Tutorial: Day-to-Night Galentine’s & Valentine’s

In honor of Galentine’s Day, I’m publishing this post a day early… enjoy you Poetic Noble Land Mermaids!

Today is February 14th. A “day for love”; and if there’s one thing I love, it’s makeup (in case this was not already completely obvious)! So instead of ranting in this intro about how this holiday seems to make everyone feel guilty (single or taken) or the fact that it’s driven by pure consumerism, I’m instead going to focus on the few positive aspects about this day: particularly that I get a reason to put together a fun look and also celebrate the one and only Galentine’s Day.

“What is Galentine’s Day, you may ask? Oh, it’s only the best day of the year! …Ladies celebrating ladies. It’s like Lilith Fair, minus the angst. Plus frittatas.” Easily one of the best things to come from the brilliant Leslie Knope, Galentine’s Day is arguably 100 times better than Valentine’s. I guess it should also be noted that amongst other things I love: Parks & Rec, Amy Poehler, women supporting women, and feminism— the important things I will be celebrating today. #uterusesbeforedudereses

Anyhow, in honor of whichever of these holidays you are celebrating (or even both), I put together a pair of looks that will suit any event you could possibly have today. I did design them to go from daytime Galentine’s brunch, to the evening for a Valentine’s date but you do you boo, and you can choose either one or go through the cycle of both at your discretion. Alrighty, enough with the chit-chat and let’s get started!

Galentine’s Tutorial:

This tutorial is more daytime appropriate / softer and sweeter with more pinks and dewy skin.

1. Starting with my base, I chose longwearing products and high coverage foundations since I originally designed this look to carry on later into the night. I used the Lancôme La Base Pro Perfecting Makeup Primer to prime the face and then mixed the Kat Von D Lock-It Foundation with Revlon Colorstay and applied to the face with a Real Techniques Perfect Complexion Sponge.
2. To start the eyes, I primed with the Urban Decay Primer Potion and applied the shade “Flower Child” from my Tartelette In Bloom palette to even out the lid space and prepare for blending. I then went into the crease with a stiff bristled fluffy blending brush and the color “Sweetheart” (perfect name for this tutorial!) and defined the crease and outer corner.
3. With a dense small dome brush, I added more depth to the outer corner using a shade darker “Rebel”.
4. I mixed the two shimmery shades “Firecracker” and “Funny Girl” and pat that all over the lid with a shader brush.
5. For some fluttery lashes, I applied a few layers of the Covergirl Lash Blast Super Sizer Mascara.
6. I filled my brows in with the Anastasia Brow Wiz in Dark Brown and made sure to sculpt them out so they framed the face well.
7. To clean up any fall out and brighten under the eyes, I applied the Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in Custard radiating outward from the lashline and blending it out with a dense flat top dome brush. 
8. Before I started contouring, I set my face first with translucent Tarte Amazonian Clay Smooth Operator powder so that the powder cheek products had a base to blend on top of. I then went in with my trusty Anastasia Contour Kit and contoured with a fluffy angled brush and a mix of Java and Fawn.
9. I mixed this dark neutral shade and shimmery pink tone from my Makeup Revolution Sugar and Spice blush palette and used a fluffy blush brush to apply to the apples of my cheeks.
10. For a dewy glow,  I used this mini Becca Liquid Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal and blended it out with clean fingers on the high points of my cheeks.
11. To finish off the Galentine’s look, I applied this Rimmel Provocalips in I’ll Call You, a beautiful cool-neutral medium pink shade. This liquid formula is seriously bulletproof and will survive anything from those Galentine’s brunch waffles to a handful of smooches.

 

Valentine’s Tutorial:

This look is amped up and more smokey and sultry with warm tones and reds. There is also an emphasis focused on a strong cheek, perfect for a sexy night date.

1. Starting with the Galentine’s look I just made a few adjustments. I already had a few soft curls in my hair which I let down and pinned back on one side. I also added a pair of earrings to dress up the outfit I already had going on.
2. To create a more smokey effect, I used a pencil brush and the color “Activist” to deepen the outer corner keeping it concentrated right below the crease but above the lid and only going about a third of the way inward.
3. I used a blending brush and more of “Rebel” to darken the crease and blend out the edges of the darkest color.
4. To complete the smokey eye, I used a smudger brush and the color “Leader” to smoke out the lower lashline.
5. To add more Va-Va-Voom I popped on these flirty Ardell Demis. They add the perfect amount of length and flutteriness, without overwhelming or overshadowing the smokey eye.
6. To help blend the lashes more, I used my Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in Trooper to draw a line to hide the band.
7. To amp up the brows, I darkened the middle and tail sections with a bit of the shadow “Smokeshow” on an angled liner brush and then set it with the Anastasia Clear Brow Gel.
8. To intensify my contour, I added a bit more of the Java shade to build up the color and then carved it out using the baking technique. I used the pointed end of my Real Techniques sponge and this Maybelline Master Fix translucent powder to create sharpen under the edge of the contour.
9. I also deepened the blush color by layering this mauve shade from the same Makeup Revolution blush palette.
10. For an even more beaming highlight, I packed on MAC Soft & Gentle to give a radiant glow without being so in-your-face, shimmery.
11. To finish things off, I created a kissable pout. To make sure the color lasts, I first applied the Colourpop Lippie Primer and then applied this luscious deep maroon red lipstick— “Scarlet” from Bite.
12. Finally, I topped everything off with the Maybelline Master Fix setting spray.

And that’s all she wrote! Thanks for sticking it out for me until the end of this tutorial. I hope that you enjoyed these looks and try it for yourself! If you do, be sure to tag me using the social media links below or in the comments, let me know which look is your favorite: sweet or sultry? Happy Galentine’s and Valentine’s, boys and girls and I’ll catch you next week!

 

All my love,

Megan

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