Look like a star by Lauren Luke Review

Look like a star by Lauren Luke


Pages: 208
Price: £16.99
Weight: 520 grams
Available from: Any major book store
HRP Rating:

I have to say I was very eager to get my hands on this book. I am extremely proud of how far Lauren has progressed from YouTube tutorials. I enjoy her tutorials when I get to see them and when the lighting allows me to see what she is doing clearly.

My first impression: The book is colourful!
You get 15 pages of basic information and 25 celebrity look tutorials.

Of the 208 pages in this book, 44 are full of random information. Stories about Lauren's life, fan notes, dedications, random 'talks' etc. That's 21% of the book filled with stuff you don't need. I suppose her story is a very important aspect of who she is hence the inclusion but I was particularly annoyed at how 2 whole pages were used to introduce a chapter and for every time Lauren wants to say something e.g. 'I want to make everyone feel special'.

The basic information is exactly that- basic! If you are not entirely new to makeup skip those pages. There is no detailed information on highlighting and contouring and special application techniques.

Finally I got to the main bit, the celebrity looks. I have to say I was disappointed in most of it. The celebrity photos are are there but she does not replicate their looks at all. She merely uses them as an introduction to the look she is trying to create. If the book had said celebrity-inspired it would have been different but it says 'Learn how to recreate your favourite celebrity looks'.

So I decided to replicate one of the looks to see how easy the book is to follow. I chose the Taylor Swift natural glow look on page 50.



Before every look Lauren has helpfully compiled a list of everything you need for that look. For this particular one, I need:

• Beige creamy eyeshadow
• Peachy gold frosted eyeshadow
• White frosted eyeshadow
• Silver pewter frosted eyeshadow
• Black mascara

This is not all for this tutorial but I'm only attempting the eye look.
By the way there are no images of the colours- so everything is left to your imagination. Can I just express my amazement at the vagueness of the colours I'm supposed to use? What is peachy gold?

On to the tutorial then...
First I'm to apply the beige creamy eyeshadow with my third finger (even though I've always known that ring finger is better as it applies the least pressure on the eyes) on my lids all the way to my eyebrows.



Next is to apply the peachy gold frosted eyeshadow with my eyeshadow brush all over the lids, into the crease and slightly beyond the outer edge. Lauren has a page in the beginning where she list all the brushes with images of what they look like. I mixed a gold and a peach eyeshadow together.





Next is to apply a white highlighter with my finger under my brow and work down to the crease. My first problem with this instruction is that there is no highlighter in the list of things I need. I only have white frosted eyeshadow and I don't think I can apply that with my finger. So I'm going to use my angle liner brush to apply a bit of white frosted eyeshadow underneath my brows.



Now I'm supposed to tilt my head back and apply the silver pewter eyeshadow with my blending brush in circular motions along the crease towards the inner corner. I must not allow it to be too dark.
Why am I tilting my head back? And if I tilt my head back how can I see the mirror?
(Honestly try it for yourself). I'm gonna do it my own way, with my head straight.



The magic tip for this look: Try not to get eyeshadow into your eyes because it hurts! (how helpful)

Now I'm to use my angle eyeliner brush to apply the same colour (I assume its the silver pewter) on the lower lash line to two-thirds of the way inwards.


Finally, I tilt my head backwards and apply black mascara upwards and outwards to the upper and lower lashes.



I took 2 attempts to get this right. The first attempt was quite disastrous, mainly because I didn't get the colours right. It looked like she was wearing black eyeliner in this look, but there is no mention of it in the tutorial. I think I got the look OK with some tweaks here and there ( I am a different skin tone from Lauren obviously). It was very hard to pretend I am not a makeup artist. I can see a beginner struggling with these instructions. The descriptions are quite vague and there are few or no images to help.

First Attempt:


2nd Attempt:
Taylor Swift


Lauren

Didnt she say don't get it too dark?
Me:



My conclusion:
If you are new to make up or you would like a quick guide to creating different looks, then try this book. It uses very simple terminology and the instructions are straight forward. When you read it it's like Lauren is there talking to you. The colour descriptions are a bit vague but the basic idea is there and you can gauge from her eyes what you are supposed to look like afterwards.

If you are a professional or good with make up, this book is not for you. She does all the looks on herself and this makes the book comes across as if it was rushed. Like she just took old pictures of looks on herself, wrote out some quick 'how to' and then looked for celebrities to match with the looks. With more time investment; and clearer and more detailed tutorials, this would have been a better book. The tips are silly sometimes and at 16.99, this, in my opinion, is way more expensive than it is worth. Luckily you can get it for about £10 from Amazon.

Looks like someone is going to get this book from me for Christmas after all. I shall stick to the YouTube tutorials.

If you have/get this book and try out the tutorials, let us know how you got on, especially if you are new to makeup.

Stay beautiful...