My new, virtual BFF - Charlotte Tilbury

This video was recently featured on Charlotte Tilbury's Youtube channel and ultimately served as my source of inspiration. To uncomplicate matters, I chose a few items from my own stash and performed a dry run yesterday and I'm actually quite pleased with the execution.

Typically I shy away from using such dark colours on my eyes in fear of looking like a raccoon or a panda bear; the real-estate is minimal, but I soldiered on to see if I could make this work. To temper the intensity of the eyes, I kept things fairly neutral -- clean, sun kissed skin and full soft pink lips, all of which had to be framed with bold brows.

A handful of the items used: NARS Callisto, Burberry's Trench, Chanel's Mirifique, Armanis' Rouge Ecstasy in Daybreak and Waterproof Smooth Silk Eye Pencil in Black

I took a bit of a backwards approach and started with the eyes first as I knew there would be loads of fallout. The juxtaposition of the completed eye look and my ruddy, red skin was a bit shocking, albeit temporary. Do me a favour and don't let the strong eyes deter you, I almost threw in the towel due to fear and uncertainty.

Eye Breakdown

Apply an eye primer and allow it to set;
Curl your lashes;
Tight line the upper lash line with black eyeliner;
Grab a neutral beige eyeshadow, preferably without shimmer and blend it from the upper lash line to your brow bone;
Next, reach for a sparkly black eyeshadow. If you don't own one, simply layer a wicked shimmery shadow over something similar to MAC's Carbon. Keep the darkness limited to the eyelid only; should you accidentally go past the imaginary line blend it out as if your life depended on it;
Line the lower lash line with the same black eyeliner you used a few moments before and smudge it with the excess black eyeshadow applied in the previous step to make the lashes appear thicker;
Highlight the inner corners of your eyes with a silvery pink eyeshadow to make your eyes pop;
Apply lots and lots of mascara. We're talking truckloads;
Fill in those brows and be sure to go a tad darker than usual;
Finally, grab a cotton bud or Q-tip soaked in eye makeup remover and clean up any fallout.

Underpin your everyday makeup with a primer and medium coverage foundation; I used a pearl sized amount of Laura Mercier's Silk Cream Foundation to cancel out the redness in my cheeks, nose and forehead.

Skin Breakdown

Apply primer, making sure to focus on any oily areas;
If you have any blemishes or dark undereye circles, use concealer to erase these bad boys;
Reach for that medium coverage foundation and blend all over, making sure to avoid messing up those beautiful peepers;
Set the foundation with finishing powder or powder foundation;
Contour the hollows of the cheeks, along the sides of the nose and the top of your forehead right near the hairline;
Highlight the bridge of your nose, the cheekbones, the brow bone, the centre of your forehead and the cupids bow;
Smile and apply a small amount of blush and blend upward towards the temples;
Finish with lipstick.

A word of caution, I did experience fallout from my water eyes. Be sure to tote around a cotton bud or two.

Full list of items used: