Purple power!
Question for you… how do you feel about formula dressing?

LOL! Pardon me for a moment, but I had to laugh there, because “formula dressing”? sounds like something you put on a salad.

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But I digress…

If you’ve flipped through the pages of a fashion magazine in the past decade, you may have read talk of having an “outfit formula,” something you can always turn to when you want to look sharp. maybe it’s a white t-shirt, high-waisted jeans and a black blazer, or maybe it’s something else.

Once you figure out a formula that works for you, then you can tweak it ever-so-slightly (perhaps by replacing the black blazer with a black motorcycle jacket), but essentially, you go back to the same formula over and over because it works.

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I’m a huge fan of translating this idea for the realm of makeup, and I do “makeup formulas” all the time.

I’m wearing one of mine in these pics — cat eye flicks and bright lips.

It’s quick and easy and gives you a lot of bang for your makeup buck, IMO. Also, crucially, it doesn’t make me think too hard, and I’m not reinventing any wheels, because I know that both of the main elements in the look work for me. Still, there’s plenty of room within the look to jooj it up in different ways.

Basically, I was in the mood to wear purple, so I started with a smudgy purple cat flick (which I did with a matte dark purple eyeshadow and an angled brush).

I like the whole smudgy/diffused effect because the imperfect edge leaves lots of room for error. I can fudge it a little (or a lot), and even though it might not look perfect, it’s typically passable, which is good enough when I’m in a hurry.

Next, I matched it with a bright matte purple lipstick, and side note: I just thought of another version of this I could do… how about layering a shiny purple gloss on top of this lippie? I think that would be very cool too!

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This is just one of the makeup formulas I use often. Apply, lather, rinse and repeat!

You think I’d be smiling much more because I’m having a surprisingly ok hair day!
It doesn’t have to be complicated.

Makeup worn in this look

Eyes: MAC Art library nude model palette (Sugar Plum and dance in the Dark as liner, nude model and L.E.S. Artiste on lids, and Outre in crease), ESUM dual Eye Pencil in rose and Aubergine (tightline), MAC extended Play Perm Me Up Mascara (lashes) ESUM Brow Defining Pencil and MAC Brow set (brows)

Cheeks: Charlotte Tilbury Ecstasy Blush

Base: make up For ever HD Concealers in Y41 and Y31 mixed with MAC Strobe cream (foundation), MAC Mineralize Skinfinish natural in golden Tan, Estee Lauder 24H Concealer in medium Deep (under eyes), Tatcha luminous Dewy Skin Mist

Lips: MAC retro Matte liquid Lipcolour in tailored to Tease

Your friendly neighborhood charm addict,

Karen