Following on from
this post, here is the second part of my guide to minimising daily makeup. This post focuses on eye makeup, as you may have noticed if you've been following my blog for some time, I've stopped wearing eyeliner completely. Read on, and I will tell you my hints and tips for wide eyes without the slap!
I used to wear liquid liner everyday, but I found that thick black eyeliner was making my eyes look small and harsh. I decided to just go without, my eyelashes are naturally quite long (thankfully) and the day I stopped wearing eyeliner I got quite a few compliments on how long they looked as they were suddenly more apparent. I, personally, look so much better without eyeliner - my eyes look wider, brighter and clear blue.
I understand not everyone looks better without liner, so if you can't live without it, try swapping to a soft brown liner instead. Even if you think you look different at first - and it may be a shock, I used to think I looked tired and dull - give it a week and see how you feel. I doubt I would ever go back to wearing eyeliner now, but that's just me and I know not everyone feels like that!
Instead, I have swapped dark, thick liner for eyeshadow, this
Bobbi Brown Desert Twilight palette is full of lovely soft browns which give my eyes a boost in a way eyeliner never did, I much prefer wearing eyeshadow to eyeliner. Before, I used to think I looked a bit overdone with eyeshadow and eyeliner, but now I love experimenting with subtle eyeshadow shades.
To open up eyes, I use the
Shu Uemura curlers. These are definitely the best tool I own, they are worth every penny and more. I never used curlers before these, the brands I had tried previously aren't a match for Shu Uemura! These will really change how you do your makeup, and allow you to wear a lot less mascara. I don't need to wear fake lashes (which is lucky as I have zero patience for that kind of thing!) so I slick on a touch of mascara like Cliniques High Impact Extreme Volume and my eye makeup is done. It takes no time at all, but my eyes look bigger and brighter than before.
At the end of last year, my brows were ridiculous, obviously drawn on and really dark - swapping from a matte powder to a medium brown pencil and combing through with an eyebrow comb after has meant my eyebrows now look far more natural. Your eyebrows frame your whole face, my makeup only comes together once I've filled in my brows, so experiment with a comb and a pencil - I promise you, you will see a difference.
The best advice I've heard recently is "they're sisters, not twins", don't aim for exact eyebrows, no one is completely symmetrical and more importantly, no one should be looking at them that closely anyway.
Finally, my lip favourite product at the moment is
Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in 01. This is like a primer, balm and gloss all in one. I wasn't a fan of glosses before this, but this has completely changed my thoughts. A great product to slick on during the day to keep lips looking smooth, flawless and glossy with a hint of a natural colour. I love this product, and it really pulls the whole natural, flawless look together.
So there we have it, a long but informative guide to cutting down on your makeup. We should be enhancing our features, not hiding them with layers of makeup. I've had a lot more compliments now I've changed my makeup routine and I feel better (and hella more natural) for it.
What are your thoughts on natural makeup? Don't forget to check out Part 1. here.