Valentine’s Day Makeup

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Valentine’s Day is only 10 days away. For some of us, we are preparing our outfits and ordering last minute gifts for a night out with our loved one, Galentines, or even just using the “holiday of love” for a fun excuse to go out on the town. Regardless of the occasion, we always want to look our best and with the recent launch of the Essence Cosmetics line at Target, you can do it in a fun-loving, and confident way. I wanted to share with you 4 lip tricks to create the ultimate Valentine’s Day makeup look for wherever the night takes you! Because isn’t beauty about being yourself and having fun doing it anyways?

To give you a quick backstory about the brand, Essence cosmetics was launched in 2001 in Germany and quickly gained an international following for it’s style conscious cosmetics and fun-loving brand image. The brand first came to the U.S. in 2007, and is at last now available at over 500 select Target locations nationwide. Both existing fans and new ones are sure to love the convenience of shopping for high quality Essence cosmetics at affordable prices in all beauty categories from lips, eyes, and nails. With these high quality lipsticks starting at $2.99, it’s easy to find yourself coming home with 4 different shades, oh wait… that was just me?

First, I wanted to share with you my favorite lipstick look of all time, nude lips. There is major hype lately surrounding full lips. I wasn’t exactly blessed with a plump pair but that doesn’t stop me from achieving a toned down version of my own with my favorite Essence colors.

Starting with the lip liner shade “In The Nude” I over draw my lip line slightly, giving my lips a bit more space to fill with color. Lightly accentuating my cupid’s bow and my lower lip, giving it a fuller look. I fill in the over drawn liner base with the Essence lipstick shade “Nude Love”. Make sure to fill in all areas of your lip, extending through the over drawn sections. Use a lip brush if you want to be more precise. Since nude is a very light and neutral color, it’s easy to lose dimension. I topped off my look with Essence XXXL Shine Lipgloss to give it more of an ultra shiny stand out look.

Typically during holidays we are drawn to stand out lipstick shades. For Valentine’s Day makeup this year I decided to invest in colors that not only look great on every woman, but are wearable everyday. This is why I selected the lipliner color “Satin Mauve” for not only a stunning color, but a lip that could take you from work to your Valentine’s Day night. For this lip color, a fun trick I have learned while filling in my lip is creating a larger line. To create a larger line you simply angle your pencil flat, laying your pencil directly on your lip. This allows color to come from the fully sharpened surface, giving you a larger line. Lip liner tends to have longer wearability than regular lipstick so I love this trick to give my favorite shades the test of time. I then went over this look in the lipstick shade “Barley There” for a classic everyday look.

Diving into a bolder shade, I couldn’t help but snag a rich rosy pink shade. Traditionally a more Valentine’s Day-esque color, you cannot go wrong with this one. Over lining isn’t always ideal in every lipstick color as it can tend to get out of hand, especially in the darker shades. To create a fuller lip in these colors I give my lips lines the appearance of a more 3D look. Starting with the lipliner color “Honey Berry” I line the outside of my lips, and then apply vertical lines evenly throughout my top and bottom lip. I then apply the shade “Wear Berries!” to blend in the lines and fill the lip area, giving it a rich full appearance.

Lastly, I wanted to try a little something new with a classic shade. Red lips are not only a staple for Valentine’s Day makeup but they are classic no matter the day or occasion. Recently learning a ombre smudge trick, I over line my lips and fill them in 1/3rd of the way in the shade “Femme Fatal.” I then use my finger to gently buff or blend the color through the rest of my lip, creating a slight ombre effect. Finally, I used Essence Sheer & Shine Lipstick in shade “Like a Princess” to fill over the ombre liner, giving it a bold standout look!

I hope you try some of these lip tutorials! Be sure to share with me some of your Valentine’s Day Makeup ideas and snag the amazing and affordable Essence collection available at select Target stores!

xoxo

Photos: Haley Nord