When I saw this Elle editorial featuring Lily Collins back in November, I bookmarked it straight away in my Makeup Inspiration folder on Instagram. I also immediately looked up and followed the talented makeup artist, Polly Osmond. The combination of the winter white styling, blonde pixie cut hair and ethereal makeup is what I would describe as 60s grungey winter fairy princess, if you can imagine that. Almost like Julia Roberts as Tinkerbell in Hook mixed with Edie Sedgwick and Courtney Love. If you can't picture it, I'd encourage you to have a look yourself. I was mesmerised, as I usually am, by Lily Collins as she has such a great face for makeup.
The look is minimal, almost reflective skin with little colour (no discernible blush or contouring products) as LC has enough natural definition with her jawline and cheekbones. Polly used Lancôme products for the look including Teint Miracle Foundation and Teint Idôle Ultra Wear All Over Concealer. The strong dark eyebrows contrast beautifully with her short platinum blonde wig, adding to the sixties feel. Big, natural, doll eye lashes (Polly Osmond actually used Lancôme Hypnôse Doll Eyes Mascara). She also used various embellishments around the eyes including various size pearls and the Face Lace Dream Beams. The look was finished with Juicy Tubes Lip Gloss in Marshmallow Electro. You can read more about the inspiration behind the look on Elle UK.
My look isn't an exact recreation, I definitely don't have Lily Collin's beautiful bone structure and therefore needed my trusty Fenty Beauty Match Stix in Amber to give my face some definition. I also added a touch of something to my cheeks in the form of the subtle shade Pink Soap from Lisa Eldridge's Enlivening Blush range. I also used The Foundation by Lisa Eldridge as I wanted something in between dewy and matte so I didn't have to apply much powder. The Foundation is self setting so I find I need minimal powder (if any) on my combination skin. I applied under two pumps as I wanted to keep my skin looking natural and fresh. I did use a primer, the Auric Cosmetics Glow Lust in the shade Morganite (the original shade) as I find this tips the Lisa Eldridge Foundation slightly more towards the radiant side on my skin type. If I had more oily skin I would skip this step. Glow Lust also has enough reflective pigment that it evens out the redness in my skin so that I don't need to apply as much foundation all over my face.
I gave my eyebrows a bit more structure as most Lily Collins makeup looks involve embracing her beautiful, naturally full eyebrows. I filled in the front section more than I usually would but I kept the general shape of my brows as I find this shape frames my face quite well. One of the most important features of this makeup is the eyelashes. I usually treat myself to a high end mascara in the Christmas sales every year and this year I bought the Lancôme Hypnôse Doll Eyes as I'd never tried it before. Obviously Lily Collins has much longer natural lashes than mine, I could have used false lashes but I wanted the look to be very low key and I don't usually wear false lashes. I wanted to see if I could get a similar look with just a lash curler and mascara. I made sure I spent a few minutes carefully curling my eyelashes to give them a good lift. Then I applied a coat of mascara on both upper and lower lashes. I waited for it to be almost dry and I pushed my lashes up from the base using my fingers to get some more length. I applied a second coat to both and repeated the process. I definitely found a difference in the length by doing this, however I have used other mascaras that give more length like the YSL Beauty Effet Faux Cils and the Pat McGrath Labs Dark Star. Lancôme Doll Eyes has a tapered brush that gives a more fanned out and wide-eyed look to my lashes.
Once the lashes were done I used a tweezers to apply the pearls. They already have an adhesive on the back but you could use a lash glue or something similar if you wanted them to be more secure and last all day. I did end up losing one when I went out for a walk in the afternoon. If I was wearing this look on a night out or to an event (what are those?) I would have probably used a lash glue too. As someone with hooded eyelids, the most visible parts of my eye area when they are completely relaxed are the inner and outer corner so I decided to play up those areas and just place the pearls there. I loved how the pearls are all along the lower lash line in the editorial but I decided to give my eye a more elongated shape.
The final touches were the tiny dusting of powder just in the centre of my face as I wanted there to be a contrast between the places I wanted to be obviously highlighted like my cheekbones and the places that usually become oily throughout the day. I added some of the Kevyn Aucoin Glass Glow Face in Prism Rose to my cheekbones as it's a product with a sheer base, a very slightly rosy tint and a reflective sheen. It's one of those products that is more about texture and reflection than pigment. I shaped my lips very slightly with a lip pencil almost identical to my natural lip colour, the NYX Professional Makeup Suede MAtte Lip Liner in Lavender and Lace and finished the look with the clear Danessa Myricks Colorfix Glaze on my lips and a touch on my eyelids.
If you take away the pearls, this is quite a natural and fresh makeup look which is what I love about it. The focus is the brows and lashes and everything else is so minimal. It's what we've been seeing from the makeup in season 2 of Euphoria too. That undetectable base and eye focused adornment that makes it believable as makeup a 17 year old might do on themselves. This has been a trend over the past few years and it's also become my philosophy when it comes to makeup. I can get away with stronger shapes, brighter shades, glitter and jewels if I keep my skin looking natural and almost like I'm not wearing foundation at all. It's the same as the recent Lisa Eldridge 'Patchwork Skin' video, just applying product where you feel you need colour correcting or coverage. Most people don't need coverage everywhere and that's why you end up with product creasing, looking heavy and not lasting as long. If I've learned anything from professional makeup artists, it's that thin layers are key in skincare and makeup. It does depend on your skin type and what kind of look you like. If you like a full coverage foundation all over then go for it. The most important thing is that you feel happy and confident and don't take makeup too seriously. It's meant to be fun and creative and a form of self-expression.
Auric Cosmetics Glow Lust (Morganite Original)
*Lisa Eldridge The Foundation (No. 5)
Fenty Beauty Match Stix (Amber)
Delilah Cosmetics Brow Line Retractable Eye Brow Pencil (Sable)
Smashbox X Becca Cosmetics Under Eye Brightening Corrector (Light/Medium)
Pat McGrath Labs Skin Fetish: Sublime Perfection Concealer (L2)
*Lisa Eldridge Enlivening Blush (Pink Soap)
Kevyn Aucoin Glass Glow Face (Prism Rose)
Suratt Beauty Relevée Eyelash Curler
Lancôme Hypnôse Doll Eyes Mascara
Pat McGrath Labs Skin Fetish: Sublime Perfection Blurring Under-Eye Powder (Light)
NYX Professional Makeup Suede Matte Lip Liner (Lavender and Lace)
Danessa Myricks Colorfix Glaze (Clear)
*PR Samples/ Gifted
I'd love to know what you think of this look and if it's something you would wear? I'd also love to know if you have tried any of these products and what you think. Even though I post a lot of makeup looks to Instagram, it can be hard to see the real detail of the makeup. I take the photos with my phone and they're always compressed when posted on my Instagram feed. That's why I still like to read and write blog posts, especially when it comes to foundation reviews. I'm planning on posting a full review of the Lisa Eldridge Foundation as I've had requests for it. I'm hoping you can see more clearly how it looks on my skin in this post but please do let me know if you have any particular requests for that review such as shade comparisons. Spoiler alert though, I absolutely love it! I was hoping I would love it and I was worried it wouldn't live up to the hype I had created in my own head but it absolutely does in every way. Have you tried it yet? I'm working on a few blog posts at the moment including more opinion based ones so if there's anything you'd like to see, don't hesitate to leave a comment or send me a DM on Instagram. Thanks for taking the time to read my blog.
Emma x
