Do you pair a black outfit with a red lip or would a black smokey eye look better with it? When we throw on head-to-toe black, there’s always some uncertainty around what to do with our face. Agree, don’t you?
Do you swipe on some black liquid liner? Do you rock a power pout? Or is it better just to keep it natural? There’s no definitive, one-size-fits-all rule, but we’ve come up with a bit of a fail-safe routine that always looks the part, no matter where you’re going.
Read on for a detailed guide on how to dress up for an evening where you’re going to be wearing all black.
Face
Since this is an evening look, it is best to keep your base makeup matte. To achieve that look, apply your favourite matte-finish foundation over a thoroughly moisturised face. Once you have applied the foundation, remember to dust on a little bit of some translucent mattifying powder. This will help keep the shine away while leaving the skin looking luminous. But in case you prefer a dewy look, you can go ahead and apply a dewy textured foundation.
Next, it is time for some concealer. For the under eye area, apply a little bit of concealer that’s one shade lighter than your skin tone as it will help brighten up the area and make your eyes look bigger. But for the rest of your face, those areas that have a little redness, blemishes and around the nose, use a concealer in the shade closest to your skin tone.
Blush and highlighter
When you are wearing an all-black outfit, more often than not, your makeup is going to be in focus. Hence, you need to really match your blush and highlighter to your skin tone. If you have a darker complexion, avoid lighter colours as they can make your skin appear chalky. Apply highlighter around your cheekbones for a beautiful shimmer effect.
Eyes
Smokey grey or steel grey look best with an all-black outfit. Depending on the lip shade you are planning to wear, you can pick slightly more daring shades such as blue, brown or pink. But because black is a very elegant colour in itself, understated and elusive eye makeup looks a lot better than loud, colourful makeup. But this does not mean that your eyes can’t pop. A black liner and bold lashes will go beautifully with your all-black outfit. Even a really well-done cat would go a long way in completing your outfit. If you’re dying to add a little colour to your eyes, something tasteful like rose gold would be perfect.
Lips
Kareena Kapoor looks absolutely stunning in that black dress, doesn’t she? It’s because she has paired her black outfit very tastefully with a red lip. Keeping the rest of her look absolutely minimal, we love how her lips take centre-stage. But if red lipstick is not your thing, you can even opt for nude, flesh-colored lips à la Deepika Padukone. If you are going for a bold red lip, ensure that you keep your eye makeup extremely subtle. But if you want to play up your eyes, ensure that your lip makeup is super minimal.
Picture courtesy: Instagram and Pinterest
Written by Urvi Dalal on Sep 25, 2019
Writer, avid reader and hardcore beauty enthusiast is the best way to describe Urvi Dalal. With over 5 years of writing experience in the beauty industry, you can trust her to have the latest skin, hair and makeup tidbits on her fingertips. In her time working as a beauty writer, she has had the opportunity to interact and work closely with a string of dermatologists, makeup artists and hairstylists. All that knowledge exchange, coupled with her flair and love for writing make it possible for her to bring you some authentic yet fun beauty content. When Urvi isn’t working, you’d usually catch her curled up with a big, fat book, drinking a cup of tea or practising her makeup skills; there is no in-between!