Since the announcement of her engagement and entry into the royal family, I have always admired Kate Middleton’s makeup. Hallmarks of this look include a well-defined eye, fully rimmed in kohl and accentuated by taupe shadow, as well as dusty pink blush and neutral pink lips. Since the time of Cleopatra, lined eyes have exerted a captivating effect. When paired with pink cheeks, a mark of health, and natural glossy lips, it provides a classic look, both seductive and office-appropriate. It is also a very easy look to achieve, as I hope to demonstrate below!

My beautiful friend Ali, with her olive skin and brunette hair, possesses physical similarities to the Duchess — and was kind enough to serve as my model!

Here is the look:

FACE PRODUCTS USED
Foundation — Bare Minerals “Ready Foundation” in the shade “Fairly Light” (R170)
Undereye Concealer — Maybelline Age Rewind Concealer in the shade “Neutralizer”
Contour Powder — It Cosmetics “My Sculpted Face” Contour Kit
Blush — Bobbi Brown blushes in “Pale Pink” & “Sand Pink”
Highlighter — The Balm “Mary Lou-Manizer”

EYE PRODUCTS USED
Primer — Urban Decay Primer Potion in the shade “Eden”
Base Shadow — Mac’s “Blanc Type”
Lid Shade — L’Oreal’s “Infallible Eyeshadow” in “Bronze Taupe”
Crease Shadow — Urban Decay’s “Buck” from the “Naked 1” Palette
Inner Corner Shadow — Mac’s “Nylon”
Brow Bone Shadow — Mac’s “Nylon”
Eyeliner — Urban Decay “24/7 Liner” in “Perversion” (Pencil)
Mascara — Too Faced “Better than Sex” Mascara
Brow Powder — It Cosmetics “My Sculpted Faced” Contour Kit

LIP PRODUCTS USED
Lip Liner — Makeup Forever Aqua Lip Pencil in Shade C3
Lip Gloss — Buxom “Full-On Lip Polish” in the shade “Dolly”

Eye Makeup Close-Up:

One Final Shot:

Hope you enjoyed this “royal makeup” look!

See you next time 😉

Chanel is one of those brands which has always exuded style more than substance for me. Although the packaging is luxe, the price tag always leaves me with a sour aftertaste.

Count me intrigued, however, when my friend Diana recommended their new foundation — “Perfection Lumiere Velvet.”

It claims to be a lightweight foundation in the spirit of Giorgio Amani “Maestro” — but is unique due to a full coverage, matte finish.

The packaging is sleek and black, oozing the classy minimalism expected of Chanel.

The foundation’s consistency indeed proves lightweight, even runny, as this swatch demonstrates:

Nevertheless, the foundation’s coverage is impressive, with a matte and radiant finish, all the while maintaining its light feel upon the skin! Its lightness is very similar to that of L’Oreal’s “Magic Nude Liquid Powder” foundation. See below (bare face –> foundation applied –> full face of makeup):

To my surprise, unlike L’Oreal’s “Magic Nude Liquid Powder” foundation (reviewed here), this product lived up to most of its claims. The coverage, although not full as described, is indeed matte and kept oil at bay throughout most of the day. It also contains SPF 15, so fulfills its sunscreen requirement. As you can see, it also looks gorgeous in photographs!

I would give this foundation 5 stars except for one small detail — it costs an ungodly $45 bucks. For a foundation, that is ludicrous. Although I feel like this is a very lovely foundation, no makeup product is worth that much money. The price, I suspect, is based upon the Chanel name.

If you have money to burn, however, this is an option if you are on the hunt for a stellar foundation! 😉

Final Verdict: 4.5/5 Stars

Available at Dillard’s and Chanel.com for $45

It’s always a wonderful epiphany to discover a cheaper version — of equal or even superior quality — of an iconic high-end makeup product!

I recently found a marvelous drugstore dupe for the Urban Decay “Naked Basics” palette — a matte eyeshadow palette ideal for natural eye contouring!  Meet the dupe — Physician’s Formula “Canyon Classics” eyeshadow quad!

The shades of this palette include a matte creamy white, a warm-toned camel shade, a matte grey-brown, and a cool-toned taupe (right-to-left):

As you can see, these shades are richly pigmented, perhaps more so than the Urban Decay shades in the “Basics” palette (which I reviewed here). The colors last all day without creasing. The only difference between the two palettes is the absence of a shimmery highlight shade in the Physician’s Formula palette — AND the fact that the Physician’s Formula palette is $22 cheaper!

I have created a look using this palette! See below:

It’s a win-win! $29 for the Urban Decay “Naked Basics” palette VS. $7 for the Physician’s Formula “Canyon Classics” palette.

Final Verdict: 5/5 Stars