Be My Valentine: Girly Face and Nails for Valentine's Day

I love getting dolled up. Any excuse, however small, and I'll dress to the nines, spending hours playing around with my favourite makeup, rediscovering old gems, and concocting new colourful combinations. And with Valentine's Day just a day away, what better excuse to dress up!  Excited to create a style to complement the occasion, I had a rummage through my trusty make up storage, and came up with this pretty pink look, which I think is suitable for both day and night, along with four cute nail colours to make your digits look sweet as sugar. So, whether you're in a relationship, or a happily single pringle, have a wonderful Valentine's Day, and I hope you enjoy my attempt at a seasonal look. Here's what I did:

To begin, I primed my eyelids with NARS Pro Prime, and washed Soap & Glory's Minky, a beautiful light shimmer, across the inner two thirds of my lid. I then placed another Soap & Glory shadow, Dandy Plum, a pretty aubergine shade, on the outer third of my eye, blending it through the crease and layering up the colour until I got the intensity I wanted. I also swept a little of this shade into my lower lashes. I didn't really want a strong liner with the look, so I went for a soft and subtle off-black shadow, also by Soap & Glory, called Black Gold and smudged it into my lash line.

I next moved onto my base. After wiping away the plum shadow that had dropped down under my eyes, I primed my skin with Benefit's Porefessional Primer. I blended Loreal's True Match Foundation in the shade Rose Ivory into my skin, using the warmth of my fingers to give myself a natural, well blended look. I corrected under my eyes with the Bobbi Brown Corrector in Light Bisque, and layered YSL Touche Eclat in 01 on top. I also put the YSL product in all the areas I wanted to highlight - the top of my cheekbones, my cupids bow, down my nose and above and below my brow bone. I went in with a third concealer, Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage in SC2 to cover any spots, and then set it all in place with a light dusting of Rimmel Stay Matte Translucent Powder. 

For definition on my cheeks, I used my sweet pink Maybelline Dream Touch Blush in 07 Plum, which offers a beautiful glow as well as a lovely soft pop of colour. I contoured under my cheeks with the tiniest amount of Hoola Bronzer by Benefit, and highlighted the tops of my cheekbones with the Dior Nude Shimmer Instant Illuminating Powder, popping a little in the inner corners of my eyes for good measure.

Finally, I ran some of MAC's Charcoal Brown shadow through my brows. A slick of Revlon's Colourburst Lip Butter in Sorbet, and lashings of MaxFactor False Lash Effect Fusion on the lashes, et voila. You're ready for whatever Valentine's Day is going to throw at you with this sweet, fresh, pink look.

As you can probably tell from the mess, I used the bottom 3 shades from this Soap & Glory palette.

Now that you've got your makeup looking beautiful, here are a few nail varnishes which I think are the perfect Valentine's colours.

More day date appropriate are the Models Own polish in the shade Utopia, and Clinique's A Different Nail Enamel in Pinkini. A beautiful nude with a lilac hue, and a Barbie pink that is perhaps the most girly shade in my collection, both would be perfect for a more casual Valentine's, whilst still looking the part. 

If a vampy night time look is more what you're after, Maybelline's Forever Strong Super Stay Gel Nail Colour in the shade Berry Stain, or the No7 Damson Dream are ideal for adding a more daring, sultry vibe to your ensemble. Perfect for adding a bit of edge to a sweet and innocent look.

What are your plans this Valentine's Day? Have you got any special look planned for the occasion? Let me know!

S.