Fridays with Felicia: An intimate look behind the curtain as I share my favorite style/ beauty discoveries and ThisThatBeauty shenanigans from previous week.
As much as I love love love makeup, I do not love love love spending all day in the mirror applying makeup. Having said that, I regard myself as the queen of “signature makeup†and often encourage my friends, clients, and basically anyone who will listen, to compile a stable of signature looks of their own.
What is “signature makeupâ€? It is essentially an arsenal of go-to looks that you’re able execute within a few short minutes. Signature makeup does not necessarily mean ONE look that you wear ALL the time, but it does infer that you have a specific look mapped out for certain situations.
Most of you know that I love my red lip. I would say that it is a signature look for me for press events and such. So when prepping to head out for a press event, I am not overwhelmed by the world of makeup possibilities available to me, I pretty much know that I am going to go with radiant complexion and a red lip. This makes me feel present and polished. Having a go-to look makes wearing makeup easy and alleviates the pressure to “create†every single time you apply makeup!
I encourage you to think of “signature makeup†like clothes. If you had to go on a job interview, you would have a go-to ensemble, yes?…like a conservative suit of some sort. And if you were going to church, again, you would likely shop your closet for a very specific look…likely a conservative dress. How about the club?…yep, you would have a very specific clothing look in mind, likely something sexy!
Signature makeup works the same way, it’s a go-to makeup look that you execute based on where you’re going (work, out dancing, dinner with your boo, church, etc) or time of year (summer look, winter look, etc).
For winter, one of my favorite looks is what I like to call the “Deranged Snow Bunny and here it is:
I mentioned the “Deranged Snow Bunny†on Twitter the other day and it created quite a stir. So for “Fridays with Feliciaâ€, I thought I would expand on my philosophy of signature makeup and share with you the deets on my favorite winter signature look, the “Deranged Snow Bunnyâ€
During the winter months I tend to get a little drier and my complexion loses some of its warmth. Anyone else experience this? So to keep my face looking vibrant and full of life, I often wear the “Deranged Snow Bunnyâ€. This look is super easy to pull off. The key components are lashes and blush…and perhaps a good foundation if your complexion requires ‘help’. For the “Deranged Snow Bunny†the goal is to wake up the face…I do this by over emphasizing the cheeks and lashes.
Start with a translucent powder all over the face to balance the complexion. I absolutely adore Eve Pearl Loose Powder in Dark. It has no color but mattyfies my face to perfection. I add a little extra powder on my lids to prevent shine.
Next I apply a generous helping of blush to the high planes of my cheeks. By “generous†I mean, I definitely apply more than a slight flush. The goal is the really amp up the cheeks. My fave “Deranged Snow Bunny†cheek colors are:
Stila Convertible Color in Fuchsia
Lancome Ageless Mineral Blush in Brilliant Berry (this is the shade I am wearing in the pic above)
Youngblood Loose Mineral Blush in Rouge
Next, go hog wild with the mascara…I mean like borderline Tammy Faye. Use a lash primer for extra volume and length. I love to partner Tarte Lash Enhancing Primer and Hourglass Film Noir Mascara
Lastly, for lips, you can go slick or stained. In the picture above I went slick with Lipstick Queen 15 Minutes of Fame. I am wearing shade “3 Minutesâ€
And there you have it, the “Deranged Snow Bunnyâ€, one of my signature winter looks. Do you have a signature look for winter? Please comment and share!
You are too frigging cute! I have signature looks, too. I do my makeup in under 10 minutes in between lights during my morning commute (I like to hit SNOOOOZE). It’s basically foundation, liner, mascara, blush, and lipstick or gloss. I switch it up by putting a hint of color on the waterline (conservative day time job safe color that is) and by changing my blush colors.
Danielle. Hey mama! Thank you. I too do my makeup in between lights or on the train. I have my look down to 5 minutes. Can you believe i do everything in like 2 minutes the spend like 3 mins on mascara! Yup…its an art. I’m anal about masarca application! Lol
I thought I was the only one who had a winter look! I call mine “ice princess” and it does involve a light pink gloss and wind-blown tinted cheeks!
Lacquerholic. Signature looks rock, right???:-)
I thought I was the only one who had a winter look! I call mine “ice princess” and it does involve a light pink loss and wind-blown tinted cheeks!
I’m DYING to try the DSB! Thanks for breaking it down 🙂 If all goes well with my current lip color test, I may even rock (big) red lips. (maybe I can make the “punched in the mouth” red lip look sexy o_0. I’m looking forward to #FWF V22.
Christene. Can’t wait to see color on you!
Finally know the secrets to Deranged Snow Bunny and cannot wait to try them myself! As always, a great FF. xo
@Adriana. My dearest sis, you would make the most beautiful DSB ever! Especially should you go curly! Oh I cant wait for you to have little curl appeals one day…I’m gonna nom nom those lil babies!!!!
I LOVE it!!! Genius I don’t think people look @makeup application this way! And I absolutely adore the deranged Snowbunny!! I’m going to prepare working on my go tos and my own version of deranged snowbunny!!
@Aisha. Thank you. I’m glad this post was helpful. Good luck with your signature looks!
I am so feeling your “deranged snowbunny” look. It’s absolutely gorgeous. For the winter I usually rock dark colored lips. But I think I’m going to go bright colored lips because I’m addicted to lipstains and they look better when they are bright.
@Felicia – I’ve never met a Felicia I didnt like:-) Thank you for the comment! I LOVE lipstains. have you tried the new ones by tarte?
Fashionista_911. Sounds lovely, lady!
Now, you say that a “signature look” is not a look that you wear all the time, but rather a “go-to look” when you need to look great in a flash, but what happens when your go-to-look is also the look you wear the most often, verging on all the time?
I rarely have a lot of time to spend on makeup in the mornings, so I have one look that I know works and takes about five minutes to apply, and like you said, I know I’ll look confident and polished afterwards, and I would say this is what I do 95% of the time when I’m going to be wearing makeup.
So where does that leave me? Signature look, or one-hit wonder?
@Baeta – Hmmm, it all sounds rather one-hit-wonder to me because it’s the same look for most situations. But dont fret, TTB is here to help! Taking your “one-hit-wonder” to “signature” status is simple. Merely start substituting.
A slight change from gloss to lipstick can ‘up’ your look. Converesly, going from lipstick to gloss can dress down a look.
For cheeks, a slight change from bronzer to pop of color can produce a feesh new look.
If you look at my two signature looks….red lip and Deranged Snow Bunny…the main diffence is that i do cheeks instead of lips…or lips instead of cheeks..the rest pretty much stays the same, but i have managed to create two equally beautiful looks that require the same amount of application time.
Are you buying any of this 🙂
is this helpful:-)