Just thinking........

Recently I've really been musing and thinking about the whole concept of colour analysis and finding colours that work for me.  I have always loved makeup - I think I was born loving makeup and colours!!!  Within the past year I've been told I'm a Cool Winter, Deep Winter, Deep Autumn, Clear Winter, Clear Spring and Soft or Cool Summer????????????????????  It doesn't make sense to me that it would be so difficult to try and pin-point my season.  However, it does make sense that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" - I'm wondering is it possible that there are people who fall into a particular season (thereby being a 'true' autumn, spring, summer etc) and then there are those people who simply don't fit into any one season or are most likely a 'neutral' skin tone being able to wear both cool and warm.  I think I'm one of those people, I think you could "label" me as anything and somehow I would manage to "fit".  If you think about it, there are hundreds of different skin tones, how can you possibly merge all the different skintone/eye colour and hair colour combinations and variations into 4 or 12 seasons?  It just doesn't make sense - I'm really starting to think that we are all a blend of cool and warm and its about finding our balance.  Its about finding, on your own terms, what colours you like and look good on you - everyone else will have an 'opinion', but in the end, its what you like!  I'm going to stop trying to "Figure it Out" and start wearing what I like!!!  However, advice is always good and I love to hear your feedback and opinions, I would never get offended if you disliked a particular post or a particular colour I decided to wear - often, its just a matter of me "playing around" with makeup and trying different looks.  I think its in everyones best interest to learn what works for them and surround themselves with colours, music and things they love.  However, its also important to not frustrate yourself or label yourself or force yourself to wear a set of colours just because you've be analyzed as 'x' or 'y'.  Be yourself!!!!!  Wear what you love!!!!!

NARS Honolulu Honey

I think Honolulu Honey deserves its own post - I remember reading a while ago an interview where Francsois Nars was openly talking about his line of makeup and spoke specifically about 'Honolulu Honey' - I didn't think I would find the interview again, but I did - here is the part where he talks about this amazing nude lipcolour:

What is your single most-used makeup item?


FN: "NARS Cosmetics Satin Lipstick in Honolulu Honey. This beigey-nude shade has been used in countless shoots, shows and ads. This shade also launched with the original 12 shades at Barneys. It is a perfect warm nude because it has just the right amount of yellow and pink. The combination of shades along with its sheer finish makes it ideal for all skin tones."
 
I decided to do a look with Honolulu honey that's more of a day look.  I kept my eyes in the earthy, natural tones (motif and embark by MAC with coffee eyeliner) and used Coppertone Blush.
 

Here I am wearing Honolulu honey on its own - no lipliner or anything else blended in - I took this picture because I wanted you to be able to see the colour in its raw form. 

 
I personally like to blend HH with a nice peachy-coral lipliner - my absolute 'Favourite' lipliner to acheive this look is Chicory by MAC - I lined my lips with Chicory first and then blended HH on top!  I think this is a very classic day look - it gives just enough colour and sticking with the peachy neutral tones adds just enough warmth!!!
 
There is something to be said about Honolulu Honey if its been used in countless photo-shoots and ads - if Francsois Nars calls it his single most used product, there is a reason - its stunning and beautiful.  If you're looking for a nice everyday neutral, light peachy toned lipcolour - this is for you!!!

Purple Eyes, Light Peach Lips

I love finding different colour combinations that are unique and work really well together.  Purple and Peach are two colours that when balanced correctly, have the most stunning effect.  It all has to do with contrast and balance - the bright purple eye with the light peach lip is the ultmate in contast and balance.  To make this look work, I think two things need to be weighed and thought out: 1) The eyeshadow should be bright and the main focus of the look 2) The cheeks and lips should be a light shade of peach or warm-pink and a sheer shade is better than a heavy matte look (note: light pink would work on the lips, but its the contrast between the purple and peach that really makes the visual impact stunning - you'll notice this in the pictures)

Check out the following pics and notice how striking and beautiful this look really is:

I 'LOVE' these makeup looks - In my opinion, the purple/peach combination is truly beautiful and breath-taking - Its both vivid and soft and its that very 'contradiction' that makes the look work so well - Here are a few colour suggestions to try:
Eyeshadow: Parfait Amour,Purple Haze and/or Satellite Dreams by MAC would be stunning for this look, paired with Perma Plum, Industry and/or smolder eye liner (use an angled brush to smudge parfait amour into the top lash line) and finish with black mascara
Blush - Stick with a light peach blush - remember that the eyes are the focus, the blush and lips should be a light and/or sheer peach shade - try Pinch-O-Peach blush by MAC or Peachy-Keen BLush
Lips - Try Baby Peach by Bobbi Brown or Honolulu Honey lipstcks.  If you're more of a gloss person try Love Nectar, Enchantress or Pink Lemonade (all by MAC)

I hope this post will inspire you to try the purple/peach combination - I know I'll be playing around with this look for sure!!!

Softer Lips and Cheeks

I'm a very 'intense' person - its part of my personality and seems to fit the makeup colours I choose.  However, sometimes I like to take a break and go for a softer look.  Also, in my last post about colours for 'Soft Autumns/Springs' - I offered a few suggestions for a neutral eye and how to balance it with different lipsticks and blushes - this post is an 'add-on' to that previous post.  I wanted to suggest a few more lipstick and blush shades, but more for the 'Soft' colour type - you're notice that the colours are not very rich and most of the shades of very sheer, so its perfect if you don't want too much colour!

I absolutely love this lipstick shade - its called 'Baby Peach' by Bobbi Brown and its THE perfect 'light soft peach' shade - if you just want a swipe of soft colour before you leave the house, this lipstick is for you! 

2 other 'Soft' shades that I really like are Carnation and Salmon by Bobbi Brown (Carnation is on the left and Salmon is pictured on the right) - These shades are perfect if you're a soft colour type!!!  Carnation is a warm soft pink and Salmon is a light, soft peach - I'm also a big fan of blending lipstick colours - often the most interesting colours that I've created have been a mix of 2 or 3 shades (plus a dab of my favourite peachy eyeshadow or blush on top to set in the colour).  If you have a colour at home that you like but find has too much pigment, use a softer shade like salmon or carnation to blend into that colour - it will soften it right up and make your original lipstick wearable again!!!

MAC makes a blush called 'Pinch O Peach' and that's exactly what the colour is - its has just a slight 'pinch' of peach and I think this colour is perfect for that soft, gentle look - it would compliment Bobbi Browns 'Baby Peach' very well, especially with a neutral eye!

Peach twist by MAC is another peach based blush that is an excellent choice for a soft - it has a little bit more of a spicy-peach undertone and has a slight shimmer effect - it is very workable and buildable - an excellent colour!!!


One other blush that I would recommend, but couldn't find a picture for that I thought represented th colour well is 'Tawny' blush by Bobbi Brown - it's not in the peach-toned family, but rather in the warm pink-brown family - its also an excellent option for Soft's because it works with various lip tones and eyeshadow shades!

I hope you found this post helpful - if you're a summer/winter - don't worry, I haven't forgotten about it - expect some posts in the near future!

Neutral Eyes for Autumns and Springs

I'm so excited and happy to do my first request post - I was asked if I could blog about how to do a neutral, yet warm eye look for an autumn/spring and how to balance this look with various lipshades.  So here it goes:

Before I get into the colours I really like and would suggest, here are a few palette pics so you can get a visual of the neutral-warm shadow shades:

My favourite go-to warm neutral shades are Cork and Saddle - they have a very slight orange/spicy peach undertone, but they are very workable and buildable, especially when used in the crease and outer corners of the eyes:

The top shadow is Saddle - its leans slightly towards the orange-brown colour family, but its definitely still a neutral shade!  Cork on the other hand is more of a warmed-brown!

This model is wearing Cork in her crease/outer corners and also blended into her liner - its the perfect neutral shade if you're an autumn/spring!!!

I'm not sure exactly what mkeup shades Tyra is wearing in this picture, but there are many dark and deep skintones that are autumns and sparkle in the warm neutral shades - itwould be my guess that Tyra used a colour similar to Saddle and blended it with a metallic amber or warm gold shade like 'amber lights' by MAC - Notice how in both pictures - the model and Tyra have balanced their look with warm cheeks and a lighter peach lip (Tyra would look overdone if she had done a darker lip - the metallic tones blended into th shadow create an intense evening look.  The model on the other hand, has the perfect balanced 'day' look)

MAC lipstick in 'Strength' and Nars 'Beautiful Liar' lipcolours would be great choices to complete the look - they both have a slightly warmed/spicy peach with a hint of frost in them - they can be blended into a neutral liner like 'Hover' or made slightly deeper for evening with chicory or auburn lipliner

If you're after a more nude/peach look, try Honolulu Honey lipstick by NARS or Love Nectar Lusterglass by MAC (you can top virtually any lipstick with Love Nectar and it will lighly warm up the colour you're wearing and give it that light peach gleam - I'm not a gloss person, but Love this one)

To finish off the look I would recommend Coppertone (the top picture) or Gingerly blushes by MAC - They are 'amazing' - Coppertone is described as a warm-peach, while Gingerly plays up the peachy-bronze tones - either way, they are both 2 great warm-neutral shades that I love!

I really hope that this post is helpful and gives you some ideas to work with - I really enjoyed doing a request post - so keep those questions and requests coming!!!

Crazy Coral

I have to admit that yes, I've been on a coral craze lately!!! I've been trying to find a way to wear an uber-bright coral lipstick and balance my eyemakeup with enough depth, without going too bright as well - I wanted the look to be balanced between smokey cat eyes and bright lips.  I didn't want to go with grey's or soft black shades on the eye - I wanted the end result to be on the warmer side, but still fairly neutral.  I think that a bright shade like coral looks the most 'elegant' and 'classy' with neutral shades on the eyes - the key is not to look like you've just escaped the circus!!!

On the eyes, I used Motif eyeshadow as a base and then again on the lip and blended 'Embark' into the crease and also into my eyeliner (I smudged it into the top lashline)
To line my eyes, I used 'Coffee' eyeliner by MAC and finished the look off with some black mascara
I didn't want my blush to fight with my eyes or lips, so I kept it in the peachy coral family by using my trusted 'Coppertone' blush by MAC
On my lips, I used none other than 'Vegas Volt' lipstick by MAC
Note:  Later on that day I played around with Vegas Volt and found the 'perfect' lip combination (I'll have to blog about it soon) - I've been really into mixing different liners and even adding light peach/coral blushes and eyeshadows to the centre of the lip (it also locks in the lipstick and makes it last a lot longer)!  ANyhow, I ended up lining my entire lip with 'Hover' lipliner, then layering on Vegas volt (it tones down the coral and makes it very wearable for daytime) - I then added 'Motif' into the cente of my lip and blended it into the lipstick - the end result was simply stunning (I wish I took a picture because it worked so well with the eyes - I guess I'll just have to re-create the look another time):

Tribute to Green

Its St. Patricks Day!!! "Top of the Morning to ya"
How could I not do a little tribute to 'green' on St. Patricks Day?????
My favourite 'Greens' to wear on St. Paddy's day are Kelly Green and Emerald Green, so I focused on these for my little tribute:

If you want to show off your green pride today, there is no better way than to enter your local Irish pub with a Kelly Green jacket or trench.  The best part is that you can wear it again as a fashion statement on those days where you need a pop of colour.  If you're going for the true green look, tone down your clothes and shoes to make the outfit work - you don't want to look like a Leprechaun every day of the year - lol

Here is  perfect example of how you can work an outfit with a pop of colour green jacket - I especially love those brownish-orange boots  they make the look very elegant!

If you're going out for St. Patricks day, the way to really make a statement is with your make-up.  This is one day of the year that you can pull out that Bright orange lipstick and Green eyeshadow and wear it without any hesitation - MACmakes some fantastic green eyeshadow shades and has two excellent wearable orange shades - Morange ad 'So Chaud (my personal favourite)!!!

If you're celebrating at an elegant restaurant or just aren't into the whole Shamrock Guinness Tattoo on the face look, try adding a little green to your accessories - a scarf or pashmina is an excellent way to do this.  Earings and other elegant pieces of jewelery are also very stunning - especally if its a bold emerald green piece like earings or a pendant!

Last but not least, if you honestly don't have anything green in your wardrobe, you can at least order some Green Beer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

An Old Irish Blessing


May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind always be at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

and rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of His hand.


HAPPY ST. PATRICKS DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!