Maybelline Warm Latte Lipstick

I have always been envious of those women who could pull off that nude lipstick look.  Everytime I would try on a nude lipstick, it would be either too light, too beige, too chalky looking, too pink etc etc - I've never had luck with finding my perfect nude lipstick - Until NOW - I've just discovered Maybelline's Warm Latte Lipstick and its the ideal nude lipstick shade for women with a warmer, golden olive complexion.  Instead of looking beigy and chalky, this lipstick is the perfect combination of golden-bronze, peach and a more golden-beige undertone.  I am so very happy to have discovered this colour - I created a look to go with this lipstick that is ideal for everyday - a classic natural look:

My New Everyday Natural Look:

Face: Mineral Fusion Foundation in Warm, MAC NC 30 concealer, Matte Bronze Bronzer, NARS Madly BLush

Eyes: Brule and Retrospeck mixed as base, Soba from lid into crease, Teddy eyeliner with Bronze eyeshadow smudged into upper lashline, Loft Brown Mascara (all MAC Products)

Lips: Maybelline Warm Latte

Berenice Marlohe

THere are women that are beautiful, and then there is Berenice Marlohe!  Before even recognizing Berenice as the new Bond GIrl, I cam across a photo of her while doing a search for French style.  I love women who possess that european flair and passion for living.  Berenice is such an extrodinary and sultry beauty - her mother is French and her father is Cambodian and Chinese.  She has such a stunning presence about her and her eyes simply scream 'sexy'.  I've been looking through a lot of her photos and have found that she really likes to emphasize, that smokey, defined eye with a more neutral or pale lip - check it out:

I absolutely love Berenice's gaze - her eyes are so captivating and really tell a story - I love her makeup here and how her defined eyes are so nicely complimented by a lipstick that is natural!

I am so inspired by this makeup look - I love how her eyes just pop, the subtle glow on her cheeks and the neutral-nude lipstick shade. 

This look is so 'european-elegant' - I love how her eyes still take centre stage, but her lips are a deeper reddish-rose shade.  I find this look so sophisticated!

And finally, Berenice looks so smoldering and sexy with the defined black eyeliner, deep coloured hair and nude lips and cheeks.  I have complete envy for any woman who can work this look and make it look natural and this sexy!

NARS Pigalle Lipstick

Pigalle is such a stunning colour - when I put in on, I feel like its the perfect 'classic' shade.  To me, Pigalle seems like a deep brownish pink, a perfect everyday neutral that is a bit deeper and more sophisticated.  Its actually quite warm and works with a lot of warm neutrals like browns, creams, caramel, warm berry shades.  I wanted to create a makeup look that plays up on the warmth of this shade - I wanted a look that is both warm, rich and classic - this is what I came up with - check it out:

Classic makeup look:

Mineral Fusion Foundation in Warm

MAC NC 30 concealer

MAC Matte Bronze Bronzer

NARS Madly blush

Brule eyeshadow as base, soba on lid into crease, coffee liner (all MAC products) with NARS Galapagos smudged into upper lashline, Loft Brown mascara (MAC)

Pigalle Lipstick - NARS

Old Hollywood Glam! A tribute to the Soft Classics!

I love re-visiting anything 'Old Hollywood' - I love everything about the old screen sirens and starlettes - be it the hair, red-lipped makeup, clothes, the mannerisms and etiquette of the time.  I think women are so drawn to this age, because it represented a time of ultimate sophistication and elegance.  When I was reading and stuying David Kibbe's book 'metamorphasis' - I was excited to embrace my best style as 'Soft Classic' - a mix of classic with a touch of romantic flair and glam.  I was also excited to read that the following Old Hollywood starlets also share that Soft Classic 'aura' so to speak:


                                                               Joan Fontaine:

I love the warm red lip with a defined but subtle classic eye, clean eyebrows and smooth looking skin - this look is classic, soft, romantic and elegant!  I think this is the perfect evening dinner look!

Merle Oberon:

Merle Oberon is also a soft classic according to Kibbe and she has a very exotic look, but still a softness and romantic flair about her.  I love how her deep lip and contoured makeup really shine through in these black and white photos - there is high drama, but its not an exaggerated drama, its more of a feminine, delicate drama!

Norma Shearer:

I love Norma Shearer's look - when I first saw her photos I thought this is a woman I would love to sit down and have a coffee with - she seems strong, elegant, feminine and confident - exactly the qualities I admire - I love a woman who posses that balance between strength and ultra-femininity, which is really what soft classic is all about - its about being confident and livin with class, but also possessing that romantic, feminine flair - Norma exudes those qualities and that balance in her look!

Olivia De Haviland:

Move over Scarlet O'Hara - Olivia De Haviland posses that true Old Hollywood classic elegance!  Her 'soft' classic appeal is the essence of femininity!  I admire that her look is both strong and sexy, feminine yet confident - it seems like that balance is the key to describing the appeal of old hollywood sirens - these women had to be strong and resourcefull, but they never lost contact with that makes them feminine!

The Bronze Autumn

THe world really needs more of David Zyla, Suzanne Caygill, and other stylists who know the value and power of colour analysis.  David Zyla and Suzanne Caygill both seem to have similar style and colour archetypes - Zyla has a Bronze Autumn - Divine Diva archetype, which he describes as 'exotic' and seems to fit me very well.  Suzanne Caygill, similarily has a Bronze Autumn 'Magnetic' archetype - check it out:

Here is a photo of Caygill's bronze autumn magnetic next to two of my photos:

And here is a collage created by a Facebook friend Jen Marie based on David's Bronze Autumn - 'Divine Diva' archetype:

David's Zyla's book 'Color Your Style' is a Must-Have!  Getting your colours done is step one in my opinion, but putting your best self forward is more than just having a palette to work with, David's concepts of the archetypes and power colours makes your personal palette even more individual and specific to you.  I love the whole notion of an archetype - I was excited to get a personal message from David Zyla since creating a Facebook album called 'My Color Style - David Zyla' - David was nice enough to respond to a recent collage that I posted and wrote:

"Hi. You are indeed a Bronze Autumn, Renata! Thanks again for all of your support of The Color of Style! Best, David".  - David Zyla

David is so inspiring and getting a personal validation about my bronze autumn - divine diva archetype was so awesome - really shows that David does take the time to help others on their colour journey and is passionate about what he does - now I'm an even 'bigger' Zyla fan!!!

The next step for me is to really delve into the Bronze Autumn archetype and study David's concepts in even more depth - I look forward to continue sharing my colour journey with you all - this is so exciting!!!

ALso, definitely check out David's recent interview where he talks about finding your best 'LBD' shade - I'll definitely be doing a post about soon:
http://shine.yahoo.com/video/whats-style-little-black-dress-200009633.html

Top 3

I wanted to create a picture collage of my top 3 lipstick choices (all MAC lip colours) - Mocha (my everyday natural shade), Strength (my sophisticated day into night shade) and Chili (my elengant evening shade) - I want to perfect my So Chaud evening glam look, so stay tuned for an updated collage once I put a look together:

Collage 1:

                     Mocha                  Strength                 Chili                               

Mocha                  Strength                 Chili      

Give me STRENGTH

MAC Strength is the ultimate autumn lipstick - its perfect for this time of year and looks amazing with gold, bronze and copper toned shades.  I created a look with exactly this combination - using copper shades to contour, gold/bronze and golden olive shades on the eyes and Strength on the lips.  I recently did a post where I said I would stick to two lipsticks for one whole year and I've realized that two is almost impossible to stick to - not because I can't do it, but because a woman truely needs three shades - one natural for day, one 'sophisticated' shade for day into evening and one or two evening shades.  Mocha is still my favourite 'natural day' shade and Chili is still ideal as an evening shade, but strength is superb as that sophisticated day into night look. For glam events, So Chaud is my go-to fave.  Deciding to do a lipstick cleanse has been so inspiring because its really teaching me what the true value of lipstick is - there are hundreds of shades out there -do we need them all??? Absolutely not - buying lipstick after lipstick is not necessary, but having a functional set of colours that meets your needs - thats different!  So here is my tribute to my favourite 'Sophisticated Day' Look, which totally works for an evening out as well:

Here is the makeup that I used for this look:

I started with my basic foundation, concealer and bronzer as powder. I then used MAC's pro sculpt cream in Copper Beech as a contour and Goldmine eyeshadow as a highlight shade. I mixed Brule and Retrospeck as an eyeshadow base shade and Goldmine with Soba to apply from the lid into the crease and then used Bronze eyeshadow in the crease and outter corners. I used Teddy eyeliner and smudged with NARS Galapagos on the top/bottom lashlines and then used MAC's Desires and Devices liquid liner on the top lashline before finishing with Zoom lash mascara in Loft Brown. I mixed Gingerly blush with Mineralize blush in Gold Deposit and finished off this golden look with STRENGTH lipstick!!!