Beauty: Timeless

You know what? I’m getting rather into these beauty how to’s! I suspect they’re more helpful to me that to you guys but I’m thoroughly enjoying doing them, and it’s forcing me to expand my makeup repertoire a whole lot which is definitely no bad thing. This particular look isn’t the most complicated or experimental around but it is, as this post’s title suggests, totally timeless and one I whip out so regularly that I decided it was worth sharing. Let’s do this…

YSL Beauty Couture Eye Primer, £21, click here to buy
YSL Beauty touche eclat, £27, click here to buy
YSL Beauty Bold Felt Tip Eyeliner Pen, £22.44, click here to buy
YSL Beauty Luxurious False Lash Effect Mascara, £22, click here to buy
YSL Beauty Glossy Stain, £26, click here to buy
Dior Beauty Rouge Nail Polish, £18.50, click here to buy

Step. 1. Base

As much as I loathe the song of the same name, when it comes to makeup it really is all about that base. I used my failsafe bareMinerals powder to begin and then used the iconic YSL touche eclat to cover up my eye bags and, erm, a slightly unpleasant cold sore that’s been threatening to surface… Sexy. Neither of these products are new to me or you but they are tried, tested and unbeatable when it comes to creating a base . The Couture Eye Primer however, is a new addition to my life and something I reckon I’ll be using religiously in the future. It’s basic purpose is, in the words of YSL Beaute’s press release, to “unify the eyelid, hide imperfections and illuminate.” So often such releases embellish, to put it generously, but I can say with confidence that this product does seem to fulfil its promises. I haven’t tried using the Couture Eye Primer under eyeshadow yet but it’s meant to help the the stuff stay in place and amplify the colour so we’ll have to give that a whirl asap!

Step. 2. Les Yeux

My favourite, black liquid eyeliner and a feline flick. I’ve been doing this look since I was about 17 (and finally realised that just piling on a ton of khol made me look like I’d been punched) so I like to think I’ve got the technique down. To be honest though, it is really very easy and just takes the tiniest bit of practice. I feel really patronising trying to explain anything beauty related to you guys because frankly, I’m not great at it myself, but in the interest of covering all bases, you simply start at the inner corner and trace the liner along. I always try to keep the line as fine as possible to start with as it’s easy to build it up but trying to thin it out just turns into a smudgy mess. What I love so much about the ‘ol feline flick as that you can keep it very understated for work but then really go to town with it to create Cleopatra esque drama at night. This also ties in nicely to the day-to-night stuff I was talking about in the Look Du Jour that corresponds with this particular beauty how to… If that makes any sense. When it comes to choosing a liquid eyeliner pen there is nothing more important than the brush. I personally favour a more “felt tip” style as the strands on more traditional brush styles inevitably end up clumpy, straggly and causing a whole lot of random mini line issues. I’ve tried out SO many liquid eyeliners in my time but YSL’s Shocking Bold Felt-Tip Eyeliner Pen is one of the absolute best. I finished of les yeux with lashings of YSL’s newly launched Luxurious Mascara For False Lash Effect.

As you can probably gather, I’m a big fan of YSL Beauty, not least because they pay real attention to every product’s applicator. The mascara’s are a key one in this respect as even some of the most expensive have surprisingly clumpy, unwieldy brushes whereas this one has nice firm, fine bristles.

Step. 3. And pout

I promise I’ll talk less about the lip stuff, after that unintentional eye makeup related rant. As you’ve probably clocked, this is not in fact a “lipstick” as such. It is YSL Beauty’s Rouge Pur Couture Vernis A Levres, or glossy stain. I’m going to level with you here, I think I prefer using a traditional lipstick. This isn’t for any real reason apart from the fact that the concept of gloss unnervs me (more makeup phobias caused my my teenage disasters) and I worry that it’s going to end up spreading around my face, because I still haven’t got around to purchasing a lip liner. In fact, the glossy stain was incredibly easy to apply, stayed put and looked all, well, glossy. So maybe I’ll have to reconsider my original opinion, what a conundrum this is.

Et voila!

I know this hasn’t been the most groundbreaking beauty how to but it’s such a perennially great look and one I favour so often that I thought it was worth a share! What do you think? You can see the outfit I paired it with on the blog here.

Love Ella. X

Images by Holly McGlynn