“High by the Beach” High-end Makeup Tutorial.

Good evening beauties,

Tonight I have a tutorial featuring all high-end products. I will have some dupes and drugstore suggestions throughout the post but I was feeling fancy. I was feeling really inspired by L.A. and this idea of a luxury lifestyle. I’ve been watching a few L.A. Beauty Bloggers/Vloggers and a couple of videos from Kim K’s makeup artist Mario and it got my wheels turning. And I’ve been listening to a lot of Lana Del Rey.

I felt like this eye look was the perfect summer time smoky eye. It keeps things soft and delicate with the blown out neutral tones and pop of shine in the inner corner but brings the drama and the glamour with the full lashes .

If you want so see how to get this soft brown smoky eye, just keep reading below!

For eyeshadow, I reached for my favorite holy grail matte/neutral palette. The Kat Von D Beauty Shade + Light Eye Contour Palette. This is an incredibly versatile palette considering it’s simplicity. Any palette with neutral browns can be used for this look. A good matte palette from the drugstore isn’t easy to find but Milani’s Everyday Eyes palettes is a great choice or Sonia Kashuk eyeshadow range from Target.

Here’s a few shadows and palettes to check out before we jump into the tutorial:

• EVERYDAY EYES POWDER EYESHADOW COLLECTION in Bare Necessities
• Sonia Kashuk® Eye Couture Eye Palette – Eye On Neutral 02
• Sonia Kashuk® Knock Out Beauty Smokey Eye Palette – Shadow Box 

Now let’s get to the tutorial!

I’m starting with my brows done with the Anastasia Dip Brow Pomade in Taupe and my lid primed with Too Faced Shadow Insurance. If you want to know how I do my brows I have my full routine here: All About Brows – Current Brow Routine

 

I took the creamy shade called “Lateus” all over from lid to brow as a base shade. This will help with blending later on.

This shade gives a nice even canvas to work on and cancels out any discoloration.

Next, up, I begin building up the crease with a transition shade . I chose the warm camel shade called “Ludwin” and with a fluffy blending brush  from Sonia Kashuk placed the color in the crease and blended it up and out.

This helps us get that blown out gradient look so everything looks blended and smooth. You can see how that’s already added some depth to the eye giving the illusion of deeper eyes.

Using the shade deeper I start really building up the depth, this shade is called “Samael”. I applied this with a smaller blending brush (base shadow brush from Real Techniques)so the color will be more concentrated on the outer portion and deeper into the crease.

I went over it with the big fluffy brush around the edges to make sure the transition was seamless. I made sure the color is fading out to nothing on the edges and enhancing the natural contours of my eye.

Now to really get the smokiness I went in with the somewhat deep but mid toned brown called “Salas” with an even smaller tapered blending brush. I used this one from Eco Tools :EYE ENHANCING DUO SET. I believe I used the one they call the “Blend and Smudge”

I really focused this color in the crease and outer portion of the eye pulling it out into a cat eye shape but very softly and blended. The key to this is blending and adding small amounts of color at a time and slowly building. I continued to go back in with the fluffy brush making sure everything is smooth.

I took the lightest shade in the neutral section which is an off-white called “Lucius” and blended it on the inner portion of the eye and brow bone with a flat shader brush to brighten those areas

Then went in with the shade Flush from Too Faced which is actual a cheek highlighter I’ll be using later on the cheeks.This is just a nice shimmery champagne shade.

I placed Flush on the inner corner and blended it onto the lid softly and hit the brow bone lightly as well. I applied it heaviest in the inner corner to really open the eye.

Next, up I took this gel liner from Sephora I picked up on clearance a while back super cheap. It’s not bad but drugstore still wins the gel liner battle. LOL.

I applied the liner a bit different from normal. Instead of a wing I stayed on the natural lash line and applying it thinly on the inner part and thickening it up as I got to the end of my lash line. This gives a lifted look without doing a full on wing and is a great trick for hooded lids that wings and sometimes be troublesome for as they can get distorted by the hooded portion of the lid.

Lastly for the eyeshadow I blended the lightest brown along the lower lashing, where it was darkest at the outer corner and blended to  nothing on the inner part then deepened it up with the deepest brown on the outermost part and blended inward letting fade to nothing. Then I added the highlight shade to the lower lash line as well focusing it on the inner corner. You could smoke the bottom lash line out even more of you want so, even more, drama. I also added some white liner to my lower water line to really open the eyes up.

 

Finally finishing off the eyes completely with curling the lashes and applying a few coats of  Kat Von D’s Immortal Lash Mascara. Review coming soon. Some false lashes would have really boosted this look.

And that’s the finished eye.

Now for the face, I’m not doing a full tutorial here but I’m showing the products I used.

I primed my skin using Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer. Still a favorite.

 

For foundation, I used the Nars All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation in Monte Blanc. Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in Chantilly for concealer and highlight and set it all with Nars Light Reflecting Pressed Setting Powder.

Nars All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation Review and Demo

For my contour and highlighting, I used Kat Von D Shade + Light Contour Palette. I took Sombre and Shadowplay around the tip of the nose, hollows of the cheeks, around the hairline, under the jawbone, and in the cupids bow nook. I deepened the contour just at the top of my cheek hollow and jaw line with Subconscious

I used a combination of Lucid and Lyric on the under eyes and upper cheek bone, down the center of the nose, chin, center of the forehead, and just below my cheek contour to clean it up.

Kat Von D Shade+Light Contour Palette Review and Demo

I hit the cheekbones and all the highlight points with Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Diffused Light.

I got super high maintenance on my blush. I applied “How Deep is Your Love” from Too Faced to the back of the cheekbones, and “I will Always Love You” on the apples of the cheeks, also from Too Faced.

And because I was that girl I took a little of Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Luminous Flush to the center of the cheeks. I wanted more glow, what can I say.

Then I added some warmth with my favorite bronzer from Hourglass in Light.

And finally, I highlighted the highest points of my cheeks with Flush from Too Faced which is found in  the Le Grand Palais Palette.

On the lips, I keep it nudish, natural and glossy in the center. I used Viva Glam II from MAC and topped it with Make Up For Ever Plexi Gloss in 202.

And here’s the finished look!

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Bee Beautiful. Bee You.