#lockdown looks with Francois Nars' Makeup Your Mind
It’s day #135 of lockdown - well, actually, it’s only been a week if you’re here with me in the UK, but some days doesn’t it just feel like Groundhog Day?
This wasn’t taken from the Nars book; I decided to make an effort one day for a podcast recording, because who can live in jogging bottoms 10 days straight?
For me personally, when I thought I was still working as ‘normal’ I had already started social distancing. Since it’s been officially announced that we’re on lockdown and people across the country - and across the globe - have had their jobs and lives changed overnight, I’ve found it a little harder to deal with. Right now I’m looking into what work could look like as a limited company with an employee of one (me), but without any specific deadlines it’s easy to find the days melting into one another. In week one I decided to challenge myself to something that would allow me to be creative. I went into the spare room and grabbed some of my favourite makeup books, and settled on the Francois Nars (yes, that Nars) book; Makeup Your Mind.
I didn’t want to think too much about it, so I did polls to let my Instagram followers decide on the looks I should create; below are the ones they’ve chosen so far. I’ve got two more on the way but I think my skin is feeling the #selfisolating strain so I want to give it a few more days to breathe, makeup-free.
Look 1: smoky burgundy eyes
This one was challenging, mostly because I promised I would only use my existing makeup. Now, I have a lot of makeup, but I didn’t have much in the way of the deep burgundy tones required for this. I think not having the exact items helped though, because I just let myself be free and enjoy the process.
Look 2: icy blue eyes
I found this massively challenging; I had zero matte blue/silver eyeshadows so had to make do with a recent purchase from Kiko. I actually love this blue and originally bought it to create an icy eyeliner, inspired by my fave Diarrha N’Diaye over on Instagram. One thing I realised with this look was: my eyelids are HUGE. Like, I have to use twice the amount of eyeshadow as anyone else!
Look 3: super thicc flick
Out of all the looks, this is probably the one I felt most at home with, as I’m pretty damn good at a thicc flick, if I do say so myself. Classic liner and nude lip is one of my signature go-tos but this look was definitely more layered than my usual approach. Definitely plan on wearing it thicker more often.
Look 4: graphic eyeliner
Wow, yeah so this look kicked my ass. Despite feeling handy with an eyeliner, I don’t think I had the ideal formula for creating clean, crisp lines. So I tried to little-by-little approach, which resulted in this patchy finish. Still, I got some really sweet feedback on Instagram, with people saying it looks ‘intentional’. Bless, I’ll take that!
What are you trying or learning to stay sane and/or distracted, during lockdown?