How to create a fun, colorful makeup look inspired by your inner child
While the artistry of makeup is undeniable, and the technical skill and elegance of expert application is certainly impressive, sometimes I think people are taking the whole thing too seriously. It is, in essence, putting paint on your face, after all. And I am not saying that in a denigrating, “makeup is stupid” type of way. What I’m saying (or trying to, cut me some slack) is that there exists a great palette cleanser for when it all gets a bit too solemn and sincere.
Think about how a child would choose and apply makeup, and everything becomes experimental, colorful, inexpert, and most importantly fun.
Thus, was my brief for creating this face: a makeup look inspired by a kid getting into their mom’s beauty bag. And that means several things: lots of color and lots of glitter, ease of application, and a general sense of more means more.
Here’s how I created a kid-inspired makeup look
Although, any sense of being prescriptive about this clearly makes no sense at all. It’s more about a state of mind, guys.
From left to right: Anastasia Moon Child Glow Kit, Purple Horseshoe($40), Urban Decay After Glow Blush in Bitter Sweet ($26), ELF Long Lasting Lustrous Shadow in Confetti ($3),Anastasia Moon Child Glow Kit, Star ($40), Make Up For Ever shade called Pink Multicolored ($15), Wet ‘n’ Wild Coral of the Story, Wet ‘n’ Wild A Stiff Pink ($2.99).
Here I am pre-kiddifying! I’m wearing my usual must-wears: aka base and eyebrows. My base was the phenomenal It Cosmetics CC Cream ($38) with some Vichy Dermablend ($24.84) as a spot concealer. For my eyebrows, I used an old brown mascara and any brown hued mascara will do!
First, for my eyes, I applied the shade Purple Horseshoe from the Anastasia Moon Child Glow Kit ($40). Yeah, that’s right, this “highlighting palette” doubles up as a stunning set of six iridescent pastel eyeshadows. I blended this up over my whole lid, basically to my brow, and all around my lash line because that’s what a kid would do.
I took a smidge of the Urban Decay After Glow Blush in Bitter Sweet ($26) and applied it into my crease, to add a little bit of dimension and really hammer home the fact that this is indeed a purple eye. I also tapped some of the E.L.F Long Lasting Lustrous Shadow in Confetti ($3) on my brow bone and inner corner.
This is such a great little bargain: it’s basically a bouncy, creamy texture of translucent white glitter, which makes it an amazing topcoat on matte eyes and also a great immature highlight. I finished my eyes with black mascara.
Next up: Cheeks. First, I added blush with the same Urban Decay purple shade. I applied it lightly on the cheeks, so it looks less frightening. Plus, I wanted more of a bright, raspberry-ish pink for my cheeks. I highlighted with Star, the silver shade, from the Moon Child Glow Kit. After, I added glitter, like any true kid would! This one was the Make Up For Ever shade called Pink Multicolored ($15).
Finally, for lips, I wanted sometimes smudgy, bright, and sheen. I went with the Wet ‘n’ Wild Megaslicks Balm Stains in the shades A Stiff Pink (a bright and barbie-ish hue) mixed with Coral of the Story (which added warmth). The effect was a super neon mouth, and the balmy texture of these helps with smudging it. It was perfect, and honestly, this is probably how a kid would apply this lip balm.
I tapped some of the E.L.F eyeshadow in the middle of my bottom lip. It added frostiness and made my mouth look bigger.
Finish the look with optional butterfly clips and you too can be the coolest kid at recess!
