Inspired by hydrangea | Beauty Inspo Look #1

Hi friends!

As I wrote about in last week’s post, this month is all about finding inspo for your makeup looks in the unlikeliest of places. Let’s forget social media & advertising for a while and look to real life – the sights, the shapes, and the colors that surround us. So I’m here today to present my first look in this beauty inspiration series, which I’m calling ‘Inspired by hydrangea’! (For reference, I’m aiming to post 4 makeup looks throughout the month.)

Is there any flower more beautiful than a hydrangea?? (I guess you could make the argument for peonies.) We have these beautiful hydrangea plants lining our front lawn in the summer that range in color from green, to white, to pink, to blue-lavender. They were literally the first thing I thought of using as inspiration when creating this challenge!

So the look I created was very much inspired by the colors of the hydrangea petals. While I wanted it to be colorful, I also wanted the look to be soft & wearable so it could be easily recreated. Let me take you through what I did!

STEP ONE – EYES

I laid my base down across my eyes using the MAC Paint Pot in the shade Camel (discontinued – use any eye primer if you like). I pat it anywhere I intend to use powder eyeshadow.

I took two matte pinky-rose shadows from the e.l.f. Mad for Matte Eyeshadow Palette in Summer Breeze (the 4th and 6th from the left) on a medium-sized fluffy brush, and blended them together into and above my crease. Make sure to really buff these colors out so there’s no harsh lines.

Then I packed MAC Sumptuous Olive, a gold-green soft metallic eyeshadow, all across my eyelid with my finger for maximum color intensity. I then used a fluffy brush to blend Sumptuous Olive into the pink shadows in the crease. This look is all about blending soft colors together!

Read this: Sumptuous Olive – my favorite MAC eyeshadow

I then mixed Big Sky (a frosted light blue), with a touch of Radio (a deeper teal) and a touch of Hell Ride (a matte deep plum) from the Urban Decay Born to Run Palette. I smudged those colors along my lower lash line using a soft pencil brush. I initially wanted the color to be more purple, but I couldn’t stop myself with the shade Big Sky! So it turned out more blue, oh well.

Lastly, I just popped a bit of the ColourPop Super Shock Highlighter in the shade Smoke n’ Whistles on the inner-most corners of my eyes. It’s a gorgeous cool, pink tone with silver shimmer.

I then slapped on some mascara using both Maybelline Snapscara (top lashes), and the Pixi Lower Lash Mascara (bottom lashes).

Read this: Maybelline Snapscara Review

STEP TWO – FACE

Since this look was not complexion-focused, I honestly didn’t spend too much time on my skin. I applied a light layer of the Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Tint (review coming soon!) in my T-zone area where I always need some evening-out; I simply blended the product in with my fingers. I then used my beloved NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in all the obvious places – under-eyes, nose, chin – to conceal redness, etc. That’s it.

STEP THREE – CHEEKS

To keep all the focus on the eyes, I just did a light sweeping of the Physician’s Formula Butter Bronzer in the shade Bronzer across my cheeks and temples with a large powder brush. This is a cool-to-neutral toned bronzer so I found it a perfect match to these more colorful eyes. It also has a very buildable pigment so you can really customize the amount of color you lay down. I decided against using highlighter here since both the eyes & lips had some shine.

Read this: Review: Physician’s Formula Butter Bronzer

STEP FOUR – BROWS

I really love brushing up my brows when I do a colorful eye look, so the best product I have for that job by far is the Ardell Brow Confidential Brow Duo. I used the clear gel side only; it acts like glue to keep my hairs in place all day. So I just brushed them all the way up, slightly shaped them and moved on. No extra color or filling in for me.

Read this: The drugstore brow gel you need in your life!

STEP FIVE – LIPS

I wanted something soft both in color and in texture (I always struggle with dry lips), so it had to be my beloved Clinique Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm in the shade Woppin’ Watermelon. I loveeee these lippies – so easy to wear and so comfy! This shade gives a really light pink tint to the lips with tons of moisture. Again, I wanted soft edges so no lip liner or any additional products were used. The product I have pictured here is a mini, FYI.

That’s it!

What do you think of my hydrangea-inspired makeup look? Would you wear it? I’d love to know!

xo, Erica

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