Makeup: Almay's Pretty & Easy Look! + Giveaway!

Almay Beauty Review & Tutorial

A few weeks ago I was invited to an Almay Picnic event and workshop, with several other bloggers, at the beautiful Sky Yard at The Drake Hotel in Toronto. The event was led by Almay Canada's National Product Trainer Jacquie Hutchinson, who introduced us to several of Almay's products and how to incorporate them into and easy and pretty beauty routine. Perfect for those rushed mornings!


 
All attendees were given a cute Keep Leaf lunch bag full of personalized makeup and beauty items that will help pull together a polished and pretty look, very quickly. Jacquie instructed us through the different steps to achieve the look, which includes the beloved smoky eye, with great tips and helpful advice. I'm going to share these with you and a chance for you to win all the Almay products I tried, customized for you, so you can try this look at home!

Step One: Start with a clean face. I used Almay Oil Free Makeup Remover Towelettes and Almay Oil Free Eye Makeup Remover Pads. I loved the feeling of these products on my skin, they were both very gentle and did not irritate my skin. I did try the Almay Soothing and De-Puffing Eye Makeup Remover before, but I prefer the oil free formula. Worked better. Tip form Jacquie!: Use one pad per eye to remove all eye makeup.

Me sans makeup!

Step Two: Apply Almay Smart Sade CC Luminous Primer. I love this stuff! Right away I noticed my skin looked less dull and my skin tone was more even with less redness. It did moisturize my skin, but not enough for me. I have added the primer to my daily beauty routine and apply it over my regular day moisturizer, which works great and helps my liquid makeup go on smoother. Tip from Jacquie!: Use your fingertips to apply the primer to achieve an even application.

Step Three: Squeeze Almay Smart-Shade Skintone Matching Makeup on your fingertips and apply evenly on your face. I used the anti-aging formula in light. What's great about this product is that it feels great on and doesn't dry out my skin and it's buildable, for those areas that need a little more coverage. It's also hypo-allergenic, oil-free, and contains a 20 SPF. Although it did provide decent coverage and evened out my overall skintone, I felt like I still needed an under eye concealer. You'll notice the makeup come outs greyish in colour, but Almay has created a formula that only comes in 3 shades that will adjust to your skintone and create an even natural finish. Tip from Jacquie!: Apply Almay Smart Shade Makeup with your fingertips instead of a brush or sponge. Not only does the makeup last longer (sponges and brushes soak up excess makeup) but your fingertips will help the ToneMimic technology to work. 

Step Four: Most of us love the smoky eye look and Almay has created an eyeshadow palette that is tailored to your eye colour, with easy to follow steps to help create that look with ease. Just start with the bottom shade and work your way up. I applied Almay Intense i-Color in Smoky-i for hazels. I simply applied the darkest shade on my lid, medium shade in the crease, and the lightest colour on my brow bone. The base colour is darker than what I'm used to wearing, but I like it. I also didn't seem to get that 'smoky eye' look but practice makes perfect and with Almay's easy to follow eyeshadow palette, I'm confident I will nail it soon! Tips from Jacquie!: For those who have hooded eyelids, apply the medium shade above your crease, on your brow bone, so the colour doesn't disappear when your eyes are open. And for those of us that have flatter lids, try applying the medium shade below the crease line, for the same reason. Another tip is to dab your eyeshadow brush or wand on the back of your hand to shake off excess shadow and use a small circular motion, without the wand leaving your skin, to create an even application.

 

 

Step Five: Liquid eyeliner. I tried Almay Intense i-Color Liquid Eyeliner in Black Pearl. I normally don't use eyeliner, especially liquid, and I am not very good at applying it. My eyes are really sensitive and tear up when I try. Almay's liquid eyeliner was extremely gentle and easy to use, I will definitely be using this product next time I want a more dramatic look. Granted I am not an artist at applying liquid eyeliner (please don't laugh at my application pictures:) but with tips from Jacquie and some practice, I'm sure I will get better! Tips from Jacquie!: Pull your eyelid taught, like a straight ruler, to create a consistent even line, and glide product on using the side of the brush. Apply eyeliner to lower lashline, right after the top line and before dipping the brush back into the liquid eyeliner pot.

Step Six: Apply Almay i-Color Volumizing Mascara. I used the Midnight Shade. I've reviewed this mascara before (and some other Almay products), and still like it the same. Great colour and volume, but there is some clumping and not much lengthening. Tips from Jacquie!: Apply mascara using and exaggerated zig-zag motion. This will ensure all the lashes will be coated. Also look down for at least 10 seconds after application, to let lashes dry, and to prevent mascara transferring to skin.

 

Step Seven: Sweep on some Almay Smart Shade Bronzer in Sunkissed along your cheekbones. I have to admit I don't use bronzer, the ones I've tried in the past always gave me an unnatural look. But I love this bronzer shade. I was a little apprehensive when I saw the dark shade in the package, but it looked great on. Gave me a little 'sunkissed' glow. Tip from Jacquie!: Brush bronzer lightly on your ears, forehead, and neck, as well as your cheeks, to get a more natural look (especially for heavily bronzed looks).

Step Eight: And to finish off this look, apply Color + Care Liquid Lip Balm (I used Pink Pout). I love this lip balm and it is one of my favourite Almay products! I don't normally wear pink shades, but it gave my lips a subtle, glossy, colour, and felt great on. It also smells and tastes like cake! Tip from Jacquie!: Try lip shades you don't normally wear, you might be surprised at the outcome!

Although there are some steps I need to practice, this is a great and quick look and Almay has made it so easy to achieve. This whole look took me less than 10 minutes to finish! I did add some of my own steps like, filling in my eyebrows and dusting on some pressed powder before the bronzer, to cut down the shine. But nevertheless, this is a perfect look that anyone can do (some us just need to practice more:)

My After Picture!

P.s!: I've partnered up with Almay Canada to give one of you a chance to win your very own customized Almay prize pack, featuring all the products I just talked about, valued at $115!!! The prize pack will feature:

Almay Smart Shade Skintone Matching Makeup / Smart Shade Anti-Aging Skintone Matching Makeup 

Smart Shade CC Luminous Primer

Smart Shade Powder Blush Bronzer in Sunkissed

Intense i-Color Volumizing Mascara

Intense i-Color Liquid Liner

Intense i-Color Smoky Shadow Kit

Oil-Free Makeup Remover Pads

Makeup Remover Towelettes

Color + Care Liquid Lip Balm

Shadow Softies by Intense i-Color

Almay is also offering these fabulous deals:

$3 off any Almay product at drug and mass retailers nationwide and an Almay FREEBATE in stores until October on Almay Smart Shade Skintone Matching Makeup or Almay Smart Shade Anti-Aging Skintone Matching Makeup!

To enter the Almay Prize Pack giveaway, please fill out the Rafflecopter form below beginning with a blog comment on your own beauty or makeup tips and earn more entries through social media! Open to Canadian residents only. Good Luck!

P.s,

Melanie!

***Disclosure: Even though I was gifted with these products, all my opinions and statements are true and reflect my actual viewpoint.***
 
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