How to Channel Your Inner Anne Curtis + BLK Cosmetics Review and Quick Tutorial

Australian-Filipina actress Anne Curtis launched her first makeup line, BLK Cosmetics, in the latter part of 2017. I had already seen BLK Cosmetics at SM Beauty counters, but I never had the chance to test them out until I saw their boutique at Trinoma where I frequently do my errands. They opened their first store at Trinoma in QC on March 24 and also recently launched their official store at Lazada.

Here’s how I tried to imitate Anne’s look using her own makeup brand.

The Anne Curtis Style

What Anne Curtis teaches about style is all about being comfortable with yourself. Notice how she rarely wears full coverage foundation and lets her beauty marks and spots show. She also wears bold lip and audacious prints and color, no wonder she also represents Plains and Prints clothing brand. And do you remember her Anne Kapal concert? Her singing voice may not be great, but she entertains people with her confidence and comedic antics. She's reminding you that it’s okay to not take yourself too seriously and to laugh at yourself from time to time.

Photo courtesy of BLK Cosmetics website.

How to Do an Everyday Red Lip Makeup Look with BLK Cosmetics

1. Start with the BLK BB + CC Cream Stick

After you’ve done your skincare routine, swatch the BLK BB + CC Cream on your forehead, cheeks, chin, under your eyes, and nose. Buff and blend with the brush on the other end of the stick. You don’t want to swatch the product on your entire face because that would look patchy. If you have dry skin, I suggest using a beauty blender or a sponge to blend it with dabbing motions because blending with a brush tends to emphasize dry flakes and texture on the skin.

The formula is creamy and non-sticky with a semi-matte finish and medium coverage. My shade here is Ivory Beige. When swatched on my skin, it looks like the product has a peach undertone, which should work well for ladies with fair to medium skin and warm undertones.

The texture is comparable to Maybelline Fit Me! Shine-Free Stick Foundation, which I also have. But this is creamier, probably because it has moisturizing shea butter, Vitamin E and also Vitamin A. There is no fragrance here, but somehow the scent reminds me of crayons. This BB + CC Cream is also available in Light Beige and Natural Beige.

BLK BB + CC Cream Stick (Ivory Beige) swatch.

 2. Set with the BLK All-Day Matte Powder Foundation

I want my makeup to last the whole day, so I applied the BLK All-Day Matte Powder Foundation on my T-zone where I get oily. I want to keep the rest of my face dewy. You can wear this foundation alone and you can get light to medium coverage.

The product has SPF 15 and Vitamin E. My shade here is Light Beige, a beige with a yellow undertone. There are only two shades for their powder, with the other being the darker Natural Beige. It comes with its own sponge. This is not a two-way foundation, meaning you can only use this dry.

BLK All-Day Matte Powder Foundation (Light Beige) swatch. 

3. Outline and fill your brows with the BLK Brow Sculpting Pencil Duo

The BLK Brow Sculpting Pencil Duo is a creamy eyebrow pencil that you can use to outline and fill your brows. It has pointed and flat tips for easier application. I just followed the natural lines and arches of my brows to draw the outline then proceeded to fill sparse areas. Anne's brows are thick, and so I want to make mine appear thicker, too.

If you have black hair and eyebrows and you’d want to go for a softer look to balance out your bold lip, I suggest you use the Natural Brown color. This eyebrow pencil is also available in Taupe. This pencil is surprisingly smooth and soft to apply, with aloe vera as its active ingredient. Don’t forget to put the cap back on after each use to prevent the product from drying up.

BLK Brow Sculpting Pencil Duo (Natural Brown) swatch. 

3. Apply the BLK Intense Color Liquid Eyeshadow

Don’t get intimidated by the word intense. This just means their eyeshadows are pigmented, but the colors are very wearable! I chose Gorgeous, the only matte brown color available in this collection. This is a liquid eyeshadow, but the formula is smooth and thin enough plus it doesn’t dry quickly so you’ll have time to blend it.

Because I have prominent eyes, I filled my entire lower lid with the eyeshadow and blended it upwards, going above my crease up to my upper lid fold. I applied a second coating of the eyeshadow on my lower lid to intensify the color and make my eyes appear smaller.

Because this is a liquid eyeshadow, this may not be the ideal product to use if you want to create gradients easily. But if you want something that you can use every day without thinking about how to apply it, this is the fool-proof eyeshadow for you. True to the brand promise, BLK likes to keep their makeup uncomplicated.

BLK Intense Color Liquid Eyeshadow (Gorgeous) swatch.

4. Line your upper lashline with the BLK Long-lasting Liquid Eyeliner

For my eyeliner, I picked the brown shade and drew a straight line on my upper lash line and dragged the line down, following the K-beauty trend that BLK is also promoting.

This BLK liquid eyeliner dries down to a semi-glossy finish. This is not a matte eyeliner. I like the solid brown color that appears almost black-brown on the skin. If you don’t want to use an eyeshadow but would like to define your eyes a bit, you can get away with just this eyeliner. This is also available in black.

BLK Long-lasting Liquid Eyeliner (Brown) swatch.

5. Apply your blush using the BLK CreamyCheek Paint

The BLK Creamy Cheek Paint is a liquid blush that looks soft and dewy on the skin, without the sticky feeling. I know it says creamy, but the consistency to me is thin and almost feels like it’s water-based. This also doesn’t dry down fast, so it doesn’t give you that uneven stains that you can get from some cheek tints. The shade I chose here is Peach. It is also available in strawberry. There is no harsh or detectable scent.

Three swipes or small circles on your cheeks are all you need to create a beautiful flush.

BLK Creamy Cheek Paint (Peach) swatch.

6. Contour, highlight and intensify blush with the BLK Contour, Blush and Highlight Palette.

To define my cheeks and soft my forehead and jaws, I applied the matte contour shade on top of my forehead, on my jaws, and just below my cheekbones, starting from the area below my temples. I applied the champagne highlighter using a fan brush on the top of my cheekbones and nose bridge then intensified my cream blush by applying the iridescent blush only on the apples of my cheeks.

The color I picked was Sun-kissed, a peach blush. This is also available in Flushed, a rose blush. Both the contour and blush shades are pigmented as you can see on my swatches below, while the highlighter is subtle. The highlighter did not emphasize my pores.

BLK Contour, Blush, and Highlight Palette (Sun-kissed) swatch.

7. Apply a red lipstick using the BLK All-Day Intense Matte Lipstick in Honey

To get the signature Anne Curtis lips, I picked the BLK All-Day Intense Matte Lipstick in Honey. This is a berry red matte lipstick that doesn’t bleed or dry your lips. I did use a lip balm underneath because I have super dry lips, but I blotted it with tissue before applying the lipstick so I can get the matte finish this product promises to deliver. The color is visibly intense upon first swipe.

This color would look great on anyone, and this is a great red lipstick for women who want to look younger because of its berry undertones. The lipstick stayed after several drinks and a full meal. You would need a makeup remover to take off this lip color.

BLK Matte Lipstick in Honey swatch.

8. Apply the BLK All-day Lip & Cheek Water Tint in pink.

I wanted my lips to have that wet stained look, so I added the BLK All-day Lip & Cheek Water Tint in pink just on the upper and lower middle part of my lips. The tint will also help my lipstick last longer. This tint dries down fast, so you need to be careful when applying this to your cheeks. The other three colors are cherry, orange, and red.

BLK All-day Lip & Cheek Water Tint (pink) swatch. 

9. Wear a printed and/or colored top.

I picked a top from Plains and Prints, a clothing brand that Anne Curtis also endorses. Her style is always fun and chic. What I like about this Shoulder Cut-Out-Top from Plains and Prints is it hides my mommy tummy and it shows some skin without being too daring. This is best paired with a fitted pants or skirt. You can never go wrong with tight and loose pairings, which I also often see in Anne’s style.

Get this Shoulder Cut-Out-Top from Plains and Prints

My top 3 from all of these BLK makeup products are:

1. BLK All-Day Intense Matte Lipstick in Honey

2. BLK Creamy Cheek Paint in peach

3. BLK Long-lasting Liquid Eyeliner in brown

All these BLK Cosmetic products are made in Taiwan, which has also been gaining prominence in the beauty and cosmetics industry along with Japan and Korea.

Shop BLK Cosmetics here.

What do you think of BLK Cosmetics? Let me know in the comments section below J