I Tried 3 Makeup Looks Inspired by Laura Harrier—3 Tips I Learned

Welcome to I Tried It Month, where we’ll be publishing a new fashion, beauty, or wellness article every day that features a first-person account of shaking up an old habit, pushing beyond a comfort zone, or simply trying something new. Follow along for 31 days of storytelling, including everything from trying new beauty treatments to copying the most risqué runway looks of the season.

If there's one thing you should know about me, it's that I love actor and model Laura Harrier's style. When it comes to beauty, the woman knows how to play up her gorgeous eyes, pouty lips, and sky-high cheekbones. 

Though Harrier's makeup is typically done by celebrity makeup artists, I decided to see if I could attempt them on myself. I made the decision to re-create three of the actor's most-liked posts on her page without the aid of a makeup expert. That's right: I depended on my will, curiosity, and endless appreciation for Harrier's role in representing women who look just like me in the entertainment industry.

Read on to see which makeup looks I decided to re-create, step-by-step accounts of my process, and end results.

Look 1: Effortless Glow

This is the look I was most excited to try out after noticing how well Harrier pulls off brown-lip looks. I decided to stick to the light and glow look, turning to my trusty Saie Super Gel Lightweight Dewy Highlighter to bring some much-needed warmth and light to my skin and provide a great base for the rest of the products.

Next, I applied Merit's Balm Cream Blush, making sure to blend it outward and upward and then across the bridge of my nose. For my eyes, I decided to go for a natural-looking wing since I couldn't entirely tell if Harrier was sporting one or not. Her eyelashes appear naturally full and long in a lot of her pictures, so I made sure to also give my lashes some loving.

I then went in with a warm brown liner, focusing on the outer corners of my lips and working inward (only really filling in the top lip) before lightly patting on the Dior Addict Lip Glow for a semi-red tint. Last, I used Fenty's viral Gloss Bomb Heat Universal Lip Luminizer + Plumper in Hot Chocolit for a glossy finishing touch. I loved how effortlessly cool the result was on me, and could definitely see myself wearing this as an everyday look. How great is that?

My Version

Look 2: Bronzed Beauty

I'll always be a huge fan of bronzed, glowy looks (and Harrier is the queen of them). One quick scroll through her Instagram page reveals endless luminous skin, just-pinched cheeks, and simple eye makeup. I knew that to re-create her seemingly flawless visage, I would need to use a product that gives me coverage and glow. Enter Rose Inc's best-selling tinted serum. 

I found that applying the serum directly to my face and then buffing it out with a beauty blender worked the best for me. After going in with concealer, I contoured and then took a small amount of Rare Beauty's Pinch Liquid Blush and Charlotte Tilbury's liquid blush to my cheeks. I finished the look with quick swipe of mascara and lipstick.

My end goal was a bronzed no-makeup makeup look, but I'm not sure how well I pulled it off. While I did try my hand at contouring, the result was pretty dismal. I'm also quite disappointed in my attempt at replicating her gorgeous lip color. (I went too pink when I should have leaned more toward a light brick red.) Maybe it was the lack of golden-hour lighting on my side, but this look unfortunately fell flat to me.

My Version

Look 3: Berry-Toned Lips

Lastly, we have this pretty berry-toned lip with minimal face makeup. By this point, I was more than excited to keep things simple and focus on color matching for the lipstick color. I decided to go with yet another Merit product, its Signature Lip Lightweight Lipstick in Fashion, a gorgeous muted berry tone that has the perfect blend of pink and red.

For this look, I abandoned my everyday lip glosses and liners to pat on this lightweight lipstick. Since this is a pretty gloss-free look, I did blot my lips to get rid of any excess product. The rest of the look was delightfully minimal with Saie's aforementioned tinted serum/highlighter and the addition of Charlotte Tilbury's Beauty Highlighter Wand, my favorite brow pencil by Benefit Cosmetics, and a small wing using liquid eyeliner. 

Looking back, choosing a lip color that's less sheer and offers more pigment would have done really well. It was the key to making this look as effortlessly chic as Harrier did in her Instagram picture, and I'm not sure if I entirely captured it. That being said, I think I did the rest of this makeup look well (with a few little changes made here and there as I worked).

My Version

Final Thoughts

I'm no makeup expert, and it showed. As much as I love playing around with my makeup looks, trying a new one is made that much harder when the only instruction you have is a picture from someone's Instagram feed (especially when they have entire teams of makeup artists to create them). I'm proud of the way these three looks turned out even if they weren't exactly what I imagined them to be. But that's the point, right? Now that I've made a mistake or two, it can just get better.

Next up, The Secret to Hailey Bieber's "Faux Sunburn" Glow? A $28 Blush Editors Swear By