Lipstick 101

Driving down the road while leaves trickle down from the trees, hot apple cider in my coffee mug, homemade apple crisp… these are a few of my favorite things! Fall is BACK and I feel like I have been waiting for this my whole life! There is nothing better than family football Sundays and pumpkin carving; I can’t wait to enjoy each day of this season, since I know it will be gone quickly. Oh, the joys of New England!

This season I am jumping right into the dark lip trend. Every year I love seeing everyone else rock it so this year; I am doing it. Why not, right?! I have tried out a few new shades recently and I wanted to share some of my favorites, and not so favorites.  If you are anything like me you struggle with finding the perfect shade of lipstick, it’s almost like life and death situation. Let me try and teach you a few things that I have learned recently about skin tones & lipstick paring. I am hoping to make this as easy as possible for you!

If you feel as if your skin tone is similar to mine than you also have a COOL skin tone.  Usually, us COOL toned girls tend to gravitate towards wearing white, blues and grays… and silver jewelry looks best on us. Whether you’re light or dark toned depends on the outer tone of our skin and although I am a light cool tone, I have a pinkish undertone to my skin and I tend to burn very easily in the sun… SPF 75 PLEASE! You can still have a dark cool tone, but your skin tone is tanner; and when you burn your burn will turn into a beautiful tan; instead of a lobster… like me!

In the picture above I am using Rimmel lip-liner in Rapture paired with

 the Maybelline matte lipstick in Touch of Spice on my lips.

 HINT: 

if you can’t tell if you are warm or a cool skin tone, turn over your wrist. If your veins appear to be blue, then you are a warm skin tone. If your veins appear to be mostly green, you are a cool skin tone! Cool huh!

Isn't she gorgeous! This is my best friend Corinne, and today I informed her that she has a warm skin tone! If your veins appear more green-ish, and you gravitate towards creams, browns and hunter greens… you have more of a WARM skin tone like Corinne. Gold jewelry looks phenomenal on you and your olive complexion is gorgeous. I envy you… your tan will turn into a golden hue, and you tan very easily! 

Corinne would look gorgeous in anything, but if I was to chose a lip color for her I would chose the WARM/YELLOW option on the right which is Revlon Superlustrious in "Really Red". For myself I would chose the COOL/BLUE which is Covergirl lip perfection in "Tempt". Seeing these next to each other will really show the difference between the blue tones and yellow tones. Corinne, you will soon own this lipstick! Your welcome! 

When applying my lipstick I do a few extra steps to make sure that it will look its very best. 

1. Condition your lips:  Healthy lips are going to keep that lipstick on way longer, so apply a rich balm before bed, if possible. Especially if you are planning on wearing a matte lip, it is really important to moisturize your lips! If not, you will see all of the dryness and trust me, that isn’t a good look for anybody!

2. Prep: Exfoliating your lips is the best way to ensure you will have a smooth canvas. You can gently scrub your lips with an old toothbrush or the Lush lip conditioner I mentioned previously. Wait until the tingling has subsided before you move onto the next step.

3. Prime & line: Match your lip liner to your lipstick of choice and line or over-line your lips. This is 100% your choice; I chose to follow my natural lips but if you want more of a pouty look, rock it girl! Gently fill in your lips with the liner. This will be the base for your lipstick.

4. Fill in the color: use thin layers and blot in-between. This will help you keep an even application, and to keep the lipstick off your teeth. Keep your lipstick on hand for mid-day touch-ups! 

Also currently loving:

Naked Basic Palette 

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz

Urban Decay Big Fatty Mascara

In other news: 

Our family is growing; AGAIN! Coming March 2016, another beautiful baby will be joining our fun! I am so happy for my sister, Bethany and her husband Jordan as they start their own little family! Their puppys; Lola, Lloyd and Luci are also very excited! Gender Reveal party coming.. VERY soon! Will it be a boy or a little girl? My guess, GIRL! 

Life is such a blessing, and I love seeing my family grow. This time of the year you all know how sentimental I get about life. The holidays will be here before we know it and taking advantage of spending time with family, friends and loved ones is essential. I can't believe how quickly that this year went by and how much my life has changed. I love where my life is going, and I worked hard on myself to be here. It wasn't easy, I can promise you that but it was worth every second. I am happy, and I don't need anyone else to make me happy. Whoever stumbles into my crazy life, will add to my happiness... not be the main reason why I am happy. Remember that.