Date Night Beauty

Whether you’re in a relationship or just playing the field, there should always be room for dates that give you butterflies in your stomach and that make you want to wear your  most fabulous dress!

When you are engaging in a little flirtation, you want to look your best (but of course), and like you didn’t have to try that hard (because you’re just naturally that gorgeous and radiant). Here’s how to master ‘date night pretty’ with some of my favourite products and tricks:

Preen: The day before, paint your nails in a pretty colour like Essie’s French Affair [9] or She’s Pampered [8]. I get so many questions as to what colour nail polish to go with on a first date, and these two are my top picks. Research has shown that men find pink and red among the sexiest colours. If you like, apply a little bit of self-tan to your face, as your face is naturally paler than your body. This will mean that you need less foundation on date night.

Perfect: Start off with with a BB cream like Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector [12], which gives a sheer coverage. No one really looks attractive caked in makeup, so apply just the right amount. Apply a bit of bronzer [10] to both sides of your face, in the shape of a 3, followed by a pop of colour on the apples of your cheeks and blend towards the hair line. I love Bourjois Blush in 48 [11] (available at Edgars).

Glow: Use a highlighter like MAC Cream Colour Base in Pearl [1] on the top of your cheek bones and on your collar bones to give you pretty, radiant skin. Remember to blend it out using your fingers, as you don’t want any definite lines.

Eyes: Start off with a neutral shade like MAC’s Naked Lunch [3] on the entire lid and then define your crease by using a medium brown shade such as MAC’s Wedge [4]. Apply a little bit of dark brown eye shadow to the outer third of your lower lash line, to open up your eyes. To make sure your eyes are worthy of longing gazes, give your lashes some va-va-voom and apply some liquid eyeliner like NYX’s Felt Tip Liner in Jet Black [2], followed by 2 healthy coats of a volumising mascara, like Esteé Lauder’s Sumptuous mascara [7].

Lips: For a kissable pout, the night before, scrub your lips with an olive oil + sugar mixture to get rid of any dry skin. Gents are afraid of super colourful, tacky, sticky lips smothered in gloss, so on date night make sure you apply a sheer lip gloss with a hint of colour, like NYX Sheer Gloss in Sweet Dream [6]. The key is to look as natural as possible.

Finish: Spritz your favourite perfume [13] where you want to be kissed and you’re ready to hit the town on the arm of your dashing date.

What are your favourite flirty beauty tips?