Tag: Fashion/Style

fun with color

I’ve been planning this post for awhile now.  Not sure why it’s taken me this long to get it all together and hit the “publish” button, but I suppose it does fit in well following yesterday’s nail polish post.  (Yes, unfortunately there are times that my life really is this UN-interesting.)

Anyway, last month’s Real Simple featured an article on colorful makeup and it really intrigued me.  I love makeup, and I love color, but I’ve never really branched out beyond browns and plums when it comes to eye shadow.  And don’t even get me started on lips…I rarely do anything more than lip gloss since I don’t recognize myself with lip stick!  That, and my lips are ENORMOUS, so color of any sort just kind of amplifies them.

But, I decided to give some of the shades a try (green, teal and purple) so I brought the article to Ulta and scoured the aisles looking for the suggested lip colors.  I’ve been hooked on bright eyes ever since!

Click below for the article; I tore out the last page that had a re-cap of all the color pairings and have been using that to mix and match.

“Bright Makeup for Eyes and Lips” Real Simple June 2011

Here is green/teal eye shadow with coral lips.  I actually already had greenish and teal eye shadows, so I’ve been interchanging and mixing those depending upon what I’m wearing.

Doesn’t my hair look red here?  Unfortunately, it’s just the lighting…

I like the coral lips, but having color on takes some getting used to.  And it’s time-consuming!  The only coral lip stick I could find was Sula Natural, but it’s SO BRIGHT, so I have to blot, then apply gloss, then blot again.  I’ve been going through the stash of napkins in my glovebox like crazy!

Here’s navy blue shadow with reddish lips.  I love the navy and red combo.

The red is a combo of a maroon lip pencil (it’s NYX in Maroon) and a free sample of Trish McEvoy’s Beauty Booster SPF 15 gloss in “Brightening Pink” I got in the mail.  I love the lip pencil because it goes on really smoothly and then kind of “stains” my lips, so I just have to keep re-applying gloss instead of both.

Another color combo was purple eye shadow with brown lips.  Again, I already had a purple shadow, which I think really brings out the green in my eyes.  This is more of a lilac or lavender purple than a plum.

The article said to pair it with brown lips, but I couldn’t find a brown lip stick I liked, so I chose Palladio’s Herbal Lip Gloss in “Sheer Bronze.”  I love the smell and that it’s pretty sheer, but next time I’m at Ulta, I might try to find another NYX pencil in a darker brown to get a little more color on my lips.

So, what do you think?  Do I look ridiculous?  Is it something you would do?  I’ve been having a blast pairing colors with different outfits.  Summer is such a great time for this; I love pairing neutral outfits with bright accessories and makeup!

mezmerised mermaids

My fingers and toes look like an ocean!

My fingers are currently sporting OPI’s “Mermaid to Order.”  I found it at Sephora a couple summers ago and bought it immediately.  I love teal.  Pretty much anything in teal makes my heart jump–clothes, shoes, makeup, kitchen gear, home furnishings…  (Specific shades of blue and green have a similar effect as well.)

The photo above is a little washed out; I was by the window trying to get some natural light, but my nails are just so shiny and smooth that the light wouldn’t stop reflecting!   Here’s another shot in different lighting:

Upon closer examination, it looks a bit more green here.  I also, apparently, need to moisturize my hands more.

While reading last month’s issue of Shape Magazine, I came across this color:

It’s called “Mesmerised” by Essie.  Yet another thing I had to own immediately.  Fortunately for me, Carolyn works part-time at the local Ulta and scored me a coupon.  I was in need of some mascara anyway, so off I went.

I love this shade of blue.  It’s just the right mix of cornflower, royal and periwinkle, all mixed into one.  It’s not matte, but it’s not metallic either, which I like because almost every polish I have is metallic.

I just love these colors in the summer.  I’ve also been using my peachy orange color from Essie called “E-nuf is E-nuf” that I got this spring and blogged about here.  There is just something about tan skin and bright colors.

Ever since I got out of the military, I’ve been going crazy with nail polish!  I love these teals and blues in the summer, and then I transition to deep, dark reds, browns and a navy blue in the fall.  I have a classic reddish-maroon and multiple shades of nude and light pinks that work all the time.

I’ve also been experimenting with makeup colors; more on my style and love of color soon!