What would your prom beauty look be if you could do it all over again?
High school students running frantically around the mall can only mean one thing: Prom season is here. Aside from final exams, there’s nothing more stressful than finding the dress to wear on school’s biggest night.
While your #OOTN is important, a prom look isn’t complete without the perfect beauty look. But before you go ahead and schedule your beauty appointment, hear us out. It may have been a few years since we attended prom, but many of us still cringe at our old promo photos, wondering why we ever thought that makeup with that hairstyle was okay.
To make sure you won’t ever regret your beauty choices in a few years, we recruited our Beauty Panel to help us out. Challenging them to a prom do-over, we asked our beauty bloggers to show us what their prom beauty would look like today if they got the chance to transport themselves back to high school.
Challenge 115: What is your prom beauty look? See the answers now! »
Have a beauty question you want to see the panel answer? Send it our way at [email protected]. Read on for the answers to this week’s challenge and for more goodness, get to know all contributors on our Beauty Panel hub page.
Toronto | Spill the Beauty
My makeup knowledge around prom time was extremely minimal. In fact, I didn’t actually start wearing makeup until second year of university, and even then I didn’t wear much. I’m pretty sure my original prom makeup consisted of a mismatched foundation, frosty purple eyeshadow, a smudged black eyeliner and no lipstick – that’s right, NONE.
For my prom 2.0 look, I would want to go full glam. I would start with a flawless and glowing canvas as a base – because clear skin was something I never had in high school (and probably still don’t have). To achieve that, I used The Body Shop Fresh Nude Foundation in “Kyoto Blossom.” For the eyes, a rusty red and gold look, paired with a sharp cat eye will do. To make the colours pop, I applied a layer of NYX Jumpo Eye Pencil in “Milk.” Then I reached for Charlotte Tilbury’s “The Vintage Vamp,” which was exactly what I needed to create a glamorous look, along with Essence’s Gel Eyeliner in “Midnight In Paris.” Everything on my eye was blended out with M.A.C’s “Wedge,” to break up any harsh lines. And as always, I reached for my #1 mascara – Covergirl Lashblast Volume Waterproof Mascara in “Black.” I topped the look off with a berry merlot lip that has a hint of sheen – Charlotte Tilbury’s K.I.S.S.I.N.G. Fallen From The Lipstick Tree in “Night Crimson.” And of course, I blushed, bronzed and highlighted my heart away with Becca’s “Gypsy,” the Too Faced “Chocolate Soleil Bronzer,” and Becca’s “Opal.”
Products used: The Body Shop Fresh Nude Foundation in “Kyoto Blossom,” NYX Tame & Frame Tinted Brow Pomade in “Blonde,” Too Faced Brow Envy Kit, NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in “Milk,” M.A.C Eyeshadow in “Wedge,” Charlotte Tilbury Luxury Palette in “The Vintage Vamp,” Essence Gel Eyeliner in “Midnight In Paris,” Covergirl Lashblast Volume Waterproof Mascara in “Black,” Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed in “Opal,” Too Faced Bronzer in “Milk Chocolate Soleil,” Becca Mineral Blush in “Gypsy,” Charlotte Tilbury K.I.S.S.I.N.G. Fallen From the Lipstick Tree in “Night Crimson.”
Vancouver | Blush Rouge
For my graduation night, I found myself in a big, princess-style, hot-pink dress (something I never thought I would want), with multi-coloured embroidery all over the corset top. It was loud and gorgeous. I remember having so much fun practicing my makeup for the big night. Which really is the most important part, having fun with it! I will definitely admit though, I have a few things I would do differently if I could go back to that day!
If I were to re-do my look for prom night, I would go with something classy. A nice smoky, cut-crease eye, with winged liner and lots of lashes. I would have my hair gently curled and pinned softly to one side. And I would definitely make sure my foundation matched my skin!
Graduation night is really one of the first times you get to present yourself to the world as an adult. It’s such a transformative stage in your life. So have fun getting ready for prom…and in a way, ready for the all the new things to come in life!
Happy prom days!
Products used: M.A.C Moisturecover Concealer in “NC20,” M.A.C Mineralize Skinfinish in “Medium,” M.A.C Mineralize Skinfinish in “Give Me Sun,” M.A.C Mineralize Blush in “Love Joy,” Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in “Taupe,” Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow in “Medium Brown,” Blinc Eyeshadow Primer in “Light Tone,” M.A.C eyeshadow in “Brule,” “Naked Lunch,” “The Right Smoke (LE)” and “Waft (LE),” M.A.C Liquidlast Liner in “Point Black,” Blinc Amplified Mascara in “Black,” Ardell Lashes (stacked) in “#108” and “#106,” Duo Waterproof Adhesive, M.A.C Lipstick in “Cream Cup,” M.A.C Lipglass, Hot Tools 1″ Curler, AG Spray Gel, L’Oréal Elnett Satin Hairspray, Batiste XXL Volume Dry Shampoo, Teasing Comb, Bobby Pins.
Durham | Spiced Beauty
My prom look years ago consisted of winged liner, mascara and pink lips. Super simple. Those times, I was not into bold lip colours. Actually, I was petrified. I really didn’t want to draw attention to myself.
Fast forward some years and now, I’m more confident. Also I know which colours would work for me. Note: Blue based lipsticks look amazing on dark skin. I decided to go with Bite Beauty’s Black Truffle as the feature colour. It’s an extremely bold black violet. Long lasting and moisturizing. Neutral eyes with lash extensions. A low maintenance look which will last all night.
Wearing: Make Up For Ever Step 1 Mattifying Primer & Radiant Primer Caramel, Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Invisible Cover Foundation in “Chestnut,” Make Up For Ever Pro Sculpting Palette in “50,” Make Up For Ever HD Blush in “510,” Nudestix Eyebrow Stylus Pencil & Gel in “Brown/Black, Bite Beauty Lipstick in Black Truffl, Nanacoco Gold Jumbo Eye & Lip Pencil
Toronto | Julie Martinson
If I could go back in time (and we’re talking waaay back in time) and redo my high school prom, I would for sure do things differently. Especially when it comes to my look. I was a bit of a punk chick at heart but I never really let my wild side out. But now that I’m older, I’m more comfortable experimenting with bold looks and playing with colour.
The prom look I’d do today is a little bit grunge with a little bit of shimmer. When putting together any look that you want to last all night, make sure to use things that you know won’t crease or fade. I went right to some of my tried and trues!
For camera ready skin…
You’re going to be in a lot of photos. Like selfies and more selfies and more selfies. Make sure to moisturize, prime and colour correct before you put on your foundation. If you have undereye circles, neutralize with peach. If you have redness, neutralize with green. Follow up with a foundation and powder that is longwearing and has no flashback (maybe test it out first). I like Make Up For Ever’s Ultra HD foundation and setting powder.
For vampy eyes…
Sure, you’ve heard of vampy lips, but how about vampy eyes? I decided to use one of my new favourites, the Estée Edit Metallishadow, in a deep burgundy shade. This set has a creme shadow base paired with a loose pearl pigment topper to help create a dimensional eye look that is locked in place all night.
For ombre lips…
And of course I want to complete my look with a classic red lip, but not any average red lip, an ombre lip! Now I was fairly hesitant to try an ombre lip because I have never done it before, but I found a fairly foolproof technique using the new Estée Edit Lip Flip Transformers. I started with red lipstick all over my lip then put “Turn Up” in the centre and “Turn Down” in the outer corners and blended.
Last but not least, mist on that setting spray to keep your look selfie-strong all night. I like Urban Decay’s All Nighter.
Products used: Make Up For Ever Smoothing Primer, NYX Color Correcting Palette, Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Foundation and Setting Powder, The Estée Edit Pore Vanishing Stick, The Estée Edit Barest Blush in “First Lover,” NYX Micro Brow in “Ash Brown,” The Estée Edit Metallishadow in “Scarlet Eclipse,” Violet Voss Holy Grail Eyeshadow Palette, Benefit They’re Real Mascara, The Estée Edit Mattified Lipstick in “You’re Welcome,” The Estée Edit Lip Flip Transformers, Urban Decay All Nighter.
