beautygeeks

I’ve always loved the fresh-faced, English-rose beauty: pale skin, flushed cheeks, bee-stung lips. It’s a just-woke-up prettiness. Of course, I’d like to wake up and looked like Kiera Knightley or Jennifer Ehle (Lizzy in the tremendous A&E version of Pride and Prejudice). But that’s just me.

“It’s Jane Austen beauty,” says Poppy King, the woman behind The Lipstick Queen. “You look like you’ve just fallen in love.” And in love or not, you can get that look with King’s newest lip creation, Oxymoron Matte Gloss.

Unlike matte lipstick, which can be drying, Oxymoron Matte Gloss (8g, $20 USd, $24 CAN) is smooth and sheer, like cream blush but with a bit more glide, and comfortable to wear. Beautiful on cheeks too, it’s available in four shades that mimic a heightened natural flush for a range of skintones.

10 steps to “Jane Austen beauty”:

1) Start with exfoliated, well moisturized skin.

2) Apply foundation if you need it to even out your skintone (try Smashbox High Definition Healthy FX Foundation SPF 15, $38).

3) Camouflage under-eye circles, darkness at the inner corners of the eyelids, and discolouration around the base of the nose (try CoverGirl Advanced Radiance Age-Defying Concealer, $8.99) .

4) Blend a dab of Matte Gloss on the apple of each cheek, as per the above image of Keira Knightley with her appealing Pride & Prejudice co-star Matthew McFadyen.

5) If you have oily skin, dust a light layer of powder all over to help your makeup stay put all day (try M.A.C Blot Powder/Loose, $25)

6) Curl lashes (the Tweezerman lash curler, $10, rocks).

7) Run dark brown or black waterproof eyeliner (try Maybelline New York Unstoppable Eyeliner, $8.49, in Espresso or Onyx) along the inner rim of your upper lid, at the root of your lashes.

8) Define upper lashes with black mascara (Diorshow Mascara, $31, is a favourite for lush results).

9) Use a brow brush to fill brows in lightly with a shadow that matches them.

10) Pat a bit of Matte Gloss on your lips.

I’m wearing Oxymoron Matte Gloss in Honest Politician in this photo. My lips and brows are a bit more defined, but do I look like I’m in love? Well, I would if Clive-O were checking out the application. *grin*

The Lipstick Queen Oxymoron Matte Gloss, at Holt Renfrew, www.holtrenfrew.com; www.thelipstickqueen.com. Smashbox, CoverGirl, Tweezerman, Maybelline New York and Dior, at Shoppers Drug Mart Beauty Boutiques. (Smashbox and Dior, also at Sephora, www.sephora.com.) M.A.C, www.maccosmetics.com