A Master Makeup Artist’s Guide to Valentine’s Day Makeup

Well ladies, it’s that time of year again. Boxed chocolates are in the shape of hearts, roses by the dozen are at every grocery store around, and shades of pink and red are pretty much everywhere.

But whether you’re celebrating Valentine’s Day or going all out for Galentine’s Day, one thing is for sure—this time of year is the time to go glam, get romantic, and have fun with your makeup look. Here at RMS Beauty, we like to think of Valentine’s Day like we do the holidays; it’s a time to be festive, get dressed up, and sparkle. Always sparkle.

And while we love to play up lips and eyes for a more festive, romantic look, we get that sometimes it can be a little intimidating (“do I wear a red lip and pink blush??”, “should I choose between a bold lip and a sparkly eye, or can I do both?”). So we asked Donna, RMS Artist Expert, master makeup artist for over 40 years, and ultimate pro of the natural glowy look, for her tips on how to get the perfect Valentine’s Day makeup—for Feb 14, Galentine’s Day, and beyond.

1. Prep Your Base

“There’s nothing worse than doing a gorgeous, soft, romantic face and having it flake or melt off before dinner is served,” Donna says. “So first and foremost, you want to always make sure you’re starting with a good, clean, super moisturized base.”

Donna suggests applying our Beauty Oil to clean, dry skin after cleansing, and letting it absorb. Then, and this is the important part, wet our Skin2Skin Beauty Sponge and use it to apply our ReEvolve Radiance Locking Primer. “Our Primer is one of my all-time favorite products, because it’s packed with hyaluronic acid, which locks in moisture, and is Kind-to-Biome Certified, making it great for sensitive skin,” Donna says. “When you apply our Primer with our Skin2Skin Beauty Sponge, it creates this glassy, plump, smooth finish that’s just super nourishing and acts as the ideal base for foundation.”

You can also do Rose-Marie’s tip, which is to mix our Beauty Oil with UnCoverup for a tinted moisturizer that’s all your own. Or, if you feel like you need a bit more coverage, apply one pump of our ReEvolve Radiance Foundation to your face using our Skin2Skin Beauty Sponge (seriously, one pump is all you need).

2. Get That Clean Glow

“Whether you’re doing Valentine’s Day or Galentine’s Day, you’re going to want that soft, romantic look, which means you’re essentially illuminated by candlelight.” Donna says.

“Master Radiance Base is an absolute must for Valentine’s Day, because it gives the skin a luminescent glow that literally makes you look like you’re glowing from the inside out.” Donna likes to mix Master Radiance Base with her foundation for an all-over glow, but if you’re wanting something more targeted, you can apply it on the cheekbones and high points of the face as a champagne, bronzy highlighter.

Donna also suggests applying our Buriti Bronzer as a contour, which means doing a line coming out directly from the middle of both ears, a line down both sides of the nose, a few lines at the hairline, and a few lines underneath the jawline. Then blend using our Everything Brush for a nearly undetectable contour.

3. Pick Your Focal Point

While we’re all about good, clean color here at RMS, you definitely want to make sure the colors you’re choosing work well together, and that usually means having a focal point in mind when it comes to a more festive look.

“For Valentine’s Day, it’s easy to go a little wild with color,” Donna says. “And while I love color, I think it’s important to pick a part of the face you want to highlight, and then leave the rest more natural and glowy.”

Valentine’s Day Lips:
You can choose what you’re wanting to play up. If it’s your lips, go with a bold, well-defined lip (Donna likes Legendary Lipstick in Ruby Moon—which is an orangey red named after our founder, Rose-Marie’s, dog). You can also do more of a stained red lip by picking the color up with your finger and tapping on your lips. Here’s a Rose-Marie pro tip, though: remember that oil removes makeup, so if you’re using Legendary Serum Lipstick, don’t top it off with one of our oil-based glosses like Liplights or Lipnights.
Valentine’s Day Eyes:
If it’s your eyes, we suggest lining them and then tapping on Eyelights to really make them pop (we’ve got 10 shades, so pick whichever speaks to you!). If you’re wanting a pinker shade, try Sunbeam or Halo. Then layer on the lashes. “One of my favorite tricks to get lashes for days is to take our StraightUp Mascara and, starting at the base of the lashline, gently wiggle upwards,” Donna says. “That will curl and separate the lashes, lengthening and volumizing them for a playful flutter.”

Valentine’s Day Blush:
And if it’s your cheeks, go for bold and add a vibrant hue almost like you would highlighter, starting at your cheekbones and sweeping up into the eye and brow bone. Applying ReDimension Hydra Powder Blush in Bermuda Rose with our Skin2Skin Powder Blush Brush is great for this.

4. And Never Forget the Finishing Touch

“A gorgeous glow is such an important part of the look, and the best way to set it all and impart that dewy, champagne dusting is to use one of my favorite products—our new ReDimension Hydra Dew Luminizer,” Donna says. “It gives this candlelit softness that I just cannot get enough of.”

To get it, take our ReDimension Hydra Dew Luminizer and dust on the high points of the face using our Skin2Skin Classic Fan Brush, which is made with imitation goat hair for the absolute lightest touch imaginable. You can also dust it on your collarbones, or all over as a setting powder, which is one of Rose-Marie’s favorite ways to use the Luminizer. In her words, “I’d bathe in this.”

Make the Valentine’s Makeup Your Own

Now that you know it’s best to choose a focal point and how to accentuate it, it’s time to make the look all your very own. We like to do that by adding a bit more highlighter under the brow bone and on the cupid’s bow, or doing a bit of an “ombre” lip by focusing the color at the center of the lip and then blending out, so the eye goes to the middle of the lip, making it poutier.

“However you do your clean beauty look, just make sure you have fun with it!” Donna says. “Makeup and color is meant to be fun, and it’s never fun when we take it too seriously.”