Formalities

Hi lovelies,

If you guys don't already know, I'm currently studying abroad at Occidental College (Oxy Tigers!) in Los Angeles. Fraternities and sororities constantly put on parties and tonight there was a winter formal for 'Alpha Lambda Phi Alpha' - mouthful! So anyway, my buddy Lucia is a member of Alpha and asked me to come shopping with her to pick her out something smart to wear, and to do her hair and make-up for the night.

Here's a picture of Lucia before I put any make-up on her or did her hair - although I did ask her to blow dry her hair with a deeper side part than usual. Can we please just appreciate the perfectness of her skin for a minute?

NB: Lucia never wears make-up. She doesn't even own any! Because of this, I wanted to give her a natural look, focusing on her skin as the main feature. Lucia wanted her hair down for the night so I decided to create some soft curls to give it some shape and pin back a section to make her cheekbones stand out. The idea was to make her look like normal Lucia, just a little more polished ;)

Have a look at Lucia with her hair and face done. I have such pretty friends! (Kind of scared for when she reads this as I don't think I've ever openly complimented her before...merp)

Hair: Quickly rough-straighten large patches, eliminating any creases from blow-drying, hair-ties etc. Make sure you always use a heat protector before straightening your hair - I love this one from Aussie. Then, seperate your hair into 3 layers - working from bottom (around the nape of your neck), to middle and finally to the top (nearest to your hairline). Put a section of hair from the bottom layer onto the straightener plate so that it lies as flatly and as evenly as possible. Slowly drag from root to tip but about half-way down twist your straighteners over and continue to drag the hair through, looped, around the closed straighteners. This is an easy way of achieving loose, beachy waves without the use of a curler.

Skin: For the natural but luminous finish on Lucia's skin, I used MAC Strobe Cream on cheeks and t-zone (a really great moisturiser/highlighter - invest!) and buffed in two pumps of MAC Studio Sculpt Fluid foundation using the e.l.f. Powder Brush (here). I used bronzer to lightly contour and set the look with powder.

Eyes: Urban Decay; Eyeshadow Primer Potion, Half Baked (All over lid), Smog (In crease, outer V and below lash line) and Virgin (To blend and highlight)

No7; Intense Volume Mascara

Dress and Earrings; Forever 21, Shoes from a boutique in L.A.

So there you have it! I think she looks amazing - still naturally pretty but now her features stand out. What do you think? What kind of make-up and hair do you like to do for special events? How fab are Lucia's shoes!

xx