Diary / Beauty / Sep 26, 2022

Bobbi Brown's Beauty School: The Polished Look

Written by: Bobbi

Photography by: Ben Ritter

Welcome to Beauty School, a series where I’ll share tips and tricks to creating some of my favorite looks. One thing I’ve always done on set is have the photographer take a photo of the model before we start hair and makeup. I like to see the model first without a stitch of makeup on, so I understand her face...

It’s not super modern to expect someone to always look so put together and polished every single day. It’s more modern to look a little less polished, almost undone. That being said, I love this polished look on Ania. I’ve done her makeup a few times over the years, always changing things up, but I think this is a great look for her if she’s being photographed or if she has a party or event to attend. It’s not necessarily a look you’d run around town in. Here’s how to get Ania’s look...

Hair

We actually started this look with a really nice blowout. It gave some height at the top and the reversal of the part helped play up her eyes. The style framed her face perfectly.

Skin

I started this look with moisturizer. Often when we get older, our skin gets drier. I really wanted the moisturizer to set in and get to work, so I actually did her eyes first and then came back to her foundation. I also applied a rich eye cream under the eyes.

Once the moisturizer had soaked in, I used a hydrating moisturizer to even out the skin. She has a lot of red in her skin, so a yellow-tone foundation helps to even that out. I used a little moisturizer on my hands when applying the foundation to keep it looking natural. I used a corrector and concealer under the eyes to help with redness there.

I didn’t want to use the foundation on the neck, so I applied bronzer on the whole face and neck to help warm things up and even out the color. It’s important that the face and neck match so it doesn’t look like you’re wearing a mask. The bronzer was a soft tan color, with a touch of yellow, to cut the red. I applied it across her cheeks, forehead, nose, chin, and neck.

Eyes & Brows

I defined her brows with a grey shadow, it had a little bit of warmth, but not too much. On her lids, I used a light, skin-tone shade all over with a grey shadow close to the lashes to halfway up and made sure it was all well blended. It’s really about getting the blue of her eyes to pop.

What really brought out her eyes was the really tight, thick eyeliner in a slate grey. When you open up your eyes, you want to be able to see the liner. On the lower lash line, I used a little bit of grey shadow to add some natural definition. I finished it with a bunch of coats of black mascara, applying only on the top lashes.

Cheeks & Lips

I used a sheer, bright pink to highlight her cheeks and bring some color to the face. For her lips, I defined them using a pink lip pencil and filled in with a medium pink lipstick.

Day to Night

If I wanted to make her party-ready for the evening, I would do a thicker black liner and either add a red or bright pink lip. The black sweater and Ted Muehling earrings work for day and night.

Diary / Beauty / Sep 26, 2022

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