The most romantic day of the year, when you gaze into your sweetheart’s eyes over a candlelit dinner and whisper sweet declarations of love, calls for a makeup look that leaves you looking sultry, yet sweet. To replicate the flush of flirtation and kissing, it’s all about the perfect shade of pink and an alluring lip. Celebrity makeup artist Monika Blunder offers a full tutorial, with a few professional Red Carpet secrets, to achieve the perfect pink Valentine’s Day beat with botanically-infused skincare and makeup from her clean beauty brand Monika Blunder Beauty.
Prep for a Perfect Canvas:
• For hydrated, makeup-ready skin, start with the Monika Blunder Beauty Undercover Face Crème. Rich in anti-aging and anti-inflammatory Swiss botanicals such as arnica and alpine rose, the formulation is designed to enhance luminosity and create a smooth canvas. For extra radiance and glow-from-within for all skin types, seal in the moisture with a few drops of the Dew Better Face Oil, rich in botanicals and luxurious oils that soak into the skin without a greasy residue.
• For pouty, plump, kissable lips, the Botanical Balm Hyaluronic Lip Tint in the non-pigmented shade Winter, nourishes with super-hydrating avocado oil and squalane.
Blend for a Flawless Complexion & Contour:
• Start with a thin layer of Blunder Cover as your foundation, buffing it into the skin with the Call Your Buff Angled Brush. Available in 20 inclusive shades, from the fairest to the lightest, in a range of warm, cool, and neutral undertones, there’s a match for all complexions. Its super rich and pigmented formulation rivals the most expensive, prestige brand foundations.
• With additional shades, the foundation multitasks as a concealer and contour. To brighten under the eye, choose a lighter shade. To contour and add warmth and depth, use a Blunder Cover 4 or 5 shades deeper than your skin tone.
• For areas needing more concealing and brightening, under the eyes, around the nose, and in the t-zone, a few more light applications allow you to customize and build coverage.
The Valentine’s Day Touch:
• First line the lips with the Hot Line Lip Liner in shade Nancy, a rosy nude. Creamy, long-wearing, and smudgeproof, it’s the key to defining the shape of a bold statement lip that beckons with the come hither promise of romance.
• Follow with a few layers of lipstick straight from the Kissen Lush Lipstick in Constance bullet. The bright, flattering, and wearable fuchsia shade is stunning for Valentine’s Day.
• If the bold color isn’t for you, buff it into lips really well for a diffused, worn, soft look.
• If yearning for a striking pop of color, Constance can be layered for a bold lip.
• Red Carpet Makeup Pro Secret: Use the same lipstick as a blush and eyeshadow to add cohesion and unity to this look. A few dabs of Constance on the cheeks and in the crease blends beautifully for a perfect wash of brightening, youthful pink. Applying the same shade all over the face makes everything feel soft and natural for a perfect, romantic look.
Finish with a Soft Glow:
• To keep the lips the star of the show, add a layer or two of Architect Eyes buildable Mascara in Brown for a doe-eyed look that’s soft and romantic.
• Add a little more radiance, glow, and natural highlight with a mini dab of the Dew Better Face Oil on the high points of the face, the cheeks especially.
• Red Carpet Makeup Pro Secret: As the last step, apply the Body Language Botanical Oil, Monika’s secret weapon, all over the body. The marula and rosehip oil formula hydrates, nourishes, and adds head-to-toe luminosity.
With a sweet, doe-eyed lip-centric pink look, you’re ready for your Valentine.
Monika Blunder Beauty is available at luxury retailers Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom.
