A Summery “Night Out” Makeup Tutorial That is Both Dramatic and Natural

Hi guys!

Hope your Tuesday is off to a good start! We are getting PRODUCTIVE up in here today! There’s a handyman coming to hang our new blinds, some shelves, and install our pendant lights in our kitchen, Anna is coming over to shoot some fun blog content, I’m going to do my best to squeeze in a workout and then it’s girls’ dinner with Blair, Kelly and Shaheen for Blair’s birthday! YAS. What is on your agenda this Tuesday?

In today’s post, I’m excited to share my latest makeup routine updates with you guys! I feel like with a change in seasons, an itch in switching up beauty products typically follows. One of my favorite little joys in life these days is getting ready for a date night, sipping a glass of wine (best accompanied with one of our favorite vinyl spinning in the background–lately it’s been Bob Dylan!) and sweeping on a new eyeshadow or lipstick color. It’s exciting, and makes me feel pretty! When was the last time you took your time applying your makeup for a night out? So often we’re rushing around like crazy–you’d be surprised how therapeutic taking a little more time to make yourself feel beautiful can be! Silly? Probably. But it’s the little things, you know? Isn’t that what life is about anyway?

Anyway, I digress–speaking of switching up beauty products, today’s tutorial also includes some of my favorite recent beauty purchases–many of them being from Charlotte Tilbury, which is one of my favorite cosmetic brands. They recently came out with some new products and I so convennnieentttllyy timed up a meeting downtown with a trip to Nordstrom to go check them out. Honestly I went in for one thing and walked out with like….five…but isn’t that how it always works? ? Nordies is one of my favorite places to shop for beauty products because their return policy is amazing–if you aren’t happy with something, you can always exchange or return it! Plus, I always learn so many tips and tricks from the makeup artists in their beauty department!

I’ve been playing around with my new products lot, and while I use them all for both day AND night, I thought it would be even more fun to show you how I do ’em up a little to go out with the girls or with Neal on a date night!

Ready to jump in?

My Natural, But Still Eye-Catching, Summery “Night Out” Makeup Tutorial:

Step #1: Prime and Color Correct with Charlotte Tilbury Youth Glow

Charlotte Tilbury’s Brightening Youth Glow was one of the items I did NOT expect to purchase going in, but I really loved the fact that it’s a primer, it’s brightening, hydrating and dewy all at the same time! It also has anti-aging properties, reduces redness and blurs imperfections! It also improves and helps to even your skin with continued use! I have pretty blotchy skin (especially in certain spots like around my nose!) so I feel like this product was made for me.

Step #2: Swipe Charlotte Tilbury’s “Hollywood Flawless Filter” on face, along with foundation–blend in with a dampened beauty blender

Okay so THIS is the product that I actually went into Nordstrom to purchase–Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter ? My new friend Grace (you’ve probably read her amazing blog The Stripe–I’ve been a fan since her very early days! You’ll love it if you haven’t read it yet!) was raving about it when we met on our trip to the Kentucky Derby with Vineyard Vines (read my recap here if you missed it!) Since it got her stamp of approval, I knew I had to try it for myself!

Here’s the cool thing about it–you can wear it a bunch of different ways. You can apply a full coat before your foundation (so essentially a layer in between your primer and your foundation), you can mix it with your foundation and apply it at the same time, or you can use it as a highlighter to finish off your full face of makeup!

I have used all three, and love all three, but my favorite application method is the following:

(Yes, I know this is odd, but it really works the best, I promise ?) Using the wand it comes with, dab little droplets of it all over your face (mostly along your cheekbones, bridge of your nose, inner forehead, and lower chin–this is where you want the highlighter to be most concentrated as it mimics the way that light naturally hits your face. You should probably start with less product than I used here when you first start out so you can figure out where your personal happy medium is.) DON’T RUB IT IN YET.

Then, follow immediately with your foundation, dab it as well in little points all over your face–then blend it all together. I prefer to use a dampened beauty blender for this because I think this gives the best natural coverage, but if you have another method you’d prefer, by all means–do that! If you do use a beauty blender, make sure you run it under hot water completely, squeeze out all the excess water, and then it’s ready to use! This helps prevent it from soaking up too much of your product and makes sure that your application is smooth and perfect.

I know this method is a bit…different… but I’ve found that it stretches your foundation a lot more than mixing the two together on the back of your hand before applying on your face. I don’t know why this is exactly, but its what works best for me.

Step #3: Fill in and define eyebrows with Estee Lauder’s brow pencil

I have a couple different brow products that I really like, but I’ve used Estee Lauder’s “brow now” pencil (color is “brunette”) for a few years and it’s great when you really want to make your brows pop. Make sure your pencil is sharp, and apply it in short, upward strokes that mimic the direction and shape of your natural brows.

Step #5: Add bronzer + blush

Bronzer:

Similar to brows–I do have quite a few bronzers that I love! In terms of bronzer, I recently got to test out some of Urban Decay’s products and I really do LOVE their “beach” bronzer (color is “bronzed”) It’s not too shimmery and provides really natural looking color that goes on really evenly (I hate when bronzer goes on streaky!)

Blush: 

Asking me to choose my favorite blush is like a mother asking to choose her favorite child–but Charlotte Tilbury’s Cheek to Cheek blush (I have it in “Love Glow”) is among the top favorites. I like that it’s two colors in one! Another favorite is NARS Orgasm and I also love NARS’ “The Multiple” stick (which comes in a variety of blush colors!) Estee Lauder’s Peach Passion is another big favorite if you prefer more of a peachy glow.

Blush tip: 

My favorite blush tip is one I actually learned from someone at the Charlotte Tilbury counter last year–just put a little “pop” of blush right on the front of your cheeks–right below where your outer eye hits. This will give you a youthful glow of color–people will think you look naturally flushed but won’t be able to put their finger on it! (Which is exactly what you want from blush! Nobody wants to be the “YIKES NICE BLUSH” girl, you know?!)

Step #6: Make eyes pop with Charlotte Tilbury’s “Bigger Brighter Eyes” Palette!

This new eyeshadow palette is also another product I had in mind when I walked into Nordstrom–I already have Charlotte Tilbury’s “Dolce Vita” eyeshadow palette and it’s the one I use almost daily in the fall and winter, but I was ready for some more summery eyeshadow colors that were still natural and neutral–which is why I snapped this new summery version of palette (color is “transformeyes”) right up!

Here’s how I use it: 

Line eyes:

Using the darkest color and a liner brush, line the top and bottom portion of your eyes roughly. I usually go back and soften the bottom with my fingers so it’s not such a harsh line–this makes your eyes really pop in a natural way! For the top, go back over it with a shadow brush to blend, and then follow with another coat of the darker color so it essentially “fills in” your eyelid.

Highlight inner corners:

Next, using a clean shadow brush or your fingers, sweep lightest color of the palette (essentially a highlighter) in the inner corners of your lids and out toward the middle. This makes your eyes look brighter and more awake!

Contour the crease:

Using the medium color and a liner brush, dab it just along the crease of your eye and a little above so it makes your eyes look bigger.

Pop of color: 

On the outer corner of your lid, dab the beautiful rose hue that gives your eyes just a HINT of color without being “colorful”–it reminds me of a sunset! It’s so pretty and subtle!

After you’ve completed your shadow, give your lashes a quick curl (I use Charlotte Tilbury’s lash curler) and line the top of your lid with a black liner pencil. I’ve been using (what else?) Charlotte Tilbury’s liquid eye pencil for over a year (it’s waterproof too!) and it’s really great. A little bit goes a long way–I hate those liners you have to press SO hard to get any color, and this definitely isn’t one of those. Admittedly I don’t have the steadiest hand when it comes to applying eyeliner, so I’ve fully embraced the more “smokey” approach.

What I do is apply a thin line along my top lash line–then go over it with an eyeliner brush and just smudge it up a bit, so it’s a bit softer and really makes your lashes look full.

Add Mascara:

Then, add mascara! You’ve heard me talk about my two favorite mascara’s before–my #1 being Dior’s Iconic Overcurl mascara, and Charlotte Tilbury’s has always made lashes look equally as long, but their earlier formula would run EVERYWHERE and make you look like a Zombie every time you washed it off. It was such a tease though because it was SUCH a great mascara, but the payoff at the end of the night was god-awful when it was time to wash your face! Haha!

Well, you can believe how excited I was when I found out they came out with a VERSION 2 of their Legendary Lashes mascara that DOESN’T run like the dickens (as my Granny would say). It’s amazing. Seriously, really really great. Now I honestly can’t choose a favorite between the two–either one you go with, you’ll love.

Finish with the best nude lip

If you follow me on Instagram (or honestly, any REAL beauty bloggers. I don’t think I qualify as a beauty expert ?) you’ve probably heard of the cult “Pillowtalk” lip liner or lipstick. The “pillowtalk” term is actually the color of the product–it’s made by (duh) Charlotte Tilbury and it comes in both a liner and a lipstick. In this post, I’m talking about the Lip Cheat Re-size and Re-shape Lip Liner, because I don’t own the lipstick! If you’re only going to buy one get the liner. Here’s why: 

The liner does SO many things. First, line the outside of your lips with the sharpened liner. You may think this sounds scary, but it’s not, I promise. It will give your lips a gorgeous, well-defined shape–plus, you can “go outside the lines” of your lip a teensy bit to make them look way more full.

Second, fill in your ENTIRE lip with the liner pencil. As in, fill it in in such a way that it looks like you’re wearing lipstick. (Make sense?) You can either wear the liner on its own or use it as a base for another lip color. It has SERIOUS staying power and if I could go back and do it all over again, I would’ve made sure to wear this under my lipstick at my wedding. It lasts through meals, even!

I like to follow with a swipe of my favorite clear lip balm (like I did here!), or with a lipstick of a similar hue! (NARS “Apoline” is another I do quite often–it’s what I wore on our wedding!)

Now you’re ready for date night!

Shop my outfit:

What do you think? Is this a beauty look you’d recreate for your next night out this summer?

This post is sponsored by Nordstrom, but all products featured were purchased with my own money–as you know, all opinions are ALWAYS my own! Thanks for always supporting the brands that allow me to do my dream job of creating content for YOU! ?

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