Carey Mulligan - W Magazine Cover

I was browsing around the pharmacy yesterday and this magazine caught my eye. First of all I love Carey Mulligan. She's such a great actress and she always has the most interesting roles. Second of all, her makeup is so clean, soft and feminine that I HAD to buy it. If you're going to a spring wedding, a baby shower, or just feel like lightening up your look, here's how to do it.

Step 1-

Wash your face, pat it dry with a towel, then moisturize it. I'd suggest Olay Age Defying Protective Renewal Lotion. It leaves your skip feeling SUPER soft and supple.

Step 2-

Apply a lightweight foundation to your face with a sponge or brush. Make sure to cover your entire face evenly and don't forget the corners of your eyes and mouth, and underneath your nose.

Step 3-

Brush highlighting powder on the bones of your forehead, nose, eyebrow bone, chin and cheekbones. Something like Stila Illuminating Powder Foundation or Laura Mercier Mineral Illuminating Powder in Starlight would be perfect for this, but there are many different brands that offer this kind of product. 

Step 4-
Apply a pale pink blush to the apples of your cheeks and cheekbones. I would suggest Tarte Cheek Stain in Ten or Tipsy. The non-powder formula will maintain that glow to your cheek bones. (you can do this step whenever you want just make sure you've put the foundation on first.)

Step 5-
Frame your eyeballs with a light taupe. Stila in Rain is the perfect shade and finish for this. Because we want to keep the shimmer in concentrated areas (cheeks, eyebrow bones, etc) we don't want to ruin the effect by also making our eyes shimmer as well. That's why a matte finish is best. Simply use a rounded crease brush and lightly contour your eyelids at the bone.


Step 6-
Curl your eyelashes and apply a clean amount of mascara on the top and bottom lids. Make sure you don't put too much that it clumps, but put enough so that they make a statement.

Step 7-
Line your top lid with black eyeliner VERY subtly. We're not trying to make a cat-eye look, we want it to gracefully define her eyes without going over the top. When you do this make sure your pencil is sharpened and that you're as close to the lash line as possible. Then you're going to line your bottom water line with a white liner, like Rimmel Soft Kohl Kajal Eyeliner Pencil in Pure White. If you don't want to use pure white pencil you can always use a very soft pink or a very pale yellow.

Step 8-
Fill in your eyebrows with an eyebrow brush and a light brown shade. Make sure you're not darkening your eyebrows too much, just let the world know that they're there. Remember to brush upwards to brighten your eyes. Instant Brow Pencil by Benefit is an all in one kit for your eyebrows.

Step 9- Final Touches
After using a regular lip balm, apply a pale pink lipstick. I have Cremesheen Creme Cup by MAC at home, and it pretty much looks exactly like her lips. It's a very pretty shade. If you're going to go out and buy some lipstick, make sure it has no glitter in it.

Step 10- Optional

This isn't necessary but if you already have a highlighter at home, apply some in the corner of your eyes, your eyebrow bone, and your cheekbones. I've mentioned this product before, but Benefit Watt's Up Highlighter is a great tool to add the finishing touches to our Carey Mulligan look.

And Finally...

Make sure to keep your hair away from your face so everyone can see just how beautiful you are. A lot of the makeup plays with light and shadows and if your face is covered by your hair, then the look is ruined. If you have long or medium-lenght hair, put it in a loose chignon. If you have short hair like Miss Mulligan, try her look out. You'll need sculpting cream and artistic hands to get Carey's look!