Berries

I love winter. The cold weather just makes me excited. And one of my favorite parts of winter definitely has to be the warm and rich colors that always seem to make an appearance-- whether they are on clothing or other mediums (face, nails, etc.). 

After reading through countless magazines and looking at the photos from the fall and winter collections, I was inspired to experiment with these berry colors in a place I wasn't used to, my lips. I have always been about berry colored nails, dark purple is my go to color. I had never really been about a berry lip. I already have quite large and colorful lips, so I was concerned that "vamp-ing" it up would look totally overdone on me. But yesterday when I was at my friend's house, Benefit's Bena-tint caught my eye. I started dabbing it onto my lips and cheeks and I was amazed with the outcome. It created a lovely berry wash. It inspired me to pick up a berry lipstick from the drugstore and go home and play with it. 

Heres what I found...... 

First I stained my lips with the cheap but effective Wet n' Wild Lipstick I picked up, in color 918 D (about $3)-- I don't go to enough fancy dinners or holiday parties to invest in a dark lipstick. I did by rubbing the lipstick on the back of my hand, "swatching it" to all of you beauty gals, and then taking my fingers and patting it onto my lips. This is a great way to apply lipstick because it really enables you to pack on as much as you desire. Then I took my index and middle fingers and lightly took some of the lipstick from the back of my hand and dabbed up my cheek-- continuing my obsession with berry tones. It gave me a great flush. I also think that you could skip this step and throw on a light dusting of a bronzer, like my favorite Laguna. When I got to the eyes, I had trouble making a decision on what to do, though I knew that I wanted to use stronger eyeliner than I am used two. I tested out two looks that both looked stellar. 

For both I started off with a very neutral lid. I used "Shell" by Bobbi Brown to create a blank canvas. If you wanted to, you could also use a shimmery champagne color instead. You could also add a bright color to the inner corner to open up your eyes a bit. For the first look I used liquid liner and to thicken up my lash line and create a subtle wing. I used my NYX Studio Liquid Liner, but I would also recommend the Revlon ColorStay Liquid Eye Pen if you feel more comfortable using a felt-tip liner. I then curled my lashed and applied my favorite mascara of the moment, Maybelline Lots of Lashes. I thought that this look was great-- clean and sophisticated. Perfect for any holiday party. For the second look, I used my MAC 266 liner brush and an old dark grey/black eye shadow that I had lying around my house. I pressed the color onto my lash line starting at the middle of my eye. I did a little "cat flick" on my outer corner, and then used a big blending brush to soften the whole thing up. I once again used my trusty Maybelline mascara. To me,  this look is a little bit more 'sultry' and would be great for a date or something along those lines.  

Hope to see you guys rockin' this look sometime this winter. 

Have a great Thanksgiving

xx

Some inspiration:

Diana Argon looks absolutely stunning here with liner and berry lip color. It looks like her lipstick was applied as a lipstick and not as a lip stain, but that is what makes this look glamorous enough for the red carpet. 

P.S. I mentioned that I have an obsession with berry nail polished as well. Some of my favorites are William Tell Me About OPI (OPI), Manicurist of Seville (OPI), and Winter Wine (Milani). Keep in mind these are just some that I own, you can pretty much find a berry nail polish anywhere you look.