New Year - Looking forward to 2016

New Years is just around the corner!  As I reflect on 2015, I can't help but feel grateful and blessed.  2015 was a fantastic year, filled with many lessons of growth and insight!!!  In terms of my makeup journey, 2015 brought some interesting and eye-opening discoveries.  I've discovered my 'warm autumn' colour palette, rediscovered my interest in makeup 'style' looks (i.e. chic, everyday look, evening glam etc) and am beginning to connect my passion for makeup with confidence and feminine strength.  I really feel that in 2016, I want to re-establish this blog to its original name 'beauty and elegance' and connect to my feminine power and inspiration.  I am looking forward to connecting to that inner strength and bringing it forward with my makeup looks.  I also want to look towards creating my own personal look based on minimal simplicity.  In order to do that, I recently went through my makeup bag and picked out my favourite tested and true lipstick products.  I noticed a definite pattern with the colours and decided, these are my signatures:
MAC Chili
MAC Retro
Bobbi Brown Burnt Red
NARS Leslie

I wanted to create a minimal, elegant look with MAC Retro lipstick, as it's the most neutral of the four lip shades.  MAC describes this shade as a muted, peachy-pink brown and I agree with that description.  I think that in 2016, I want to stop 'experimenting' and start embracing all that is chic.  I think that for so long, this blog has been about 'me' and my journey.  In that sense, its been more of a blog-journal.  I want this blog to evolve beyond that.  There is more to beauty and elegance than just makeup and discovering makeup looks.  I want to redefine how we explore and understand 'beauty and elegance'.  2016 is going to be a new opportunity to do just that!!!

For this look I started with L'oreal true match concealer and foundation in W4-5.  I then applied MAC Peaches blush (my current holy-grail shade).  For the eyes, I used MAC goldmine eyeshadow and then used an angled brush to apply Arbonne 'chocolate' eyeshadow as a liner.  I completed the look with some black mascara (also Arbonne) and MAC Retro lipstick - a true everyday classic!!!

Here's to 2016 - looking forward to a new year and a new 'look'!!!

Holiday Pink

I felt like I had to write a second tribute to MAC Twig lipstick, as it's truly becoming my favourite 'pink' shade of lipstick.  I think that when people think of pink, they don't necessary think of this shade, or of the Holiday's for that matter, but for me, its 'perfect'!

Let me start off by saying that I'm 'not' a pink girl.  I don't particularly suit pink, as I'm a warm autumn and I'd much rather veer into the brownish-orange shades.  However, I do like Twig lipstick by MAC.  Twig is definitely a brownish-pink and it's the 'only' pink I can wear successfully.  I love my tried and true warm autumn shades, but every once and I while, I crave change and Twig is a refreshing pink.  It says pink without saying 'PINK'.  This Holiday season I'm going to a lot of day Christmas lunches and get together's.  Wearing a festive red during the day is nice, but I find this shade perfect for lunches or a brunch.  It's also a shade that works with almost everything I have.  Many of my chicer outfits are still black/navy - until I get my warm autumn wardrobe working for me in full force, I really want an elegant cross-over shade - Twig is perfect!

I decided to create a neutral look for today's lunch outing.  I used a peach toned blush by NYX, amber lights on the lid, black liner smudged with espresso shadow and black mascara.  I applied Twig twice to really layer on the colour!  I have to say that this look is one of my favourites so far because its so versatile.  You can wear this look to any occasion and in any weather/season.  It's my new neutral-pink perfection look :)

NARS Barbarella

I have always loved this lipstick shade!  No matter what season or colour palette I was experimenting with, I always had NARS Barbarella in my makeup bag!  Recently, I've been playing around with more of the warm autumn reds and mahogany shades, but now I'm looking into warm autumn natural/nude shades.  I was VERY happy to find out that Barbarella matches the 'Soft Peach' shade of the Warm Autumn palette.  I decided to create a natural look using Barbarella:

I used just some basic essentials for this look - L'Oreal true match concealer and foundation in W4-5, MAC Peaches blush (and as a shadow as well), MAC Amber lights on the eye lid, Lancome Brun Mascara and Barbarella :) by NARS!!!

It's nice to have a natural, everyday, casual look for a change!

5 product, 10 minute makeup look

One thing that I've noticed since discovering my best colour palette, is just how fast and simplistic my makeup routine has become.  It literally takes me 5-10 minutes to put a look together and I use and need less makeup products than ever before.  Right now, I basically just use: concealer, foundation or tinted moisturizer, blush (which acts as an eyeshadow as well), mascara and lipstick.  Today I created a look just using the products listed.  I started with L'Oreal true match concealer and foundation in W4-5 and then applied MAC Peaches blush (using this shade as an eyeshadow as well).  I finished the look with mascara and a swipe of Revlon's Really Red lipstick:

I really like knowing that I can put together a look that is effortless but still looks chic.  With the right colours, it's so easy to get it right.  The colours do all the work for you :)  Looking back at some of my previous makeup looks from years ago, I can't believe how much makeup I used to wear, especially near the eyes.  I feel that I no longer thick eyeliner and the minimal look is so much fresher and cleaner.  Simplicity truly is elegance!!!

Orange-Brick Shade

I love finding lipsticks that act as 'mixers' - colours that you can apply and mix/blend into other shades.  I discovered a shade by Kat Van D called 'Solo' - it's a tangerine orange shade with shimmer and it blends in so well with other shades in the orange/red family.  Today I decided to blend it with one of my favourite hippies 'Chili' by MAC:

The combination of these two colours together created the perfect brick-red/orange shade.  Almost, the ideal copper-brick shade.  I kept my eye make warm and golden by blending MAC Goldmine with NARS Galapagos.  I also used Peaches by MAC as my blush choice - the warm peach shade works perfectly with the orange shades in this look.  I'm going to continue mixing and blending various lipstick shades - its such a fun way to create various new looks :)

Polished Up Work Look

A few days ago, I wrote a post about a natural, everyday work look.  This is sort of a part 2, however, instead,  I wanted to create a more polished look.  Some days you want a natural look, but you also want to take it up a notch.  I'm finding that now that December is here, there are a lot of after work parties and get-togethers.  Sometimes you just want a day look that functions for evening events as well.  I put this look together based on some of my most recent makeup finds:

The feature of this look is the subtle, shimmery eye and mahogany lip that matches my best 'natural flush shade'.  David Zyla who wrote the book 'Color Your Style', talks about this natural flush shade and refers to it as your best 'romantic' shade, to be used as your ideal red/lipstick hue.  If you pinch your finger, this shade will be revealed, check it out.  Here are my two romantic shades:

As you can see, I used not only the mahogany shade (as a lipstick shade), but I also matched the more warm peach shade to my palette and found the perfect blush!  I wanted to keep these two romantic shades in mind while creating this look, as they are perfect shades that already appear in my natural skin colouring and flush.  If you ever have a chance to read David Zyla's book 'Color Your Style', I highly recommend it.  Back to my polished work look, I decided to focus on creating a subtle shimmer with the eyes, so I blended a copper metallic shade (MAC amber lights) with a warm brown shade that also has some gold shimmer (NARS Galapagos).  I love the combined effect of a metallic shade with the Galapagos shadow - its my new go-to shadow combination.  I then added some brown mascara (I used the Lancôme Brun shade) and for the warm peach romantic blush shade, I went with MAC Peaches.  Finally, the mahogany lip is a shade by Chanel called 'Antoinette' - it's a mahogany shade with a touch of copper, which is perfect for my Warm Autumn palette.  What I like about using my personalized colour palette, is that each look that you create truly is elegant and polished.  Colour and colour choice really does make a difference in how your makeup looks :)

Bobbi Brown Burnt Red Lipstick

This holiday season, I've been looking for the perfect red to wear with all my Christmas inspired outfits.  Tis the season for all the holiday parties and for looking 'festive'.  I came across Bobbi Brown's Burnt Red a few weeks ago - I was 'hooked' from day one.  It's become one my favourite reds and I think it's going to be my Chistmas/Holiday colour:

The one thing that I really, really love about this red, is that its not a typical true red, yet it's bright, elegant and goes with so many colours.  I would call this shade the 'perfect brick red'!  Since I went with a brighter orange red top, I decided to play up the warm orange/amber shades.  I started with MAC Peaches blush and also applied this shade to my eyes as a shadow and used Amber Lights just on the lid before applying some mascara.  I used a brown mascara, the Brun shade from Lancome.  Finally, the Burnt Red by Bobbi Brown!!!  Voila - elegant burnt/brick red!

Natural Work Day Look

One of my favourite looks to create is the casual, natural workday look.  I've discovered that my best natural warm autumn shade is 'salmon/peach'.  I wanted to create a look that is very '5 minutes and go'.  Since I've been wearing more of the medium toned warm autumn red toned lipsticks to work, this is a nice change:

My main colour palette for this look, is warm salmon-peach and gold!  I used goldmine eyeshadow on the lid, peaches blush and ravishing lipstick (all MAC shades).  I also switched my mascara to a brown shade recently - Lancome Brun!

I think that variety is very important for day looks.  We can't be natural 'all the time', and we can't we overdone.  I've recently started to do my own research about what makeup looks are best for everyday.  I'm coming to understand that this varies with each person and each place.  For example, In Paris, Red is very chic for everyday with a natural eye.  In contrast, the 'le no makeup look' is also very chic.  For me, I think a day look needs to be functional - it needs to work with your daily life and also be able to transform easily into a 'day into night' look.  I look forward to doing some more reading about this topic - I'm always very interested in learning about looks and now I get to put a 'warm autumn' spin on it!

Peachy, Warm Gold Makeup Look

I have inner-knowing that I'm 'fully equipped' to make my Warm Autumn makeup palette work to its full advantage.  I recently had the opportunity to stock up on some essential shades and 'cover all my bases' so to speak.  In terms of having a functional palette, I feel that I have certain 'base shades' that help bring everything together.  These shades help to anchor my looks!  What are they? The Warm Peach and Gold shades.  In my last post, I created a very nice and pretty 'peach and gold' look and in this post, I'm going to use similar shades to anchor in all my other favourite Warm Autumn shades.

For this look, I did a lot of mixing and blending of various peach/gold shades.  I started with the eyes, and combined NARS Galapagos eyeshadow with MAC Goldmine eyeshadow - I applied this blend to my lid and up into the crease and then used Goldmine on its own over the lid again before applying mascara.  For this look, I decided to try a brown mascara instead of my usual black.  For my blush shade, I went with MAC Peaches blush (this is becoming a new favourite).  The star of the show for me is usually always the lip shade.  I decided to blend NARS Leslie with Kat Von D 'Solo' lipstick - It's the perfect medium chroma warm red-peach shade!!!  I'm very happy with this makeup!  The key for me now is to turn my attention over to getting more Warm Autumn toned clothes - scarves and accessories in particular :)

Revisiting my Zyla 'Romantic Shade'

I've been on a colour 'high' recently since my Warm Autumn Colour analysis.  I'm also trying to now find my best self within this palette.  I really admire the work of David Zyla who write the book 'Color Your Style'.  He indicates that you can find your best colours by looking at the shades already part of you - the colour of your viens (your dramatic shade) , the shade your finger turns when you pinch it slightly (this is your romantic shade) and many other colours.  In this post, I want to focus on my romantic shade.  I lightly pinched my finger and got a close up of the shade that I later matched to my warm autumn swatches.  The shade matched perfectly to the deep peach/salmon shade:

The challenge was to now find a lipstick that matched this shade!  It took me a few tries, but it turns out I found the perfect match - MAC Ravishing Lipstick.  I actually recently wore this shade, before doing this romantic experiment, so it was nice to know I already owned this colour:

I was also able to find a blush shade that complimented this 'warm peach' romantic - MAC Peaches blush.  It's the perfect everyday shade:

To put it all together.  I wanted to let the peachy glow dominate, so I just used a gold shadow (MAC goldmine) on my eyelids, a touch of mascara and voila, the perfect 'romantic' look!!!

Solo lipstick - Kat Von D

There is something to be said about some good TLC and retail therapy.  In my case, my retail therapy always translates into Makeup!!!

I decided to browse around Sephora today and came across a very interesting and beautiful lipstick colour: Solo by Kat Von D.  When I first saw the shade, I thought, 'wow, someone has finally created the perfect lighter toned orange shade that isn't too bright or neon'.  It took some lipstick comparing to figure out that Solo is, in fact, a warm autumn/spring cross-over.  It's primary effect is 'warmth', which I really love.  When I got back home, I had to swatch the shade and noticed that it's the perfect match to the Warm Autumn 'orange'.  I decided to swatch it next to the light orange swatch so that you can see that it's not too light or bright, but the perfect 'warm' orange shade:

One that that came to mind almost instantly for me is just how perfect this shade will be to wear on its own and as a mixer/blending shade for other warm autumn lipsticks.  I'm so very excited to play around with this shade some more.  Today, I swiped it on as is - no liner or other shade - just Solo on its own (no pun intended :) )

I wanted to create a very 'warm' and copper-orange based look, so I actually blended MAC amber lights and goldmine shadows to create a blush shade, then applied the goldmine as a shadow and then some mascara.  The top that I'm wearing is not a warm shade, but I like how the blue is in contrast with the orange palette!

Orange-Red Lipstick

Ever since I've purchased the NARS Red Square Lipliner, I can't stop experimenting with various combinations of colours.  More recently, I decided to combine one of my all time favourite orange shades: MAC Chili with the NARS Red Square shade.  I have to admit, that this is THE perfect Orange-Red shade - it's a combination that I think I'm going to wear more often!!!  So far in my colour journey, I have settled on a few shades that have now become my signatures: NARS Leslie, Bobbi Brown Burnt Red and MAC Chili.  I'm now in the process of experimenting with various combinations of these shades with different liners and lipsticks.   Here is my current creation of MAC Chili with NARS red square:

I wanted to keep this look warm and classic, so I used MAC Amber lights on my eyes and smudged Laura Mercier's Copper Brown eyeliner on the upper lash line.  I used MAC Coppertone blush and blending in MAC Goldmine shadow into the blush shade (I love blending in golden toned shadows into my blush - it just adds that little bit of shimmer without being overpowering and its nice to have a multi-use product).  Finally, I applied NARS Red Square lipliner and layered MAC Chili lipstick over top and Voila!!!  I'm really loving this look!!!

Orange-Brown Lipstick Look

In my last post, I experimented with the Warm 'True' Red lipsticks.  One of the shades that I mentioned was NARS Red Square liner, which is a matte finish tangerine-red.  I really like Red Square on its own and mixed in with various reds, so I decided, why not pair it with some of my brown based shades to create an orange-brown shade???  I am VERY happy that I decided to do this, as it led me to create a colour that I now adore:

This orange-brown shade is a combination of the NARS Red Square and Chanel Antoinette lipstick.  NARS Leslie and Bobbi Brown Burnt Red are two other shades that I experimented with in combination with Red Square and both are equally as awesome.  One thing that I'm really gaining from all these experiments is which shades I want to settle on as my warm autumn go-to's.  This orange-brown lipstick combination is definitely right at the top of the list for a professional, everyday chic look!  I can't wait to try this shade with various orange-brown and rust fashion styles, scarves and accessories :)  I am so, amazingly HAPPY with the warm autumn palette!  Even though I got draped as warm autumn in the fall, each new look is like a magnificent Christmas present to myself :)  I feel blessed to be able to say that and to feel this amazing in own skin!!!

The Warm TRUE Red Lip

My fascination with the Warm Autumn reds is in 'full swing' as I'm experimenting with some new and old/trusted lipsticks.  One lipstick that I was uber excited to begin wearing again is the YSL Le-Rouge #1.  I adore this lipstick!  One of the reasons that I love it so much is not just the colour, but that I was introduced to it in Paris.  In fact, a YSL makeup artist at the Gallery Lafayette recommended it to me as my best true red.  It's interesting to me that it's the perfect match to the reds in my Warm Autumn palette!!!  The Parisians know their red lipstick!!!

Here I am wearing the YSL #1 Le Rouge:

One thing that I really love about the YSL lipstick is just how silky they feel against the lips.  I feel that I'm not even wearing any lipstick!!!  It's just an 'elegant' lipstick - from the packaging, to the texture, to the look!!!  I LOVE YSL #1 Le Rouge :)

Another Warm Red that I recently discovered is NARS Red Square Velvet Matte Lipliner - It actually matches the Warm Autumn Tangerine Swatch, but it has enough red in it for me to want to classify it as a warm true red or at least as more of an orange-red:

I love wearing the NARS Matte Liners!  First, they act as a lipstick on their own, however, they are also the most practical blending/mixing colour.  I look forward to experimenting with this colour and mixing in various other Warm Autumn shades.  I'm always brainstorming how this liner will work with all my various gold/copper lipsticks :)

I really love that I now have a great tangerine-red liner and warm true red lipstick to play with!  So to end this post, I decided that I would combine the two together :)

The result: THE perfect warm true red lip!!!

To create this look, I didn't just focus on the lips.  I also wanted to balance out the lip with a subtle smokey eyemakeup effect.  I started with my basic face - I used the loreal true match concealer and foundation in W 4-5.  I then applied MAC Coppertone blush.  I started the eye makeup look with MAC Amber Lights applied to the lid into the crease.  I then used Laura Mercier Brown Copper eyeliner and smudged a deep golden brown shade into the liner (from the too faced natural eye palette).  I finished the look with a swipe of mascara.

I also wore one of my warm yellowed greens for this photo, as I thought that the brightness was the perfect compliment to the red lip!!!

Bravo to the warm true red lip!!!

My Custom Palette - Reflection!

I have been reflecting a lot on my colour analysis this past October.  I am SO happy with my colour palette.  It's taken me a while to come to learn about my colours and how they all fit together.  In fact, I'm still learning - I'm in the early stages of 'getting' it!  What I love the most about my palette, is the level of 'warmth' I get - I feel very 'cozy' with my palette!  I wanted to try to get a photo of my entire palette.  When I stepped back and looked at all the colours, it was apparent to me why I struggled to find my season.  There are so many palettes and so many analysts who have a different approach that it's easy to get locked into warm spring vs soft autumn vs true autumn etc etc.  I have always been attracted to the Spring/Autumn palettes.  I liked spring in particular.  Let me start by saying that I am not a spring and I now see the difference.  However, before, when I would have looked at this palette, the warm spring season would come to mind, especially the greens, light orange shades.  However, I am not a 'bright' season and I've come to learn (mainly from my correspondence with my analyst Jelena Heger) is that it's the medium chroma, warmth that I need in my palette.  I still have a lot to learn about warm autumn and I'm very excited for this journey to continue!!!  One thing that I've really come to understand as well, is the important of getting analyzed in person and to especially find an analyst who is able to create a custom palette.  I spent 'years' (as many of you know) experimenting with various seasons and looks.  I value that time because I learned a lot about myself.  However, I now feel truly confident and myself within my palette!!!

MAC Ravishing Lipstick

I am so happy that I recently rediscovered Ravishing lipstick by MAC.  It is truly my perfect 'peach' shade.  In fact, I like this shade even better then the Revlon Peach Me that I blogged about previously.  Ravishing is warmer, medium depth and more consistent with my Warm Autumn Palette.  I decided to wear a warm peach toned sweater with this look and I absolutely adore all this amazing 'peach-love' going on!!!

For this look, I created my standard warm toned eye makeup - using MAC amber lights mixed with a touch of patina eyeshadow.  I then applied Urban Decay 'Scorch' eyeliner and a touch of mascara.

I decided to complete the look with MAC coppertone blush and the Ravishing lipstick!!!

I really feel that with all the warm autumn experiments that I've been doing that I keep coming closer and closer to my best looks.  I'm excited to try this lipstick at night with a warm smokey eye look as well!  I really feel amazing in my custom colours and palette.  :)

Rimmel Coral Garden Lipstick

To be honest, Pink has never worked for me in terms of a lip colour.  However, I love the idea of wearing a pink lipstick.  I was looking at my warm autumn custom swatch book and realized that the 'salmon rose' swatch is the perfect pink shade for anyone who is 'warm' toned.  I was swatching some lipstick shades and my Rimmel 'Coral Garden' lipstick was the PERFECT match to the salmon rose swatch.  I was so happy to make this discovery!!!  I tried to create a look that is very 'everyday casual'.  I always want to wear something pink when I go out for a lunch date or have a casual day event to go to.  This was the look that I created:

I started with my basic concealer and tinted moisturizer, then used a blend of MAC amber lights and cork eyeshadow on the lid into the crease.  I applied Scorch eyeliner by Urban Decay on my top lash line and finished the eye look with some mascara.  For blush, I went with MAC Coppertone, my favourite warm toned blush.  I then applied the Coral Garden lipstick by Rimmel!

I really like this look for a spring/summer look - I think that with a more bronzed complexion, this lipstick will be the perfect warm weather shade.  

MAC Photo Lipstick

Every season needs their own 'deep' lipstick colour.  For the longest time, Burgundy and Oxblood have been getting all the credit.  However, the more I study the warm seasons, the more I'm loving a deep, golden hazelnut shade.  It's Warm Autumn's answer to a deep red lip.  My personal favourite is: Photo lipstick by MAC.  Photo matches my personalized Warm Autumn Palette:

I wanted to create a Warm Autumn look that is 'deeper' without it being 'deep autumn'.  I used a mix of soba and patina shadows in the lid into the crease, then used a medium brown shadow as a liner with an angular brush on the upper lash line.  I used NARS Madly blush in this photo, but wished I had used MAC Copperplate.  Madly is slightly too light and doesn't balance out the look as well as I'd hoped.  However, the feature of this look is definitely Photo lipstick.  It's a stunning deep toned lipstick which I look forward to wearing a lot more now that Winter is soon approaching :)  My next venture is to find the perfect Warm Autumn Red that leans 'red' - I already have a few matches going so stay tuned:

Chanel Antoinette Lipstick

Every time I find a lipstick I 'LOVE', I', always afraid that they are going to discontinue the shade.  I try to go out and find a 'back up plan' lipstick.  I recently wrote about finding my signature, all time favourite lippie 'Leslie' by NARS.  This past weekend, I walked by the Chanel counter and was pulled towards a particular shade.  I recognized it for some reason and the realized that it was very similar to 'Leslie'.  I swapped them side by side - Leslie is slightly more 'red' and a brighter shade of mahogany.  Antoinette, the Chanel shade, is still in the mahogany family but leaning towards the 'cognac'/orange-spice shade.  I thought, how perfect!  Now I have two lipsticks, in the same colour family - one I can wear 'everyday' and one is perfect for those polished, elegant evenings out!  I like Antoinette lipstick for day, since its slightly more brown-orange and goes well with all my Warm Autumn neutrals vs the NARS Leslie, which is more 'classic' and will look amazing with the brighter/more intense Warm Autumn shades like: tomato, all the WA greens, teal and hazelnut brown shades.  Antoinette by Chanel, has that cognac feel to it - its rich and elegant, compliments my hair colour 'perfectly' - exactly what I'm looking for in a day lipstick!!!

For this look, I'm wearing very minimal makeup, just some Scorch eyeliner by Urban Decay and Coppertone blush by MAC.  You can really see in this photo how the Antoinette shade pulls out both the mahogany and orange-spice shades vs Leslie by NARS:

Leslie is more of an intense mahogany, matte and has more of that classic/polished look which is great for 'day into night' or an evening event.  Either way, I'm SO happy to have discovered these two shades.  They are my go-to's - I've always wanted to have that feeling that I'm content and happy with a certain shade that really represents the BEST of me!!!

Custom Made Confidence

Here's the deal as I've come to understand it:  We are bombarded by images and marketing that encourage us to buy a certain look, be a certain way and wear a certain colour.  However, when you look at all the style 'icons', they have one thing in common - they created a custom, original look that suited them and their personality.  They have an intuitive knowing of what looks good on them.  They step out of the line of trends and create a 'custom made look'.  I find it disheartening that so many of us admire these 'style icons', but dismiss creating a unique iconic style for themselves.  I think that we really need to shift our perspective and use the best of fashion and style to make it our own.

One of the ways that we can really stand out and 'own' our style is by knowing our best colours.  Ever since I was draped as a Warm Autumn in the 16 seasonal colour analysis, I really feel that I'm taking a step closer to being my true 'iconic self'.  Knowing my best colours has made shopping easier and I can buy that 'warm hazelnut' jacket and know that it's a true reflection of ME.  Similarly, with makeup (my true passion), I can wear that warm reddish brown lipstick and know that it symbolizes more than just a 'colour', but a shade that is a reflection of my custom colours.  The 'reddish brown' red lipstick, in a sense, has become my iconic shade.  I'm wearing it all the time and have noticed that that 'desire' to keep buying lipsticks is 'gone'.  I don't have a need to continue trying to define myself because I feel so confident in knowing what suits me.  It's this very confidence that every style icon has.  It's saying to the outside world 'this is me':

I can appreciate and understand how women become more confident as they get older and how their style really becomes manifest as they embrace their authenticity.  As we move closer to knowing our 'self', something in us begins to move away from all things that no longer 'fit us'.  We embrace our 'truth' and that is a very beautiful space to be in!!!

I Have a Favourite Lipstick

Wow - who knew that this day would come?  Since I've started this blog, I've been on a search to find my best colours and my best lipstick shade.  Now, I'm excited to say, I've found BOTH!!!  For those who haven't followed my last few posts, I was recently analyzed under the 16 seasonal colour types as a WARM AUTUMN.  Jelena Heger who lives in Stoney Creek, Ontario did the colour analysis and I was so blessed to have her figure out my best/custom palette.  Now that I've had a chance to really look at my palette and study it a bit, I've realized that the reds with a brownish undertone or 'Mahogany' shades are truly amazing on me!  I've been swatching various lipstick shades and in my last post, I wrote about Leslie Lipstick by NARS and how it matches the natural red tones found within my skin/body.  Since wearing this shade, I've been receiving so many compliments and I have that 'inner-knowing' that this colour is truly that signature shade that I've been looking for.  That doesn't mean that I'm not going to wear other colours or create other looks, it just means that I've found my no-fail, go-to colour.  It's also a colour and look that I 'LOVE' - what can be better than loving your best colour:

For this look, featuring 'Leslie' lipstick by NARS, I kept the rest of my makeup fresh and natural.  I'm wearing Soba eyeshadow on the lid (MAC) and Coppertone blush (also MAC) - I applied a coat or two of mascara and my lipstick - Voila - a perfect classic, elegant look!!! :)

NARS Leslie Lipstick

I mentioned in my previous post that I am trying to see how my warm autumn palette fits into various systems, including David Zyla's archetypal system in 'Colour Your Style'.  I have determined that my best 'red', or as Zyla would say, my 'Romantic Shade', is a warmed mahogany colour.  It matches the mahogany swatch in my customized warm autumn palette:

I was able to find a few lipsticks that matched this shade, including MAC Brick-O-La and Polished Up, but my favourite match was NARS Leslie Lipstick - it had the perfect depth and chroma.  When I wore this shade out, I got multiple compliments within the first hour and really feel that when it's worn together with other warm autumn shades, it looks really polished and elegant:

I kept the rest of makeup minimal for this look because I really wanted the emphasis to be on this rich mahogany colour.  I used amber lights and soba mixed as eyeshadow (MAC), a touch of mascara and just a pop of MAC Coppertone blush.  :)  I feel that with my new customized warm autumn palette, I am finally at peace - the warm autumn swatches are all so harmonious and this colour journey can only get better and better!!!

Ginger, Cinnamon and Spice

Since having my true season revealed as 'Warm Autumn',  I'm wanting to really pay tribute to all that is unique about this season.  I gave a lot of thought to how I could create a very harmonious look.  I decided that adding a lot of warm to my hair would help create a better level of harmony with my makeup and clothes.  I have a wonderful stylist, Reanne. who works out of her home and is amazing with colour.  I brought my warm autumn swatch in and she just worked her magic.  I heard her say 'cinnamon, ginger, light auburn', as she was mixing my base colour.  I feel like my new haircolour sounds like the perfect autumn 'Latte' - ginger, cinnamon and spice :)

I absolutely adore wearing my Warm Autumn palette and I'm so happy that I got draped by Jelena Heger in Stoney Creek, Ontario.  I feel like my search to define myself is over and now my journey is about to take a new turn, to shed another layer where now I can rediscover everything about my personalized/custom colours.  I get to 'transform' myself within my own palette.

For this look, I'm not wearing any lipstick because I wanted to show the natural colour of my lips (which I have often misdiagnosed as 'pink', when in fact, it's a stunning mahogany shade and matches perfectly to my warm autumn swatch).  In fact, this shade would be my Zyla 'Romantic' shade - my perfect red - it harmonizes and matches the red tones already present in my colouring:

I have already found a few lipstick matches to this shade and will share those in another post.  However, for the makeup look I created, I wanted many elements of warmth to take centre stage: Coppertone blush by MAC, Amber Lights eyeshadow by MAC and Scorch eyeliner by Urban Decay!!!   I'm really looking forward to creating more warm autumn looks and also to explore/experiment with discovering my own Zyla archetypes and colours.  If you haven't yet discovered David Zyla, please check out his book 'Color Your Style' and his website: http://www.davidzyla.com for more information about his colour system!!!  

Visual Journey of my Colour Consultation - Warm Autumn

I decided to create a post around my most recent colour draping session.  I wanted to be able to showcase all the drapes that were part of my Warm Autumn palette.  I created a pinterest page with all these photos as well: https://www.pinterest.com/rdmyt/warm-autumn-draping/

My Warm Autumn 'Neutrals' - Warm Tans, Golds and Browns:

My Warm Autumn Reds:

My Warm Autumn Pinks, Warm Salmon/Corals:

My Warm Autumn Orange:

My Warm Autumn Blues/Greens:

Here are some photos of the entire Warm Autumn drapes/swatches:

Finally, here are the few True Autumn shades that are also in my customized palette.  True Autumn was not my best season, but these few swatches did seem to harmonize well, whereas ALL the shades from the Warm Autumn palette were perfect for me :)

I hope that you enjoyed this visual journey with me!!!

If you're interested in the 16 seasonal colour analysis and you're in the Toronto/Niagara area, I high recommend contacting Jelena Heger - She did my colours and was 'fantastic'!!!  Here is her Facebook link:

https://www.facebook.com/youruniquecolours/?fref=ts