Joan Harris, I mean Christina Hendricks, is right up there on my list of celebrity beauty crushes. But it’s not because of her red hair—even though I sort of have an obsession with redheads. Nor is it because of her ridonkulously curvaceous figure—although props to her and J.Lo for making it okay for those of us with child-bearing hips to work a pencil skirt instead of a fugly A-line.
No, the main reason I love Christina is because I covet her skin. It’s the general flawlessness, of course, as well as the contrast of the porcelain against that shock of bright hair and her blue eyes. And I dare say, nobody wears blush better. Or a rosy pink lip.
But before we get to those, let’s start with the head to toe:
The girls are covered up today with a ruffly sleeveless blouse, and I’m admiring the strategic upper arm camouflaging of that cape and the knee-hiding pencil skirt. The clothes are from the upcoming L’Wren Scott for Banana Republic line, whose launch party Christina was attending. Darn, I don’t think those gold pointy shoes are included—I want them most of all!
Now, the makeup close-up:
Ah, that lip colour is beyond amazing. It’s the perfect rosy pink, “your lips only better” sort of shade. Close to one’s natural lip colour, but enhanced.
She’s wearing Lancôme Rouge in Love in Midnight Rose, and it looks a little darker in the tube than I imagined:
But that’s because there’s a certain way to apply it. Here’s what the makeup artist (Vanessa Scali) says:
“I lined her lips with a shade that matched her natural lip colour. This defines the lips without leaving a hard edge. Then I applied the lipstick with a brush to the centre of the lips and had Christina gently press the colour in. I finished by using a clean lip brush to blend the colour to the edge of the lips. This fills the lips with colour and gives a defined, yet soft edge.”
I think that’s really key here—to soften up the colour with the brush and even to use your fingers. And my goodness, I think I’ve been missing out completely on this look, in favour of bright colours, just because every time I open up a tube of these rosy pink shades, I think “boring.” (I may have also written an entire article trashing “medium colours.” Oops.) But seriously, they are not boring at all on the lips—seen here on Christina, they’re one of the most beautiful looks I can imagine, and suitable for both day and night.
So it’s time for me to start busting out my trusty lip brush more often. My favourite is this retractable one from Japonesque. (I actually have two of them, and use them to apply concealer as well! They work amazing and are way better quality than the Sephora Collection ones, which I erroneously purchased in the summer. The Japonesque are much softer and not scratchy. They make the very best lip brushes, in my opinion.)
Now, time to talk about the blush. I’ve been wearing Armani Blushing Fabric Second Skin Blush for several years, ever since it first came out as a limited edition, and can attest to its awesomeness:
It’s become part of the permanent collection, yay! Christina is wearing the Fuchsia shade—number 9—which I can only find here. I wear number 1, Translucent Strawberry, which is both a more exciting name and a more widely available shade. It comes out of the tube quite red, but doesn’t stay that way on your skin at all. What I really love about these blushes are how they really just “sink” into the skin and look completely seamless, like you’re blushing from within. That IS why they call it a “second skin blush,” I suppose. Definitely in my blush hall of fame.
So after applying that to the apples of Christina’s cheeks, Vanessa used Giorgio Armani Fluid Sheer in number 2 on the tops of her cheekbones and brow bones, and as a dewy highlight down the nose.
Contrary to how it may look, the Fluid Sheer isn’t a foundation. It’s a sheer liquid that subtly illuminates without being outright shimmery, and it comes in a whole range of shades—even bronzes, yellows and pinks that can be used for colour correction and contouring. You can actually wear it alone if your skin doesn’t need much coverage; otherwise, it can be worn under makeup as a base or on top for highlighting and shading. Kind of a genius product. I wish I had more shades—I have number 10, which is more bronzey for summer. I can see myself wearing Christina’s colour more often, though.
As for the rest of her makeup, Vanessa used Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra 24H as foundation and Lancôme Effacernes as concealer to create “velvety matte skin.” (I’ve now wishlisted that concealer. Hello, waterproof? NEED.) Brows were brushed up and made slightly fuller with Lancôme Le Crayon Poudre in Taupe. The eyelids got a sheer wash of the 24-hour Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Intense eyeshadow in my favourite shade, Champagne, but Vanessa’s main focus was liner and lashes “to make her eyes the stand-out feature.” Along with several coats of the waterproof Lancôme Hypnôse Star mascara, she used the waterproof Lancôme Le Stylo in Noir as well as the Lancôme Artliner liquid liner in Black Diamond, a true black. (It’s also the same liner that Jennifer Hudson wore at the AMAs in bright sapphire blue.)
Et voilà, the perfect sophisticated yet understated go-anywhere makeup look!
PS: The L’Wren Scott for Banana Republic line will launch December 5th and there’s a little sneak peek here.
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What do you think of Christina’s makeup look here?
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The post Christina Hendricks is wearing what is possibly the ultimate rosy pink lipstick, plus one of my all-time favourite blushes appeared first on Beauty Editor.
