^^^ totally seconding the point about hair color. I recently went from a very cool ruby red (which was impossible to wear anything brownish, bronze, gold, orange, etc. with) to a dark auburny chestnut brown, and I am reveling in having a hair color that doesn't limit my look so much. I think it's kind of the nature of pale neutral skin that the tone of what's surrounding your face will set the tone for your face. I love how these shades look on your skin!
ReplyDeleteSometimes it's just about setting, too. I mean, we know there are some things that only look good in a photo!
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