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When putting together a look for pale skin in an interview situation, I think it's a question of balance. On the one hand you want to look "alive and well" but equally you don't want to look overdone or that you are trying too hard.
Obviously the type of makeup you go for will depend on the kind of job you are going for, and other factors such as your hair colouring, outfit etc. But I would say the overall rule is to ensure that your skin looks glowing and perfected (think good skincare underneath!) but also your features defined.
For interviews or jobs where I am required to wear all or mostly black, I will sometimes be bold and wear a red lip. However I normally play it safe with a soft pink close to my own natural lip colour. Remember you can always play with the eye colours a little to balance out a more understated lip.
Ultimately you want to look professional and well put together, but equally confident that you've chosen the right products and tones for your colouring. Leave extra time to do your makeup and always check how you look before you leave the house in a mirror using good natural light.
Oh and follow my top tips!.....
BASE:
I don't always use a primer, but if I do the one I have been using lately is the Benefit Porefessional Primer. This is great if you intend to be wearing your makeup for a long time such as if you have to travel to get to your interview. This just gives it that extra staying power and helps to avoid slippage later in the day.
My go to foundation for the last few months has been the YSL Touche Eclat Foundation in the shade BR10. I love that it can be worn as an everyday foundation and doesn't feel heavy or cakey on the skin, but equally can be built up for areas where extra coverage is needed. This is a perfect foundation that is mid coverage and ideal for when you want your skin to look enhanced but not overdone. BR10 also looks alot paler on than it does in the bottle and is the only foundation I can use without having to custom mix it with white.
For years I have repurchased the Collection 2000 concealer in Fair. Sometimes I will wear it on it's own to cover my scarring/darkness around the eyes. It's thick and full coverage yet blends seamlessly with any foundation I pair it with. For £4.19 you just can't go wrong!
I also use another gem from Collection 2000 to set my makeup. Their pressed powder in the shade 18 Ivory is finely milled and not at all "powdery". I use this over any areas where I have concealed heavily and through the t-zone.
COMPLEXION:
When you add a base to pale skin more often that not you will knock out any natural flush to the skin. It's really important to use either a light dusting of bronzer as a contour, or a touch of blush on the apples of the cheeks. I very lightly apply the Body Shop Bronzer in shade 2 followed by Bourjois cream blusher in nude velvet to the apples of my cheeks. If you do both softly and build up it will give the face some colour and life without over doing things. Avoid orange/deep brown colours at all costs!
EYES:
A new purchase of mine has been the Soap and Glory Thick and Fast Mascara. Firstly it has gold packaging (and what's not to love about that!) I love that it gives a dramatic result but isn't too much and doesn't flake like previous drugstore mascara's I have tried. The brush also allows for a soft application on one side but then a much more fuller coverage on the other, giving you control on how much you want your lashes to be defined.
For
those eyes - think soft browns for eye liner and cut crease. I also
like cool golden tones and dusty pinks. I love my Pixi palette however
it is now discontinued as they change up their makeup lines quite
frequently according to the season. It may be worth investing in one of
the naked palettes if your budget can stretch.
The Sleek eye palette in Storm is great as it contains shades which can be used as a base, crease and even for brows. A great all rounder and even has a handy mirror too (unless you drop yours like I did mine!)
A cheaper alternative would be the H&M Nudes palette which I picked up for around £3. I apply these as a base for my eyeshadow using a damp eyeshadow brush for extra intensity and staying power.
LIPS:
I find Barry M Lip Paints to have excellent staying power and they are massively underrated amongst bloggers. They pack a punch but are equally long lasting and comfortable to wear on the lips. I love the Seventeen Lip Liner in Valentine to give even better staying power.
A handbag friendly alternative would be one of the Revlon Lip crayons. The shade Elusive is perfect on pale skin and is incredibly easy to wear even on no makeup days. Equally Collection 2000 Lipstick in Satin Bow has always been a firm favourite of mine and I sometimes mix them all up to create a custom shade.
NAILS:
For an interview I tend to play it safe with one of my Barry M polishes as they give a great finish and dry fast too... perfect for the last minute night before preparations! My favourite shades include Lychee, Cappucino and Berry Cosmo.
I have long thought the packaging and colours available within the products at Pixi look so incredibly pretty. Incase you haven't heard of Pixi, they are a brand specialising in makeup and skincare founded by Swedish born Petra Strand. Their mission statement is clear "We want to make women look like themselves, only better".
Recently, Pixi kindly sent me this beautiful eyeshadow palette after an order I made of their infamous glow tonic was delayed by a few weeks. Coincidentally, they happened to send me a product I had been wanting ever since I first saw it on their website before Christmas... their Icy Eye Palette in Buff Blizzard.
I have been using this palette almost on a daily basis since I got it, including to my visit to YouTube in London. What I like about the range of colours, is they are very much everyday yet can be played up or down depending on how you feel. Brown is also notoriously less harsh than black, so acts as a great way to define the eyes without it making them look smaller or being too much for everyday. There is also a great white colour for highlighting the inner corners of the eye and brow brown. Overall, the shades work great in combination with each other and also look polished when black mascara is applied to define the lashes.
As for the pigment quality, I find they do give good pay off. I first like to apply a neutral toned base from my sleek storm palette, as I find that like with most eyeshadows, sandwiching products works best. As they are pressed you can also really pack the product on, yet because the tones are fairly neutral you don't end up overdoing things.
I am also impressed that they don't crease as easily as other "lower end" eyeshadows. When you think about it, as this palette is £12 that means each shadow is technically £2... where as with higher end you are looking at a minimum of £10 per shadow colour. Honestly, the Pixi shadows are of really good quality and last well throughout the day, and best of all are easy to blend.
Just a heads up that the range of Pixi eyeshadows seems to chop and change quite often and I've noticed they don't sell this particular palette on the website anymore, although other vendors seem to sell it. However, they do very similar palettes and are always bringing out new ones.
Going on from the experience I've had with the Buff Blizzard palette, I'm inclined to try more eyeshadows from Pixi. Oh, and in terms of this blog they do work very easy against my very pale skin!
Most people make new years resolutions to quit chocolate or join the gym. Mine was to get better looking skin, and figure out exactly what I needed to do in order to achieve this. For me, I felt like investing my time into researching skincare options was the way forward, as past dietary changes and following other standard advice gave me no change in the look of my skin.
My skin is quite dry and sensitive, and so every toner I've ever used has left my skin feeling dry, tight, irritated, red etc. For many years I have skipped the toner stage of my skincare routine, simply because my skin just couldn't handle it.
It was Caroline Hiron's blog that led me to discover Pixi
Glow Tonic - a product that has been talked about almost to death by bloggers and
skincare experts alike. Infact, it's only made in relatively small
batches and when it's announced as being in stock - it very quickly
sells out.
I was dubious to try glow tonic because as we all know, products are easily over-hyped in the beauty world. However, it helped reassure me when Caroline (an actual skincare expert) mentioned it on her blog, stating it was a dupe of a more expensive product called P50.
As I have mentioned before, I now use use La Roche Posay Effaclar K moisturiser, as well as my Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish. I feel both of these products have been working great, however I wanted a product that would improve my skins texture and reduce the look of my pores.
The beauty of Glow Tonic, is that it is actually an exfoliating toner as it contains Glycolic Acid. This ingredient helps the skin to renew itself, in a way that is different from using a scrub that contains exfoliating particles. Frankly, exfoliating is something I rarely do because of how red and irrated even the gentlest of exfoliators leaves my skin feeling.
I added Glow Tonic as my second step after Cleanse & Polish, using a large cotton pad and sweeping the Glow Tonic all over the face. The smell is not what you would expect, and I liken it to the smell of soaps in posh hotel bathrooms. It's an odd one to explain, but definitely is a little strange, although not in any way unbearable. I left my judgement at the door though, because what's important is how well and if it works.
The first thing I looked out for was if it made my skin red, itchy or uncomfortable. I was worried this could be an issue as it contains Ginseng. I was relieved and surprised to find my skin felt completely normal and even somewhat refreshed after applying Glow Tonic. I of course followed up with Effaclar K, so I can't comment on how it would leave the skin feeling without moisturiser.
I have been using Glow Tonic for about 4 weeks now, twice a day as part of my skincare routine. My skin is honestly looking the best it has ever looked, and the most noticeable thing is how smooth to the touch it feels, especially when I wake up in the morning after it's had time to work it's magic overnight. The look and feel is comparable to how my skin felt as a child, just pure smoothness. This is especially noticeable around the chin which has always been my most self concious area, and always where I apply the most make up!
Glow Tonic has also been really effective in getting rid of those pesky little bumps that aren't blemishes as such, but just annoying blips in the texture which prevent the skin from looking smooth. I have also found I am needing increasingly less make-up, and have simply been using my Bobbi Brown tinted moisturiser, and a little concealer here and there.
There still is a way to go before I have the skin I want - completely free of marks etc, however for me *any* improvement is greatly welcomed, and for once I feel as if my money hasn't been wasted (Glow Tonic is £16 + postage unless you live in London and can pop into a Pixi store).
If like me you have to be extremely careful with what you use on your skin, yet want to improve the texture and appearance then from my experience, Pixi Glow Tonic is something I would recommend. I really can't think of anything negative to say, other than it can be a difficult product to get hold of. However, I feel this in itself speaks volumes about the quality of the product and it's obviously working wonders for alot of people!
Closing statement? Believe the hype.
