Whether you’re happily single or taken, Valentine’s Day is a woman’s day to show off her romantic side---an excuse to spice up your look.
We asked celebrity hair stylist Federico Calce and makeup artist Lamar Wright at Federico Hair Salon for the perfect hair and makeup tips and tricks (red lips are harder than it sounds!) to make you look and feel like a bombshell on Valentine’s Day…and everyday.
Picking out the perfect outfit is hard enough, let alone what to do for hair and makeup. We narrowed it down for you by keeping in mind 3 simple rules; it needs to be smudge proof (in case he gets down on one knee), it can’t take you hours to pull the right look together, and you need to look beyond sexy and romantic.
Makeup
• Smudged smokey eyes with big lashes will bring the attention to your eyes.
Use a pencil eyeliner on the top and bottom lashes and gently smudge it. Don’t exaggerate it, as it should give you a very gentle blending. Create an outer v using a charcoal pencil eyeliner and smudge it by pulling towards the tail of the eyebrow. Follow up on this by giving it more of a pop, using a liquid eyeliner on the inside of the eyes to give true definition.
• FALSIES! A women’s best friend to make them extra glamorous. Remember to trim the false eyelashes to size, and curl your natural lashes before applying them. Go back over the inner eyelids with eyeliner to make sure of the definition.
• Now, we can start with any foundation and concealer. Remember to use color correctors. For any dark circles, use a salmon color.
• Using a light apricot blush will ensure your red lipstick will fit your skin tone perfectly! NARS Super Orgasm Blush is amazing.
• Using a blue-toned red lipstick will make your teeth look whiter and enhance your smile. We suggest using MAC Ruby Woo or NARS Cruella Lip Pencil.
Hair
Your crown is the finishing look. To accentuate your face, an updo will work best for the night. Try a sleek chignon to save time and get the perfect refined look.
• Take out your trusty friend the flat iron and go to town, smoothing and shining everything. Use Fa'Briq Lustrous serum to give extra shine afterwards.
• Tease the top front of your hair a bit to give extra volume. Remember to smooth it out gently while leaving the volume.
• Create a ponytail at the crown using a hair-tie. Leaving the hair a bit loose will leave you the freedom of letting some pieces fall and frame your face.
• Now twist the ponytail and wrap it around the hair-tie to create a bun. Use bobby pins to hold it in place.
And if the length of your hair is not long enough for a chignon, do not worry and simply blow dry your hair to give it a polished look.
And remember that the key to look pretty is to be happy. After all, Audrey Hepburn used to say that happy girls are the prettiest. So enjoy your evening and feel the love. Feel romantic on this Valentine’s Day or any other day of the year because when it comes to being with the ones you love, every day surely feels like Valentine’s Day.
Sibylle’s “Style Diary” is a column that explores style from the perspective of choices, and what that means for different people, with personal advice from some of the most stylish people in New York.
Sibylle Eschapasse is from Paris and now lives in Manhattan. She is a journalist and a contributing writer to various publications. Sibylle is also the author of a children’s book, “Argy Boy a New York Dog Tale.” She may be reached at [email protected]
