Beauty / Make Valentine’s Day Your V-Day By Celebrating Your Brown Beauty With These Bold Looks!

Make Valentine’s Day Your V-Day By Celebrating Your Brown Beauty With These Bold Looks!

Beauty Feb 05, 2019

by Meena Khan | Features Editor - Beauty

Valentine’s Day is oft-portrayed as a day when women in romantic relationships are victors and single women are their hapless counterparts who are missing out on free boxes of candy. I wholeheartedly reject these portrayals and propose that Valentine’s Day should be referred to as V-day, where we celebrate what we love about ourselves. So go ahead and make Valentine’s day your V-Day by celebrating your brown beauty with these bold looks!

One way to express ourselves on V-day is to wear bolder make-up looks that flout the convention of wearing the seductive smoky eye and nude glossy lips. Read on to master three bold make-up looks which show the world that you are a victor on V-day!

The first step is to perfect the skin. I love the Laura Mercier Flawless Lumière Radiance-Perfecting Foundation (available in 30 shades, so South Asian beauties will find their match!) because the moment it is blended into the skin the vitamin C starts to work on dark spots and adds brightness to the complexion. Its medium coverage means imperfections are going under cover for up to 15 hours.

Make Valentine's Day Your V-Day By Celebrating Your Brown Beauty With These Bold Looks — **Make Valentine’s Day Your V-Day By Celebrating Your Brown Beauty With These Bold Looks: Laura Mercier Flawless Lumière Radiance-Perfecting Foundation.** Photo Credit: www.lauramercier.com

Like many South Asian beauties, my dark under eye circles are a beauty bane. I am impressed with the Laura Mercier Flawless Ultra Longwear Concealer (12 shades available) which you apply with a sponge tip applicator. I like to dab 4 dots from the inner corner of my eye and then using my ring finger of my left hand I tap it into the skin, until fully blended. The texture is lightweight so it does not settle into my fine lines and it brightens the area.

LOOK ONE – HOT LIPS

There is nothing like a boldly coloured mouth to command the attention of a room when you speak. A bold shade is unapologetic and alluring… just like you!

I keep the face easy, meaning I prefer to apply a simple eye look, where I define the waterline (upper and lower) of the eyes with an eye pencil and apply several coats of a hefty, volumizing mascara such as Dior Pump n’ Volume Mascara in black.

I then use a blush brush and apply to the apples of my cheeks a deep , matte pink blush such as Charlotte Tilbury Cheek to Chic in Love Glow. I love this shade because the outer circle is an intense shade and the centre is a slightly paler shade. The presence of these two shades allows you to create your bespoke one based on your skin tone. Darker-skinned beauties should note that the paler shade makes an excellent highlight for the tops of the cheeks.

The final touch, which serves as a bright, satiny contrast to the rest of the make-up is using a deep pink lip gloss such as Marc Jacobs Hi-Shine Gloss Lip Lacquer in Cherry Moon. This shade is ideal for all South Asian skin tones. I love how the applicator applies the shade evenly and leaves a perfect layer of pigment in two swipes.

LOOK TWO – DUAL GODDESS

The most irritating beauty element of Valentine’s Day is that the dark smoky eye is held out as the gold standard for Valentine’s Day. It is sexy but women are multi-layered individuals, and an equally comely make-up look is to use contrasting shades on the nails and eyes to hint at the duality of our nature – after all we are all naughty and nice with a dash of spice!

A great manicure look that works in the boardroom and for cocktails is to use a soft, pastel shade such as mint that contrasts beautifully against South Asian skin tones. I love the Marc Jacobs Hi-Shine Nail Lacquer in Good Friday on my thumbs and all of my fingers, except for the fourth one.

I then like to apply to the remaining finger a passionate colour, inspired by fire such as Marc Jacobs Hi-Shine Nail Lacquer in Snap!, which is a deep mandarin orange. It is an eye-catching manicure that is equal parts fire and ice.

I continue the dual look with my eyes by using colourful liners in similar shades, so there is a unity between the eyes and nails. For example, mint eyeliner is too pale to use as an eyeliner shade in the middle of winter, so I line my upper eye line with a deeper shade of green such as Marc Jacobs Highliner Gel Eye crayon in Ody(sea), a deep ocean green.

I then line my lower eye line with Orange Crush from the same collection. The look is bright, eye catching, and somewhat mysterious, as it is far-removed from the ubiquitous smoky eye.

LOOK THREE – FOREST FIRE

I find the ubiquitous dark, smoky eye boring and predictable for V-day but interpreting this look with colour is creative, and eye-catching. I suggest that an eye shadow set such as Charlotte Tilbury Luxury Eye Palette in The Rebel is a great way to achieve the look of the subversive smoky eye.

I tap the golden peach shade on the mobile eyelid from inner to outer corner using a flat, stiff eye shadow brush, and then apply Paris bottle green shade in the crease. I love to line my eyes with the hunter green shade, and then use a cotton bud to tap the line into a soft smoky look. I use my flat, stiff eye shadow brush and tap (only once) the sparkly green shadow at the centre of my mobile eyelids so that the gold flecks open the eyes. Afterwards, I apply my beloved Dior Pump n’ Volume Mascara, and a nude lipstick such as Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution in Very Victoria (an alternative for deeply-pigmented lips is Matte Revolution in Birkin Brown).

V-DAY FOR ALL

Valentine’s Day is not a reason to mope around like the walking wounded, rather it is an opportunity to express your sensuality in an original, eye-catching manner that leaves you the victor! Colour is designed for South Asian skin and what better way to claim this advantage by using it in unique and original ways.

Main Image Photo Credit: www.charlottetilbury.com

Meena Khan | Features Editor - Beauty

Author

Meena (@meenalaregina) always loved the idea of exploring the non-conventional idea of beauty. Having grown up as a pimply chubby teenager, she wanted to see the change in the world that best reflected your uniqueness as well. Her well-received collection of blogs where she tries on various beauty p...

COMMENTS

Stop Being A Beauty Martyr And Give Some Self-Love Now With These Key Must-Have Goodies!

Shining Star: Be A Sitaara With These Silver-Hued Beauty Looks

Broke And Woke! Priceless At-Home Beauty Treatments That Will Make You Feel Like A Million Bucks!

It's Time To Start Shopping: Our List Of Key Spring Beauty Items Your Brown Skin Needs Now!

For Him And Her: Be The Best Bae With These Beauty Gifts for Valentine's Day

Beauty Secrets Revealed: The Best Beauty Looks From The 2019 Oscars Red Carpet

Beauty Brands That Have Always Supported Women's Causes

Holi Haute: Give Your Eyes Vivid Holi Colours With These Key Beauty Tips

Get Your Kaam Game On With Our 9 To 5 Guide To Key Office Beauty Essentials

Make Valentine’s Day Your V-Day By Celebrating Your Brown Beauty With These Bold Looks!

by Meena Khan | Features Editor - Beauty

Meena Khan | Features Editor - Beauty

COMMENTS

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE