How to tips: Urban Decay’s Singapore makeup artist Eunice Phang shows us how to create day-to-night looks inspired by spring’s hottest makeup trends
Next to festive makeup launches, the spring season’s always a major highlight in our beauty calendar. One of our favourite and most surprising releases of this season is from Urban Decay. Instead of bold bright colours, or any makeup at all (gasp!), the brand known for its fearless style and cult cosmetics has released a skincare line promising to improve and prep your skin for a flawless makeup application.
But not to worry if you’re colour-invested this spring. Urban Decay’s Singapore makeup artist, Eunice Phang, assured us that vibrant shades are still the look du jour. Over an afternoon at the brand’s new Ngee Ann City store, she had us trying some far-out (we’re talking blue) makeup colours. And guess what? We loved it. Below, she shares her trending tips for putting together day-to-night spring makeup looks.
SKIN IS IN
For Urban Decay, it’s all about perfecting your complexion this spring – but think less foundation and more prep and prime. Prepare your skin with a multi-tasking facial mist like the B6 Vitamin Infused Complexion Prep Spray to moisturise and energise skin.
Then target your skin problems with the right primers, and you’ll only need a little foundation. Got an oily T-zone? The De-slick Complexion Primer leaves a mattifying yet hydrating finish (pro tip from Eunice: tap this on throughout the day instead of powder to prevent skin from looking cakey). For a truly flawless base, the Optical Illusion Complexion Primer evens out skin tone and blurs imperfections. Finish your look with a sheer application of foundation and concealer. Apply it all with a fluffy brush for a natural-looking effect.
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DAYTIME EYE MAKEUP: UPGRADE YOUR NEUTRAL COLOURS
Forget your usual brown and nude shades. Eunice tells us that the spring shade of ‘dried rose’ is particularly loved by women in Singapore. She softly contoured my eyes with a matte pink eyeshadow, and swept a matte orange shade on my lids. She finished by blending in the shade Relish – a warm, matte red shade – into my crease, then lengthened my lashes with mascara.
AFTER-HOURS EYE MAKEUP: STEP UP YOUR SMOKEY EYE GAME
Stop neglecting the blue shade in your eyeshadow palettes – an after-work look is perfect for trying out the so called ‘scary’ colour (why is everyone scared of using blue eyeshadow anyway?). The Nocturnal Collection – exclusive to Urban Decay’s Ngee Ann City Store – boasts an array of neutral to dramatic shades. For a bolder look, Eunice added the burgundy shade of Backfire into my crease. Then, she lined my eyes with the deep navy blue shade of Heroine, and smudged it, before blending it onto the outer corners of my eyes.
AFTER-HOURS MAKEUP: SOFT CONTOURING
Eunice told me that the secret to clever contouring is blending. “Make sure it doesn’t look like chocolate bars,” she says with a laugh. “When picking your contour shade, choose one that’s two shades darker than your skintone and blend, blend, blend! It should look like a light indentation on your face,” she advised. As for highlighting, apply it on the highest points of your face with a light hand for a lit-from-within glow.
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AFTER-HOURS MAKEUP: LIPSTICK IS THE FINAL TOUCH
If the day’s stress is showing on your face, there’s nothing a swipe of bright lippie can’t fix. Urban Decay’s Nonsense, a sweet rose-pink matte shade from the Nocturnal collection, complemented the sultriness of my eyes. To finish, Eunice used a spritz of Quick Fix spray that gave my skin a much-needed lift, while setting my makeup for the night.
Shop Urban Decay at its stores in Ngee Ann City, Bugis Junction and Vivocity, or Sephora.
Want some more makeup advice? Read our stories 10 Hot Beauty Trends To Look Out For This Year and The Sili Sponge: Better than a Beauty Blender?