Belle of the Ball

Ever since watching Beauty and the Beast - which I have now seen twice, and loved it just as much the second time - I've been watching endless hours of features and interviews with the cast, finding out as much as I can. Seriously, the amount of times I've heard how Dan Stevens transformed into the Beast is a very high amount. And the more I stare at the gorgeous, gorgeous makeup Emma Watson dons for Belle, the more I absolutely love it. It's lovely and fresh-faced, with a dewy finish to the skin and beautifully natural eyes and lips. This is the perfect 'no makeup' makeup look, which I've tried to recreate for you today - also, I definitely didn't wear my yellow jumper today because it's the closest thing I have to Belle's dress...pfft.

The most noticeable part of Emma's gosh-darn flawless skin is her lovely freckles. I do have natural freckles but I added a few more under my eyes and on the bridge of my nose with the Rimmel Soft Khol Eye Pencil in Sable Brown and dabbed at them slightly to soften them. Adding foundation over the top makes them look all the more natural, and to achieve the youthful glow Emma's got going on, I used the MAC Face and Body Foundation. This is a very dewy but sheer foundation; to get the same finish with a higher coverage, something like NARS Sheer Glow should do the trick. I only concealed under my eyes, and used the MAC Mineralize Concealer to do so. 

Emma's brows are pretty full and structured, which is a hard thing for me to recreate considering mine are completely out of control. However, I tried my best and used a darker powder than I would usually go for - Sexpresso from the Too Faced Natural Eyes Palette - using a Real Techniques Brow Brush. I then used the Benefit Gimme Brow to set them into place and give them a little more shape. In terms of eye shadow, Emma wears very subtle shades to give a hint of definition. I used a mixture of the shades Nubuck and Cappuccino from the Sleek I Divine Au Naturel Palette - I know I use this palette all the time, but its such an essential for me. A combination of the colours give a glimmer of natural shadow to the lids, and I adore it. With a Seventeen angled eye brush, I took the colour Bark from this palette and lined the lashline for a bit of extra definition. For princess-esque fluttery lashes, I love the Smashbox Full Exposure Mascara. The wand is huge and kind of daunting, but I find the best way to apply it is by twisting the brush up the lashes to give them a lovely curl. Emma also has a golden inner-corner highlight, for which I used the MUA Undress Your Skin Highlighting Powder in Iridescent Gold. 

Emma's face isn't hugely bronzed but subtly contoured. To get the same effect, I took the Benefit Hoola Bronzer on the brush it came with underneath the cheekbones and onto the temples, then swept it across the cheeks with the side of the brush. On the apples of the cheeks I took the Elizabeth Arden Beautiful Colour Sweet Peach Radiance Blusher in Sunblush on a Seventeen Cheeks brush, which gives a pretty pink tint. For a fresh, glowing highlight I used the shade Renaissance Gold from the Sleek Precious Metals Highlighting Palette on the tops of the cheek bones, down the bridge of the nose and on the cupid's bow, giving a pink-toned glow to the skin.

As Belle, Emma wears a sheer pink colour on the lips. The perfect colour for this is Cherry Me, from the Maybelline Baby Lips collection. Not only is this a super-moisturising formula, but the colour is absolutely ideal for this look - as the name would suggest, its a cherry-pink shade, but is beautifully natural and glossy. 

That's it for this Belle inspired 'no makeup' makeup look! I really, really like it and hope you do too! 

From, 

Eleanor