Long weekend away

With its natural faces and skin-safe products, BECCA would be our make-up brand of choice for a long weekend away. So it’s apt their Summer collection is entitled Lost Weekend, inspired by road trips with a palette of earthy sun-kissed warmth…

With its natural faces and skin-safe products, BECCA would be our make-up brand of choice for a long weekend away.

So it’s apt their Summer collection is entitled Lost Weekend, inspired by road trips with a palette of earthy tones and sun-kissed warmth.

Fans of the smoky eye will rejoice with me over these tones of tan, caramel and chocolate that flatter every complexion.

The limited edition, 3-colour Lost Weekend Palette ($99) has a gorgeous combination of matte and shimmer.

The BECCA Mineral Bronzer/Illuminator in Serrana ($85) has a matte bronze and soft pink shimmer duo to bronze and illuminate. It beautifully defines the face with a soft and natural warmth. I don’t like too harsh a bronzer- I had a terrible run-in with an instant tanning bronzer that made me look like a caucasian raisin – not a good look.

But this is very natural and I mean it as a compliment when I say it doesn’t look like I am wearing bronzer when I have it on. The right half is a great blusher.

BECCA’s Mineral Blush comes in two new shades; a pink Sweet Pea and a brown Wild Honey ($69 each). I tried the peachy nude Wild Honey as I have a pale, yellow-undertone skin. The demi-matte mineral powder blush is talc-free.

I have to comment too on the amazing packaging, a tactile highlight of the range surely is holding the cool charcoal rubber and metal compacts in your hand. I like the juxtaposition of such healthy natural make-up within such industrial, contemporary looking vessels.

I love a nice nail polish and these new nail colours in Billy Tea, Toasted Marshmallow, and Saddle Up! ($34) are wearable neutrals that you don’t have to take off every time you change your clothes. BECCA nail colours are free from Formaldehyde, Toluene, Camphor and Di Butyl Phthalate.

My favourite of the collection is this; the Lip Plumping Moisture Gloss ($55). Always a fan of a bit of the old lip gloss, this collagen-containing product takes things a stage further, and adds plumpness and volume to thin lips and feels hydrating on lips. It’s clear, so you can wear it alone for shine and volume, or layer over a coloured lip pencil or lipstick.

Want the beautiful look seen here in BECCA Lost Weekend? The make-up stylists at BECCA share with us just how to create the look…

Skin – Apply Boudoir Skin Mineral Powder Foundation for polished, natural skin. For additional warmth and colour, lightly polish Mineral Bronzer/Illuminator in Serrana onto the highest points of the face i.e. temples, forehead, bridge of the nose and chin.

Eyes – Using fingertips, pat Eye Tint in Baroque over lids and allow to set. Using Eye Colour Wash Brush #36, apply Eye Colour Powder in Moleskin from the Lost Weekend Palette all over the lid, blending colour into the socket line. With Blending Brush #66, buff Eye Colour Powder in Moire from the same palette over the outer edge of the eyelids beginning at the lash line and into the crease. For more intensity, blend along to the inner eye. To darken, work Eye Colour Powder in Chino into the upper and lower lash line, and outer corners of the eye with Eye Smudge Brush #37.

Wet Eye Definer Brush #30 and make a paste with Compact Eyeliner in Barbarella. Hold eye taut and ‘push’ the liner in the base of the upper lash line, applying from underneath, to create the appearance of a thicker lash line.

Coat top and bottom lashes with The Ultimate Mascara in Black.

Cheeks – Buff Mineral Blush in Sweet Pea or Wild Honey onto the hollows of the cheeks and cheekbones with Small Polishing Brush #56. Blend toward the temples.

Lips – Press Beach Tint in Fig into the lips with the fingertips, then slick the middle of the lower lip with Lip Plumping Moisture Gloss to create a fuller-looking pout.

Megan Robinson 3 August 2011