My Favorite Nudes (Lip Edition)

Top Left to Right: Clinique Chubby Stick Intense- Curviest Caramel, Rodial Glamstick- Bite, Lancome Rouge in Love- 200B Lasting Kiss, Charlotte Tilbury K.I.S.S.I.N.G.- Bitch Perfect, Charlotte Tilbury K.I.S.S.I.N.G.- Penelope Pink

In the past few months, I've really fallen in love with nude lips. Historically, I've been the girl who sports red lipstick to the grocery store, a bright lip on a night out and a vampy lip for the holiday season. Since finishing university and entering into the real world, I've become much more subdued in my makeup looks on the whole. Nude lips have become my go-to look and I love how the subtle colors help to enhance the lips to make them look full and pouty without looking overdone. I think nude lips are a classic look that will never go out of style and there's a shade out there to suit everyone, it just takes a little trial and error to find the one. Being a lady with fair skin and light hair, I find that I suit rosy natural lipsticks with a pink undertone. As much I would would love to rock a beige nude or peachy nude, it just makes me look ill (although I love the look on others). Here are my five favorite nude lipsticks of the moment:

CLINIQUE CHUBBY STICK INTENSE IN CURVIEST CARAMEL
The darkest lippie of the bunch, this is a great color for every day. It's a very flattering neutral rose that I imagine would look great on a variety of skin tones. It's pigmented enough that it could be worn with minimal makeup and have the focus be on the pretty rosy lips.

RODIAL GLAMSTICK IN BITE
This is a very pale pink nude that I was surprised to find very wearable. I love it on it's own with a nude lip liner to make the lips look full or also worn in combination with the other lipsticks mentioned here to make them paler without that "concealer" look. This is technically a colored lip balm, but it's really long lasting and super hydrating. It also has a beautiful coconut fragrance.

LANCOME ROUGE IN LOVE LIPSTICK IN 200B LASTING KISS
This is the peachiest nude of the bunch, the first nude lipstick that I ever liked and one that I've nearly used up. It's got a hint of peach which goes well with most makeup looks and was my most worn lipstick of last year. It has permanent residence in my handbag and is my slap on and go lipstick for everyday.

CHARLOTTE TILBURY K.I.S.S.I.N.G. IN BITCH PERFECT
One of my favorite lipsticks of the moment. A fantastic neutral pink that looks amazing on the lips. I'm such a fan of the finish of the Charlotte Tilbury lipsticks and they are hands down my favorite formula of lipstick. This pink is neutral enough to be considered a nude and is a pinker version of my own lip color. Just beautiful.

CHARLOTTE TILBURY K.I.S.S.I.N.G. IN PENELOPE PINK
My other favorite lipstick of the moment and maybe ever. A delicious beige-pink lipstick that has holy grail status. When I wear this lipstick, I think it looks like I've had my lips done. I wear this on a daily basis (when I'm not sporting Bitch Perfect) and it manages to look great with simple makeup looks as well as more heavy smokey eye looks.

I highly recommend all of these lip colors, especially if you are of a fair to light skin tone. If you happen to know of colors similar to these, please give me your recommendations!

Thanks for reading.

Pro Tip for a Bold/Deep Lip

Last week I had an embarrassing beauty moment. What is an embarrassing beauty moment you ask? Let me explain. I had recently purchased a deep wine red lip pencil (see me sporting it here) and I decided it was time to break it out in honor of autumn. Sidenote: I realize most individuals do not coordinate their makeup with the seasons. I'm the one with the problem. I decided to go shopping with my vampy lip and it seemed like it was attracting a lot of attention from the ladies in the shop. It was only when I got in my car to go home that I realized that I had lipstick ALL OVER MY TEETH. That my friends, is a beauty blunder which made me look slightly cannibalistic. After recovering from my True Blood moment, I remembered the one insanely simple step to prevent lipstick from getting on teeth. And now it's time to pass it on!

*After applying your bold/deep lipstick, put your index finger in your mouth (right to the knuckle! See picture above) and pull your finger out of your mouth. That's it!*

If the thought of a gorgeous berry lip gives your visions of the dreaded lipstick-on-teeth, try this tip and you will never have to worry about it again. There's no excuses ladies, it's time to pull out the daring lipsticks laying forgotten at the bottom of your makeup bag.

Thanks for reading.

A Taste of Tilbury

Good day ladies and gents! Today I am bursting with excitement to show you my first taste of Charlotte Tilbury cosmetics. I've been lusting after this makeup collection for quite some time and the minute I found out that shipping was available to Canadians, I was all over it. For those of you who don't know, Charlotte Tilbury is a world reknown makeup artist who has done some of my favorite makeup looks of all time. She has worked with some big names in the past (inclduing Tom Ford) to formulate some top knotch products. Charlotte's signature makeup looks are always incredibly sexy and her trademark includes a beautifully contoured face and a sexy feline eye.

Since the release of her makeup line, she has created ten iconic looks that correspond with the products. The looks are inspired by beauty icons of today (Kate Moss, Alexa Chung, Rihanna) as well as silver screen stars of the past (think Marilyn, Audrey, Brigette). Her Youtube channel has a multitude of videos broken down simply, so us simple folk can re-create the looks at home (Check out her Youtube channel here for oodles of inspiration). I totally stand by her philosophy in that makeup is a secret weapon to create the best version of ourselves. 

I could literally talk about these products all day, but in the interest of time and the length of this post I`m going to give a very short and sweet mini review of each item I purchased:

THE DOLCE VITA LUXURY PALETTE: 

This palette is the warm reddy brown quad seen on top in the picture above. The pigmentation is fantastic and the colors blend together as beautifully as a cream eyeshadow. If you are looking for a great autumn palette, look no further. This is the one. Also, if you have green or blue eyes, this palette makes your eye color pop! Note: these shadows are not done justice with my hand swatch, they look much better on the eyes!

THE SOPHISTICATE LUXURY PALETTE:

Another beautiful eyeshadow quad featuring four gorgeous matte shades. This is perfect for creating a pretty day time eye or can be used to build up a sexy smoldering eye. Matte eyeshadows are my favorite and these are some of the best I`ve tried! Again, this looks amazing on any eye color.

K.I.S.S.I.N.G. LIPSTICK IN PENELOPE PINK

A gorgeous neutral pink nude that would look great on any skin tone. Penelope Pink is swatched on the far left on my hand. This has become the perfect nude color that doesn't wash me out or make me look like I'm wearing concealer on my lips. The formula is thicker than I am used to but this helps the lipstick to last quite a long time and it still manages not to dry out the lips. Make sure to exfoliate the lips before slapping these on as it can accentuate dry patches on the lips. 

K.I.S.S.I.N.G. LIPSTICK IN BITCH PERFECT

Another beautiful shade which is a pretty rosy pink. Bitch Perfect is the middle swatch on my hand. This lipstick is very close to my natural lip color but definitely pinker. I absolutely love the cheeky name of the shade and think that this is one of those colors that you could put on with any makeup look and look polished and pretty. Again, it can accentuate dryness so make sure to apply a good lip balm underneath. 

LIP LUSTRE IN SEDUCTION

I had low expectations for this gloss after hearing others state that it was incredibly sticky but I have to disagree. It's definitely a heavier, thicker gloss but not in the sense that it feels sticky or drying to me. I've heard that it`s a similar texture to the MAC lipglasses (which I may have to check out). I love the color of the seduction gloss, a great neutral pink with a touch of peach and brown to make it extremely wearable. This gloss looks amazing layered over both lipstick shades. 

LIP CHEAT IN PILLOW TALK (NOT PICTURED ABOVE)

How could I forget to photograph this little number?! This is definitely the best lip liner I've ever tried because it blends into my lips and completely mimics the natural pigment of my lips. I really hate the look of visible lip liner but this one manages to camoflage itself while creating the perfect lip shape. The lipsticks manage to look even prettier with the liner underneath. 

I don't know what it is that makes Charlotte Tilbury products so special but I'm definitely impressed with the quality of the products. I think she's finally done something different in the beauty world without complicating the process. These products have been designed for women of all skill sets and anyone could watch her videos and easily recreate the look. Something else I'm noticing about the line as a whole is how completely wearable all of her products are. The lipsticks all have a small amount of brown pigment in them to help the colors look beautiful and believable on the lips while the quads have been chosen to blend together seamlessly for eye looks that don't require much thought. 

I look forward to picking up some more items from the line, but have set a rule to use up some current products before I spend any more money on the Charlotte Tilbury line, however tempting that may be.

Have you tried anything from Charlotte Tilbury? Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below. 

Thanks for reading.

NOTE: I purchased my products from Beautylish and it was the fastest shipping to Newfoundland I've ever experienced! Not to mention the best customer service ever! 

August Favorites

Good day everyone! Labour day has come and gone, so it's time to get into fall mode! I worked quite a bit in the month of August and it seems like I went back to the same makeup look every day. I mentioned a few posts ago that I've been trying to use up some of my current makeup products as a motivation to purchase some new things (I currently have some Charlotte Tilbury bits on route to me!). Most of the products I've been using, I have fallen out of love with, but continue to use them so as to not be wasteful. That being said, there have been a handful of products that I've really fallen in love with over the past month. Here are the five standouts that I've thoroughly enjoyed using:

LISE WATIER 24 HRS GLAM EYESHADOW IN BRONZE GLAM
The 2014 fall collection for Lise Watier is so stunning. This eyeshadow stick happens to be a part of the collection and it comes in five completely stunning bronze and jewel-toned shades. I picked up the shade Bronze Glam which is a true neutral bronze with copper and silver shimmer running through it. Sounds like a flashy color but is actually perfect for slapping on all over the lid for a simple smokey eye. Add a coat of mascara and you are running out the door. I love how versatile this product is as it can be used in so many different ways. I use it on it's own all over the lid, as an eyeliner for smokey definition, and as an eyeshadow base for a sultry smokey eye. It's creamy and blendable for about 30 seconds before it sets and becomes completely waterproof until you decided to wash it off.

ANASTASIA BEVERLY HILLS BROW WHIZ IN ASH BLONDE
This brow pencil has taken the cake for my holy grail eyebrow product. Ash Blonde is the perfect color for my light eyebrows that makes them look so defined without looking drawn on. This is the most idiot-proof, natural looking brow product I have ever come across and I can never be without it again. It comes in a great range of cool toned colors which look so convincing.

PUR MINERALS 4 IN 1 PRESSED MINERAL MAKEUP
The battle with my skin continues as I anxiously await my appointment with the dermatologist. I've recently started using this mineral foundation in place of liquid foundations in order to let my skin breathe. Since I've switched over to this powder three weeks ago, I have not acquired any new cystic bumps, which makes me very happy. Although this powder can be built up to be very high coverage, I appreciate how it mimics the look of real skin when I used my Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray to set the powder. Another great feature about this product is that it tends to look better as the day goes on, something I've never experienced with any other foundation before. I love coming home at the end of a 12 hour shift and look in the mirror to see my skin looks nearly flawless and glowy.

CLINIQUE CHUBBY STICK INTENSE IN CURVIEST CARAMEL
This is my first traditional chubby stick for lips and I'm loving it so much. I really have to say that I'm definitely over the chubby stick alternatives that every brand seems to be producing these days. It's not that there's anything wrong with having a lipstick in pencil form, but I am certainly more of a purist who will always take a traditional lipstick tube over a pencil any day. The reason I'm so crazy about this chubby stick is that the color is the perfect rosey nude that doesn't make me look like I'm wearing lipstick at all. Secondly, it feels incredibly moisturizing on the lips. Lastly, it doesn't fade to leave that weird ring of color along the outside of my lips (something I've experienced with every other lip pencil). I love wearing this in the workplace but I also find it useful to throw on with a smokey eye when I don't want something too overpowering. Two thumbs up!

BATH AND BODY WORKS TRIPLE MOISTURE BODY CREAM IN CASHMERE GLOW
I picked this up on a whim after running out of my last body lotion. In all of my days, I've never received so many compliments about how good I'm smelling. I'm not the best at describing scents, but the tube says that it has notes of golden peach, shimmering vanilla and cashmere musk. It's far from fruity but has a sultry sweetness about it that is subtle yet intoxicating. It smells slightly nutty to me as well.  In my What's in my Shower post (check it out here), I mentioned that I wanted a scent that matched my Dove Purely Pampering Body Wash in Pistachio Cream and Magnolia, and this body cream makes the most heavenly combination of smells.

So there's the lineup for the last month of summer. I'm so ready to dive into red lips, coppery eyeshadows and tons of eyeliner. What were you loving in the month of August?

Thanks for reading.