Formal Dance Hair and Makeup!! (R)

The time of year has come where school formals and dances are occurring. Finding a good hair and makeup look that will go with your dress is tough but you can't go wrong with a textured up-do and a smokey shadow look. This look is modern and will go perfectly with just about any dress!

Makeup Directions:
     1. As usual, start off with a clean face. Try using an oil reducing cleanser such as Neutrogena's Oil Free Acne Wash. This will unclog your pores and prevent any more oil from developing in your skin while you're at the dance.
     2. Moisturize your skin with an oil free lotion as well such as Neutrogena's Oil Free Daily Moisturizer. Apply it to your face and neck. Also, apply a lip balm.
     3. Prep your skin with a long lasting primer. Smashbox's Photo Finish Foundation Primer will lock your makeup in place for the entire night.
     4. Considering you'll be at a dance and you will be getting pictures with your friends, you want your skin to appear flawless (if it isn't already). Pump Revlon's Photoready Foundation on the back of your hand and with a sponge, begin applying it all over your skin. Blend it up to your hairline to avoid the dreaded "makeup mask" and blend it down to your neck as well. You want this to look as natural as possible. Having a heavy, cake-y face isn't something you're going to want.
     5. With the Amazing Cosmetics Concealer, dot a small amount beneath your eyes, down your nose, and on any blemishes you may have. Blend outwards using your ring finger for a flawless coverage.
     6. Set your makeup with a translucent powder and a kabuki brush. Try using Revlon's Photoready Setting Powder and apply it all over your face and neck, keeping the product light.
     7. Taking an angled sculpting brush, suck in your cheeks and begin filling in the hollows with Too Faced Milk Chocolate Soleil Bronzer. Also, blend the product up to your hairline, creating a "C" shape that is mirrored on the other side.
     8. To begin with the eyes, prime them with Urban Decay Primer Potion. (Regular or Sin can be used.)
     9. This look doesn't require bold brows, but it would be suggested that you fill them in if necessary. Groom them with a spooly brush and with Maybelline's Eye Studio Master Shape Brow Pencil, lightly fill in your brows with soft strokes. Then, run the spooly over them again in order to keep them in place.
     10. Using a flat shader brush, pick up a shimmering nude color such as "Grace" by Stila and pack it on to your lid generously.
     11. Going into the Too Faced Natural Eye palette, dip a fluffy crease brush into the color "Velvet Revolver," which is a matte medium brown, and apply it to your entire crease. Bring the shadow beneath your eye as close to your lashline as possible and blend out the color for some definition.
     12. With a smaller flat shading brush, apply Urban Decay Naked 3's "Blackheart" to the outer V of your eye. Don't worry about blending just yet. Take the product beneath your eye again, only focusing it on the outer corner.
     13. For blending, use a tapered blending brush and circular motions to disperse the darker color. Keep the color focused mainly in the outer V.
     14. Sticking with the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette, go into the color "Stranger," which is a matte ivory color, and apply it to the inner-corner of your eye and beneath your brow bone for a highlight.
     15. As for liner, stick with a black gel such as Maybelline's Eye Studio Master Gel Liner. Dip an angled liner brush into the product and begin lining above your lashline, but keep it as close to your eyelashes as possible. Wing out the liner just slightly, creating a dramatic effect. The thickness of the line is up to you and whatever you believe looks best on you.
     16. Ditch the fake lashes and head straight for the curler-- you don't want to have to worry about them falling off all night, do you? Curl them and hold it for about five seconds, then carefully release.
     17.  Go into L'Oreal's Voluminous Butterfly mascara in black and begin coating your lashes, top and bottom. After waiting about fifteen seconds, go in for a second coat that focuses mainly on your outer lashes for a whispy effect.
     18. This step is completely optional and you should only do it if it really goes with your dress. With MAC's Viva Glam Rihanna Lipstick, begin sweeping the color across your lips. This is a matte red product with a blue finish that will look great in pictures.

Hair Directions:

1. Start off this look by brushing out your hair so you don't have any knots or tangles in it.
2. Taking a section of hair at the crown of your head, spray the hair with hairspray, and taking a teasing comb, begin to tease the hair focusing it on the roots of your hair to add extra volume to the look.
3. Gently run a comb over the top of your hair to put all of the loose hairs that were sticking up, down.
4. After adding the volume to your hair, you can begin with the braid. Split your hair into two sections at the side of your head. Taking a small section of hair from one of those sections, cross it over to the other large section of hair. Now take the second large section of hair and do the same, with taking a small piece of hair from the outside, and cross it over to the other side. Repeat this process until you are all the way down to the ends of your hair. Secure the ends with a small elastic to match your hair color so it isn't visible.
5. To add even more volume and texture to the look, begin to pull at the braid to loosen up the braid. Do this all the way down the braid, to achieve an even look.
6.  Now to take the look a step further, we are going to take the braid and put it into an up-do. Taking the braid, bring it to the back of your head on the opposite side and secure it with a few bobby pins.
7. With the remaining braid that is left unpinned, bring it to the opposite side of your head, and pin it once again, with bobby pins. Continue overlapping the braid back and forth until the braid is all pinned at the back of your head.
8. Don't forget to tuck the very ends of your hair under one of the crossed over sections of the braid, to hide it, and finish off the look.
9. If you have bangs, a great way to finish off this hairstyle is by taking some of that hair, and using it to frame your face. Let a few strands hang next to your face, and after lightly spraying them with a heat protectant, curl them with a very large curling iron. You don't want them to look like complete ringlets though, so brush them out with your fingers until they are just loose curls, almost waves.
10. Hair spray all over this look will ensure that the braid stays in place all night long.