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I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again… I have an unhealthy obsession with Kate Middleton. My parents have yet to admit that I was switched at birth and actually descend from a regal bloodline, so in the meantime, in my pathetic peasant lifestyle, I’m forced to resort to mere emulation of all things Princess K. In all seriousness, and all Parent Trap anecdotes aside, I really do admire how she carries herself. It doesn’t matter if she’s formally announcing a pregnancy or quickly running to the market (if her 17 servants are busy or whatever), Kate looks effortlessly flawless. Most notably seen at the breathtaking royal wedding, she has flat out trademarked the art of what I refer to as the “timeless elegance” Kate Middleton makeup tutorial.

Kate’s signature and always appropriate makeup style is characterized with warm eyes, bronzed skin, and bold dark features. So how can you achieve this look? Using inexpensive drugstore foundation and mascara, of course! I recently came across RIMMEL‘s new Retro Mania line at Walmart, and I’m already such a fan. For the price, there literally isn’t any better! All of the products used below were, get this, under $6.

Obviously, I’m starting out with a naked face. Let me just go ahead and preemptively apologize for the natural lighting, ie. all-exposed, bare, and irritated skin. I’m doing a new skin care routine, okay?! Nevertheless, here are 12 steps for achieving your perfect fit-for-a-princess Timeless Elegance makeup look:
 

 
Make sure your hair is out of your face with a glamorous hairdo. Today I opted for a half up, half down style, curled quickly to perfection with my hot rollers and Drybar Money Maker hairspray. You can add an extra element of elegance by wrapping hair around the elastic, hiding the band while also sassing up your hair style.

Kate will never ever look sticky or dewy or even remotely shiny. Her foundation always looks clean and matte. RIMMEL’s new Stay Matte Foundation is literally the bomb.com, and it’s available for under $5 at Walmart. It’s a liquid mousse foundation that provides lightweight shine control and amazing, easily blend-able coverage. Stay Matte’s light texture feels just like a high-end CC or BB cream, and the smooth formula leaves your skin feeling perfectly matte– which is an imperative quality for me. I’m Italian; I don’t need any extra oil, thank you.

Apply spot concealer around your eyes and “problem areas.” RIMMEL’s Hide the Blemish Concealers are just under $5 and come in a wide variety of shades. These lipstick-looking concealers softly hide blemishes and under-eye circles and can also double as facial highlighters for contouring.

Apply translucent powder to reduce any possible later-day appearance of shine. Kate is never shiny—ever, and I am envious. The remedy for us common folk is really good setting powder, like the Stay Matte Pressed Powder from RIMMEL.

Kate always has a signature golden glow, so bring out the bronzer! Apply blush or bronzer (I prefer bronzer) to the hollows of your cheeks and along the edges of your hair line. Your skin’s new sunkissed look will automatically brighten your face keep you glowing.

I’ve been looking for an inexpensively effective shadow primer, and I finally found a winner! RIMMEL’s Exaggerate Undercover Shadow Primer is literally my new secret weapon for maximizing shade color and wear time. This formula instantly smooths and preps my lids, while creating some sort of smudge-proof elixir that keeps my eye makeup in place for the entire evening. That’s another thing about Kate… her makeup may as well be painted on her face because it never smudges or runs. This primer helps me feel confident that my makeup is in place without pulling out my phone every 10 seconds to take a makeup check selfie.

Embolden those brows! Kate’s signature brows are always dark and clearly defined. Fill in your brows with a color that is roughly one shade lighter than your hair. It may look strange at first, but you’ll thank yourself as soon as that first picture is snapped. I use RIMMEL’s Professional Eyebrow Pencil in 002-Hazel for all things brow filling and defining. Also, this pencil has a built-in brush/blender to groom brows and determine where excess color is needed.

Now for your eyes– go with two warm shadows. Think pinkish-brown, soft, and blended. RIMMEL’s Glam’Eyes Eye Shadow Quad Palette in 029-Afternoon Tea is under $5 and has four perfectly princess-appropriate shades. I used the light pink shade as a base shadow, also as a subtle highlighter for underneath my eyes, and then blended the darker brown shades like crazy to create a little more of a dramatically natural look.

Next, precisely line the top and bottom lids of your eyes with black or brown eye liner, adding a small wing to the side of each eye. How do you add a wing? Hold your eyeliner pencil at the end point of your bottom lash line and point it upward diagonally so that it practically looks like a continuation of your lower lash line. Draw a thin diagonal line to the end of the wing- which should NOT go any further than your eyebrow (if you even choose to be so daring), then make a a straight line from the tip of the wing to the middle of your eyelid and fill in the outline. This can be done with either a pencil or liquid liner, although I have an open preference for pencil– the liquid liner can spawn a facial ink disaster, especially if you’re not a confident makeup pro.

Curl your lashes first and then generously apply a coat or two of RIMMEL’s Scandaleyes Retro Glam Mascara. It’s one of the best and most inexpensive mascaras on the market, ringing in at $5.47 at Walmart, and I’m currently obsessed. Its exclusive hourglass-shaped brush plumps lashes while simultaneously fanning them up and out for bold and wide-eyed volume. Retro fabulous!

Tag team your lips with a nude or light pink liner and lipstick. Princess Kate always opts for a natural or nude pink or brown, so I went with RIMMEL’s Lasting Finish Lip Pencil in 014- Wild Clover. Make sure your lips are dry before applying– lip liner is essential for making the most of your lips! Liner helps prevent color from bleeding or feathering, and if matched well with your lipstick, it holds your natural contours, as well.

Oh, and did I mention my other favorite Kate, the one and only Miss Moss, created her own line of RIMMEL Lasting Finish Vibrant Lipstick shades? Well, she did, and they’re iconically fabulous. I selected a pretty pale pink, No. 17, which coordinated purposefully with my Wild Clover lip pencil. Again- to reiterate, make sure these colors match up as closely as possible. Quite frankly, I don’t think there should ever be a drastic difference in the liner and lipstick color, unless you’re going for some kind of special coloring effect.

And voila! This look is classy enough for a work luncheon yet still fabulous enough for a nighttime adventure or gala. For lack of a better word, it’s timeless. Oh, and did I mention every single one of the RIMMEL products I used is under $6 at Walmart? That’s cray!

Also– Fun fact: April 2014 is RIMMEL’s 180-year anniversary, and there will be a $1 off coupon in the Sunday newspaper for both the Scandaleyes Retro Glam Mascara and Stay Matte Foundation featured in this post! Oh, and to further help you achieve your regal look, RIMMEL is giving away 25 $50 gift baskets with all of their most popular RIMMEL products! You can enter by submitting your name and email via the Rafflecopter widget below. Good luck!

Who else has tried the RIMMEL Retro Mania line… and who else has a full throttle girl crush on my girl K?