RUBY’S BABINGTON HOUSE MASTERCLASS

Last week I had the pleasure of hosting a Makeup Masterclass at Babington House, centred around creating a timeless look that can be built up to take you from day to evening. Here are the tips I shared…

Prep

For a look that can last all day and all night, you must spend as much time on the prep as you do the face. Creating the perfect canvas for your makeup is the key to longevity... if the skin isn’t prepped, your makeup can slip and slide across the skin and will have worn away before you even make it to lunch!

For a gentle exfoliant, the Aveda Botanical Kinetics Exfoliant can be applied using a cotton ball, gently wiping across face in upward, outward motions. I then applied the PERS Rich Cream moisturiser, which has a lovely thick, non-greasy texture and really hydrates the skin. For the eyes, Charlotte Tilbury Under Eye Patches intensely hydrate, followed up by Bobbi Brown Vitamin Enriched Eye Base to prep and prime. Finally, for the lips, I applied the Laniege Lip Sleeping Mask for smooth, primed lips.

Ensure you leave enough time for all skincare to absorb into the skin before applying your makeup products, to prevent pilling, smudging or uneven coverage.

Base

People often have a set routine that they follow every day of the week, every week of the year! Instead, you should study your skin that morning and see what it really needs, assessing as you go along. Some days you might need higher coverage; some days a hint of concealer will do the trick.

Before applying foundation or concealer, you may feel you need some slight colour correction, particularly around the eyes or to reduce redness on cheeks and nose. Use a small amount of corrector only on the targeted areas, and tap in using your fingertips or a sponge. A couple of great products for this are the Beauty Pie Superluminous Under-Eye Genius, or Erborian CC Red Correct.

For a look that lasts, and if your skin allows, I’d ditch the full-face of foundation and use a precision brush to apply concealer only where required. It leaves a more natural finish and is also easier to touch up throughout the day. In this case, I opted for the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer. If foundation is required, opt for a radiant base such as Armani Beauty Luminous Silk Foundation.

Face

When it comes to applying our bronzer and blush, both colour and texture are key. When it comes to texture, like goes on to like - cream products on top of cream, powder on top of powder. For example, if you are using a cream cheek colour this would go direct on top of any liquid foundation/concealer, but if you’re using a powder blush, you would apply setting powder over your foundation/concealer ahead of applying your blush.

In this masterclass, I opted for my Ruby Hammer Beauty Cheek Colour in Red, applying the product very lightly to the apples of the cheeks using a face brush, blending upwards and outwards. I then set the face using Laura Mercier Translucent Powder, applied with a small powder brush to the areas of the face that are most likely to produce oils throughout the day (nose, forehead, chin).

If you wanted to ramp this look up for the evening, I would apply a powder blush before heading out to give an added pop of colour to the face. The Pat McGrath Divine Blush range is a great option for this, as they have a slight pearl finish that catches the light beautifully.

Eyebrows

I always apply brow powder using an angled brush, starting from the arch to avoid the ‘tadpole effect’.  People often start at beginning of the brow, when the brush is loaded with product, depositing most of the pigment here. This leads to thick, dark brows that you then must compensate for with the rest of your makeup. By starting at the arch, you can blend the product throughout your brows, giving subtle definition to their natural shape. For this masterclass, I used the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Powder.

Eyes

Same as we do with the face, we should always start by prepping the eye area. Makeup By Mario’s Master Eye Prep & Set Palette is great for priming and prepping the eyelid, helping ensure a flawless and long-lasting look. For this look, I used Lisa Eldridge’s Liquid Silk Eyeshadow in shade Phoebe, which is a gorgeous, universal camel shade that suits most skin tones. The liquid formulation is super easy to blend, and the matte finish is great for a daytime look. I then used a darker shade from the Makeup By Mario Mastering Eyes Neutrals to line the eye, as using a powder can often be easier than a liquid or gel liner.

A great way to up the oomph for the evening is to add shimmer on top of your eyeshadow. The Victoria Beckham Lid Lustre Eyeshadow pots are gorgeous for this, or ELF’s Liquid Glitter Eyeshadows are a great affordable alternative. Both are great to apply with fingers, pressing on to the lid for instant wow factor, or blend out with a brush for just a hint of sparkle.

Finish the look with a coat of mascara, coating the topside first to cover any eyeshadow fallout, and then root to tip on the underside. I always recommend curling the lashes before applying mascara, as this really helps open the eyes. The Surratt Relevee Lash Curler is my go-to.

Lips

For a look like this, I always tend to keep the lips natural. Neutral colours, with a hint of shimmer.

A great way to increase the perceived ‘volume’ of your lips without looking too obvious is to find a lip-liner in the same shade or just one shade deeper than your natural lip colour, and to line just outside of your natural the lip line. For this look, I used Charlotte Tilbury Lip Liner in shade Pillow Talk to line the lips, the Tarte Cosmetics Maracuja Juicy Lip Balm all over the lip, and then the Ruby Hammer Beauty Lip Serum Balm FX for added shimmer and dimension.