Aria Montgomery Look for Less

ARIA MONTGOMERY / LUCY HALE MAKEUP 

I am a huge fan of the Pretty Little Liars Series; and so, I decided to try to copy one of their looks, specifically, Aria Montgomery's.  Aria has such beautiful eyes.. as you can see in the photo below (taken during a scene back in Season 1 while talking with Ezra); so all emphasis goes to the eyes while the remaining parts of the face should be kept rather subtle / light.

This look is great for just about any occasion because it's really simple and is still very attractive and pleasing to the eye. So, below is a photo of me and Aria side by side and although I did not capture it EXACTLY as it is, simply because some of the brands that were used on her were either pricey or not offered in the Philippines, I will show you how to get Aria's look for less. :)

Step 1: Foundation. Always start with your foundation, first.  Actually prior to this step, I put on Elf's Tinted Moisturizer (SPF 20) which will ultimately keep your skin smooth and moist; as well as somehow help the makeup stay on.  Just apply a little amount and then spread it all over your face.  Afterwards, I used Elf's Two Way Cake Foundation (SPF 15), which is a really good foundation  and powder, as well. You can be generous with the amount that you apply on your face just not SO MUCH so as to avoid making your face look too white.  
(Beauty Tip: If you're acidic, make sure to buy shades that are a shade lighter than your skin tone because otherwise the makeup will oxidize and make your skin look darker than usual.)

Step 2: Concealer. For this particular look, you want to focus on concealing the darkness of the eyes; so apply a generous amount of concealer under the eyes and spread it outwards; do this until you observe that the skin underneath the eyes is slightly "highlighted" or white-ish.  Be careful once again to not go TOO WHITE because you wouldn't want to look scary; the point is to just highlight the eyes and make the eyes pop out.  There are a lot of good concealers out there, especially those that are made particularly for the eyes; however for this look, and if you would also want to save money, I just used Elf's All Over Cover Stick. Again, for the shades, make sure to choose one that fits your skin tone - if like me, you are acidic and you already chose a powder that is a shade lighter than your skin tone, choose a concealer that is the same shade as your skin tone because you wouldn't want to look too white. 

Step 3: Powder. Basically powder everything up; make sure that the foundation and the concealer (especially the concealer) are perfectly blended in to your face.  For this look, I used the same product Elf's Two Way Cake Foundation (SPF 15). 

Step 4: Eyeliner. Before this, make sure you prime your eyes.  Primer will help the eye makeup last longer and will also keep the makeup from smudging as well.  For this look I used Elf's Eyelid Primer.  Using a black eyeliner, basically outline your eyes.  I usually start from the outer corner inwards so that most of the thickness will be on the outer corner of the eye.  Outline the bottom of your eye, as well.  Be careful when you do this, though, don't make it too dark or too thick; otherwise you'll come off looking like you got punched in the eye (it has happened to me once or twice. haha!) Slightly smudge the top liner on the top of the eye to make the line a little bit thicker and so that we can proceed with the next step.  For this look, I made use of Clinique's Quickliner for the Eyes,  which is a really amazing eyeliner because it doesn't easily smudge and it is very easy to use.  One of the best I've tried so far.

Step 5: Eyeshadow. This is one of my favourite parts of putting on makeup in general - but also one of the trickiest.  For Aria's style, you can see that she has a sort of blackish brown thing going on - which is why in the previous step you had to smudge a little bit of the liner.  First, get black eyeshadow and then outline again the line on the top of your eye just to make it more defined.  Secondly, get a shade of brown (sort of like a Russet shade of brown) and then blend it in with the black - but be sure that more of the brown stands out rather than the black because you want to look more natural and not too smokey in this look.  So start off light and then build on the color as you go along.  Remember less is more so don't start of heavy because it's much easier to adjust to lighter shades than remove darker ones. For this look, I used Elf's Little Black BeautyBook Cool Edition, which is a palette of 48 colors and it has all the basic ones that you need. It's pretty good, actually, and it is also very easy to bring around anywhere. Plus, it is very affordable. :)  There are also other good brands you might want to try like Wet and Wild for eyeshadows. :)

Step 6: Concealer. Now that you've got the browns and the blacks on the eye, it's time to make the look pop up even more by putting concealer underneath the eyebrow and on top of the eyebrow,as well. Blend this in with the rest of the face and then put powder on top once again to make it settle.

Step 7: Brows. For the eyebrows, since mine are already rather thick, I didn't have to put anything to further darken my brows.  I simply just combed them and made them look neater.  However, if you're the type who would want to defined your eyebrows more, a tip would be to use a lighter shade of brown eyeshadow than your eyebrow and just simply follow the line to make the eyebrows look darker but not too dark.  You could also choose to check out Elf's Brow Kit, which is pretty good and is used by many women that I know. :)

Step 8: Mascara. Curl your lashes, first.  And then afterwards, put on black mascara.  This will make the eyes pop out even more. Mascara is also my favorite part of putting on makeup simply because it really emphasizes my eyes and gives me that "pretty" feeling so to speak.  Anyway, for this look I used Covergirl's Lashblast Fusion, which is quite good for both volume and length.

Step 9: Blush. Now for the blush, make sure you don't go so dark.  Just add a little amount on your cheeks, particularly the apple of your cheeks going outward.  For this look, I made use of Elf's Shy Blush.  Now, powder everything up just so that everything is blended in well and perfectly. Again, you may choose whatever shade of blush suits your skin tone.

Step 10. Lipstick. Finally, for the lipstick, I made use of Maybelline's Watershine Pure BC11 shade because it is perfect for this look.  Aria has a very natural color to her lips sort of orange-y pink, and this lipstick is the closest shade that I had to hers.  It's also very glossy and very easy to put on so no worries about smudging it or for messy looking lips, either. :)

There you go! :D Hope this helps out.. This is my Aria's Look for Less. :)