Let the evening be gin...

I don't know about you, but I often find myself daydreaming about a time before lockdown. I really miss special evenings out with friends, family and of course lots of prosecco or gin (I mean, I'm really not that fussy)!

One of my favourite things to do before lockdown was going out for a lovely evening meal, sometimes heading into London for an extra special night, or just heading out locally to a Pizza Express (dough balls ARE life!). I'm sure everyone is feeling the same, realising now what they used to take for granted. I never thought going out for a nice dinner would be something taken away from us all in 2020 however, it won't be forever and in the meantime, it doesn't mean that we can't have special date nights at home with our partners, friends, family, housemates or even on our own!

This weekend marks the start of my first annual leave of 2020, and I decided I wanted to feel like I was getting ready for a special night out with my boyfriend. I did my hair with my Dyson Airwrap (I have a blog post all about this magical hair tool, so go check it out!), put on a dress I've wanted to wear for ages, and spent time doing a summer date night makeup look. Lot's of pinks, purples and of course some sparkles!

I chose my makeup very carefully, even using a lipstick I've never worn before. I laid it all out neatly on my vanity desk and got to work! As my previous blog post stated, I really like to mix up my usual makeup look for summer. I get all brave experimenting with new colours. I mean, for 9 months of the year I pretty much wear a smokey brown eye, but in the summer... oh no, I become a whole new person! But it's not just colours I like to experiment with, I also change up my foundation. I usually go for the Dior Forever Foundation (which I love), but for this look I wanted something slightly more dewy, so I reached for my Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation (which is so dreamy).

The above picture outlines just some of products I used for this summer date night look, but just look how beautiful that lipstick and eyeshadow palette is.

I always spend the most time on my eyes, making sure I get the colour combination and layering right. It's so important to blend every time you apply a new colour to the lid, otherwise you will end up with very heavy, solid blocks of colour - not really the look we want to be achieving.

I mixed up my colours for this look using a couple from the Huda Beauty Desert Dusk palette and a few from the Anastasia Beverley Hills Jackie Aina palette. You can see from the picture below just how beautiful and pigmented these eyeshadows are. Let me talk you through the colours in order on my arm (starting from the top).

Anastasia Beverley Hills Jackie Aina palette:

• Shookington. A beautiful deep sparkly purple which is extremely pigmented.

• Big Wig. A lovely deep mauve which acts great as a layering colour on the lid.

• Supreme. A pigmented pink, great for adding to the crease of your lids.

Huda Beauty Desert Dush palette:

• Twilight. A gorgeous pink/purple/green sparkly shadow. Great for the inner corner of the eyes to make the look pop.

• Amethyst. A brighter purple than Big Wig, but also a great layering base shade.

The next important part of this summer date night look is the lipstick. I wanted a colour to compliment the eye colour I had chosen, so after thinking long and hard (I know, it's a hard life!), I settled for a stunning mauve shade from Laura Mercier and topped it with a pink metallic lip gloss from Mac.

This lip combo is so beautiful, I honestly don't think the picture does it justice. The lipstick by Laura Mercier is the Rouge Essential collection in the colour Rose Mauve. It's unbelievably creamy and slides on to the lip so well. It does retail at £26, which is quite a high price tag for a lipstick but honestly, the quality speaks volumes, from the colour pigmentation, to the texture and even the magnetised lid. I finished the lip off with the MAC Grand Illusion Lip Colour in Rave Bunny. This gloss really does make your lips look plump and nourished without feeling too sticky. It's a perfect pink, metallic shade and works so well with the lipstick.

Tell me, what's your favourite summer date night look? Do you also love pinks and purples, or do you go for a different colour? I'd love to know - leave me a comment in the comments box below.

So that's it guys, my perfect summer date night look. And fear not, this makeup, hair and dress won't be going to waste. I'm having an evening of G&T's, my favourite Italian food, chocolate pudding and a pretty special person as company. So, let the evening be gin!