My 'Concert Look' featuring Purple Smokey Eyes!

Hi guys, so last night I went to The Symphony Hall in Birmingham to watch 'Three Phantoms' which featured Earl Carpenter, Matthew Cammelle and Stephen John Davis who all played the 'Phantom' in Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Phantom of the Opera' in the West End. They performed songs from 'Phantom of the Opera' and other musicals and it was a fantastic night for a theatre geek like myself! :) (if you want more details about this show check out http://www.three-phantoms.com/index.html)

 

So I thought it would be a cool idea to post a blog about my look for this formal concert. I decided to create a purple smokey-eye look to match my plum coloured dress that I wore. So this is how I achieved it!

Base! (Foundation, Powder, Contour, Blusher, Highlighter and Eyebrows!)

So these are the products I use for my base after I have cleansed and moisturised etc. My primer is from a range called 'Mally' and came in a set including a foundation and concealer. My foundation is from the No.7 range from Boots and I use the matching powder. I use a highlighter called 'High Beam' from 'Benefits' and my blusher is from the 'Body Shop'. My contouring power is from Daniel Sandler and so is the contouring brush (the grey one on the far right). My other brushes are from 'FASH' which is available from Boots.

So firstly I apply my primer all over my face which stops the make-up from running off my face and making me look like a clown! Then it's foundation time! After shaking the bottle, I apply a pea sized amount onto the back of my hand and dot the foundation onto my nose, chin, forehead and cheeks and then blend in. I don't use a brush or sponge for blending purely because I always find that the sponge/brush seems to absorb most of the foundation! So if you know any sponges/brushes that you use  that don't absorb your foundation I would love to hear about it in the comments!




I then set my foundation using powder which I just dab all over my face (dabbing won't disturb the foundation as much as sweeping/circling will). Next I contour my face. I start by sucking in my cheeks (as shown... looking like a fish...) and apply the powder onto my cheek bones. I then sweep it across my jaw line to give my face more definition.





I then pop my blusher on. So I form a cheesy grin and dab it onto the apples of my cheeks and then use a circular motion to blend it in. After this, I apply my highlighter. I do this by putting a cross of the highlighter onto the back of my hand and then dab it onto the tops of my cheeks, onto my brow bone and in the corner of my eyes.







Then it's eyebrow time! (I realise I look way too happy about this in my photo..) For my eyebrows I use the 'Sleek' eyebrow pencil. I apply it by using short strokes onto my brows. I don't want my eye brows to look too dark as it will take the focus away from my eyes which I want to be the most noticeable in my look. So therefore I use the lash brush seen in the picture (which I got from Boots) to blend the colour in.



Eyes! (Eye shadow, a lot of Blending, Eyeliner and Mascara!)

Now it's time for my favourite bit: Eyes. I love doing the 'smokey eye' look because I love the way it makes my eyes really prominent and instantly glams up any outfit!


So here is all the eye shadows I use to create my purple smokey eye look. (Note: I only use the dark brown from my pallet!)
The cream coloured eye shadow is from a brand called 'Bourjois' in the shade 01 which promises to stay on for 16 hours! The deep purple eye shadow is also from 'Bourjois' in the shade 13 and both this eye shadow and the cream are glittery as opposed to the dark grey/blue matt eye shadow from (you guessed it!) 'Bourjois' in the 06 shade. The duo eye shadows is from the 'Natural Collection' in the shades Black Currant/ Violet. My pallet is from Boots and I have had it for around 5 years now and it is fabulous because it has so many different colours, including matt eye shadows and glittery ones and is great to create any look! My slanted eye shadow brush is from 'Ms Make-up' and the smaller make-up brush is by Daniel Sandler. The rounded tip brush is from the 'FASH' range is Boots and the thicker blending brush is from No.7 brand in Boots.

So I begin by putting the cream coloured eye shadow into the corner of my eyes and blending out to the middle of my eye lids. I use the curved brush for this as it allows me to be more precise on where I put the eye shadow. I use the lightest colour into corners of my eyes as it opens them up to make my eyes appear bigger and brighter!

 

I use the darker shade of the duo eye shadows as a base on my lids using the blending brush because it gives my lids more coverage.

I then put the purple eye shadow in the outer corner to the middle of my lids. To create a darker colour you could use a slightly wet brush.

I then use this beautiful grey/bluey colour on the outer corners of my lids and slightly in the outer edge of the crease of my eye using the thin rounded brush.



For my crease, I use a dark brown eye shadow and apply it with my blending brush. This just makes all the colours come together.

Then it's blending time! This look involves a lot of blending to make sure all the colours merge together to get that 'smokey' effect.

This is the point where you may need to add more colour or blend to make a colour look lighter.

Then I use a damp sponge to get rid of any excess eye shadow that may have fallen when I was applying it onto my lids. 

I then use a pencil eye liner (mine is from Model's Own) in black and line your upper and lower lids.

 

Then line your lash line and use a slanted brush to blend the line in to make it more softer. Do this for your bottom lash line as well.

Next it's mascara time! I use 'XXL Curl Power' by Maybelline. It has two brushes, one that I like to describe as a 'primer' for your lashes and then a regular black one. This is my favourite mascara ever! You can build it up to create a more dramatic look or just a few stroke for a more natural look! It makes my lashes look so long!

I use several coats of mascara because I want my lashes to look extra black and dramatic!

My Final Make-up Look!

I finish off my make-up by applying some lip gloss. I don't like to use a lip stick when I do smokey eyes as I like all the attention on my eyes and I don't want my make-up to look too 'busy'.

My lip gloss is from 'L'oreal' and called 'Glam Shine'. It has this really cute triangle brush that makes it really easy to apply. I think this colour goes really well with my purple smokey eyes as it almost has this plum coloured under tone.

 

 

Hair Time!

 

I don't like to wash my hair everyday and as this is my 'other day', I use TRESemme's dry shampoo just to freshen up my locks!

 



 



To curl my hair I use a curler by 'Remington'. I just curl the ends of my hair and then run my fingers through it to make the curls looser. After this, I pin the sections closest to my head back.

I then use my trust 'WELLA' classic hairspray and spray is all over my hair.

To finish off, I spray on my favourite perfume at the moment- Taylor Swift's 'Wonderstruck' which has this lovely fruity fragrance.

So this is my finished look! I have teamed my purple smokey eyes with a plum coloured dress from Topshop and black tights and dolly shoes to make the look a little less formal then heels would have. I have kept my jewellery very minimal with just some earrings from 'Forever 21' and a necklace from 'Dorothy Perkins'.

I hope you have enjoyed this post!

Lots of Love!

Love Just Al xxx