Peachy Perfect

Peach tones are everywhere at the moment, and I’m all for it. From Kylie Cosmetics releasing ‘Royal Peach’, to Too Faced serving us the ‘Sweet Peach’ palette, it seems like everyone’s in on the trend – and for good reason. It adds a really fresh, youthful feel to any makeup look and does wonders for setting off that ‘glow from within’ that every girl wants.

The best part about this trend is that you don’t necessarily have to invest in an expensive palette and rinse your bank account dry paying for international shipping (damn you, customs charges). You can easily achieve this look yourself with a bit of savvy multitasking, and I’ll show you exactly how on my b-e-a-utiful model Steph below.

Steph wanted a deep brown smoky eye that wouldn’t be too heavy or overpowering, so I took the opportunity to soften thing down and add a pop of peachy goodness. She looks good enough to eat, no? Keep reading to see a step-by-step guide on how to create this eye look, the products that I used, and of course the finished look!

THE SMOKY EYE

1) First things first, I started with a clean face and I prepped the eye area as per usual using my Mac Pro Longwear Paint Pot in ‘Soft Ochre’, taking it all the way up to the brow bone and into the inner corners. I then set the area that I’d applied the paint pot to, using my Laura Mercier Loose Setting Powder in ‘Translucent’. It’s really important to prepare your eye area before applying shadows – it creates a blank canvas to work on, ensures that the shadows are true to colour, helps everything to blend in more seamlessly, and makes your eye makeup last so much longer.

2) Next, I added a transition colour in the crease using a matte, peach shade. Now THIS is where the multitasking comes in. Rather than using a peach eyeshadow, I took my all time favourite blusher, MAC Powder Blush in ‘Gingerly’, and started building up the colour using a large fluffy brush until I was happy with the colour payoff and the blend. I absolutely love using blush as a transition colour, it adds so much warmth and depth to the eye look, and I always find that if I use the same blush on the cheeks later on it makes the whole look tie together so beautifully.

3) Once the transition shade was totally blended, I started building up the colour on the lid. I took a medium brown matte shade from my Morphe Brushes Palette in ’35K’, and packed it onto the lid directly below where I placed the transition shade. Every time I applied some product, I blended it out using my Morphe Brushes Blending Brush in ‘E27’ to ensure that everything was seamless. Just like in the photo below, you shouldn’t be able to see where the brown shadow ends and the peach transition shade begins, it should just gradually fade in!

4) Next it’s time to really smoke out that lid. Using the same technique as before with my Morphe Brushes Palette in ’35K’ and my Morphe Brushes Blending Brush in ‘E27’, I started packing on and then blending a darker matte brown shadow. Don’t take it any higher than the crease – we don’t want that perfect peach shade to disappear. I kept repeating this step, packing on and blending, using a darker and darker brown shade each time until I was happy with the depth. You’ll see in the photo below the solid evidence of why I always do the eye makeup first before foundation or concealer. Dark shadows have a naughty habit of falling out under the eye! This can easily be cleaned up with a face wipe afterwards – not so easy when the rest of your makeup is already done!

5) I always like to add some life back into an eye look using a pop of shimmer. This doesn’t have to be OTT – just a tiny amount in the right places can work wonders. For this look, I look a bronze iridescent shade with flecks of peach shimmer from the Morphe Brushes Palette in ’35K’ on a flat shadow brush that I had already dampened with my MAC Fix Plus to make it allll the way extra. I pressed it directly on the centre of the lid, and then took a clean shadow brush to blend the edges. I then took a small detailer brush and applied a generous amount of my all time favourite highlighter, Kiko Water Shadow in ‘208’, in the inner corners of the eyes to brighten things up.

6) Once all the shadows were applied and blended, I started to define the eye to complete the look. I took my Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Liner in ‘Black’ and applied it to the upper lash line and inside the waterline. Don’t worry if this line isn’t neat – we’re going to blend it out. To do this, I took a small smudging brush and the darkest brown shade from the Morphe Brushes Palette in ’35K’, and blended it into the gel liner as precisely as possible. Once I was happy with the blend, I applied some Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara in ‘Very Black’ and added a pair of my favourite Eylure Lashes in ‘157’ for some extra drama. I love these lashes because they add so much definition, yet they’re still really wispy and natural.

7) To finish of the look, I applied a flawless, satin base to Steph’s skin. I kept it fresh and dewy, using the same MAC Powder Blush in ‘Gingerly’ to warm up her cheeks, and using the Kiko Water Shadow in ‘208’ to highlight the high points of her face. Because we already used these two products on her eyes, the whole makeup look will completely tie together and the colours will really pop. To compliment the rest of the makeup, I wanted to create the perfect matte, peachy lip. I mixed together the NYX Soft Matte Lip Crème in ‘Buenos Aires’ and the NYX Liquid Lingerie in ‘Satin Ribbon’, which worked perfectly!

And that’s the finished look. Keep scrolling to see all the product details and to see Steph killin’ it!

G x