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With the recent arrival of Autumn, I made the trip up to the attic to pull down all my sweaters and long pants, and put away my summer skirts and tanks. And I made a mental note to try a little something new with my look this week. For most women, this means buying a new wardrobe. But the best kept secret of updating your look may simply be a new lip or eye color.
Here are 6 reasons you should consider a more simple approach to acquiring that exciting new look this fall, and skip the shopping splurge at Nordstrom. 1) A new makeup look is fresh and attractive. 2) You can wear it with almost anything, anywhere. 3) You get more wear out of it than a new outfit because you can wear it everyday. 4) You feel great in it every time you wear it. 5) It’s cheaper than a new wardrobe. 6) No dry-cleaning required.
Now let’s talk about what to try this fall season.
Makeup artist Samantha Lennon at www.beautynewsnyc.com sums up the fall 2008 beauty trends, “I’ve been seeing previews and I think this fall, we will see the continuation of the sculpted, designed face, with contouring under cheekbones. For smoky eyes, purples and grays will reign. There will be lots of glitter, too. The glitter will be that 1970s-type look. It’s a very clubby look for the eyes. Oh and how could I forget! Eyebrows will be back this fall, in a big way.”
This week I’ll break down a few of the hottest makeup trends for this fall season so stay tuned for a new tip each day. You may even want to try them all!
Smokey Eyes and Shimmer: Smokey eyes can be an everyday look by simply applying them lighter, and then with deeper color for the evening. If you have hazel, green eyes, try smokey eyes with shades of purple and lavender like MK’s Sweet Plum, Iris, Dusty Lilac. If you have blue eyes or brown eyes, play with shades of gray like MK’s Granite, or even an earthy gold like Vintage Gold or Amber Blaze mixed with shades of olives and greens. Shimmery and sparkly is what it’s all about for the holiday season! Stunningly beautiful. See Marie Claire’s simple how-to for smokey eyes here.
It is always helpful to hear what others are saying about a product. In fact I have been known to pour over product reviews on Amazon for way too long, reading what everyone has to say about a particular item. Well, in order to keep you on task today so that you don’t spend too much time reading 40 opinions, here are two simple reviews from customers who tried the MK Lip Gloss. In fact, everyone I know who has treated their lips to this one, has loved them because they are moisturizing, not sticky, and available in beautiful shades. I usually choose my items based on how many people gave a positive review, and for this one 100% of the ratings are 5 stars.
I’m a Chapstick girl through and through! I’ve been known to have 4+ tubes stashed in various places. I almost panicked on my trip to Europe when I’d forgotten to bring even one!! I had stuck in my MK Lip Gloss though. I wasn’t convinced it could stand up to my usual lip routine, but it did! I wore it constantly for two full weeks. My lips were never dry or cracked and never got chapped. I still have several Chapstick tubes lying around, but my MK Lip Gloss gets just as much “wear-time!” (Melissa, Seattle, WA)
I am loving the lip gloss I picked up the other day. It’s been great and helps me feel more pulled together. I’ve never consistently worn anything on my lips, but I really enjoy this gloss! (Emily, Seattle, WA).
Melissa’s favorite gloss is Melon Sorbet and Emily’s is Beach Bronze. See all of the MK Nourishine Lip Gloss shades here.
This weekend I went for a walk at the lake and unexpectedly ran into thousands of women running for the Aflac Iron Girl 5K and 10K run. I have never witnessed a race like this so close and found myself almost embarrassingly moved. I don’t know what it was, but a tear came sneaking out of the corner of my eye, (thank goodness for sunglasses), at the sight of all these women running together being cheered on by those standing on the sidelines.
My sister had been trying to get me to train for a triathlon and now she is attempting to talk me into a half marathon. I keep turning her down because I’m just not interested in all that work. Put another way, I’m lazy. And before now I haven’t been able to come up with a good reason to put my body through that kind of torture. But after seeing this race I did have to give her some credit. Something about the race looked very invigorating and exciting: being a part of something so large, pushing beyond what you think your limits are, reaching a goal, and setting your mind to something and making it happen.
One thing that stood out to me was that there were all types of women there, young girls in their preteens, older women in their 70’s, trim and in-shape women along with those that were not, tall women, short women, natural athletes and not-so-natural athletes, tired women and energized women. Everyone was included. All you had to do was sign up and decide you were going to make it your goal to finish a 5 or 10K. You didn’t have to be a marathon finisher or an Olympic athlete or even a college athlete, just a woman with determination.
As I was walking back from the coffee shop that morning I heard the announcer say, “You ladies look great!” and I thought, “How perfect.” He might have been talking about their sweaty foreheads and straining faces as they raced to the finish line, but I don’t think that’s what he was noticing. He was noticing women out there pushing themselves beyond what they normally do, unafraid of where they placed in comparison to others, and willing to risk failure or embarrassment in order to finish what they set out to accomplish. He saw women with a goal in mind and determination to make it to that goal, proud of what they had achieved. Now that is looking great.
Have you seen the new 2 page spread ads from Mary Kay in some of the most popular magazines this summer and fall? Keep an eye out so you can earn $10 in MK products! If you have seen one of the ads, comment to this post with following information (Name of Magazine, Issue/Month, Your Thoughts on the Ad) and you’ll receive a $10 MK product gift certificate from me! The 2 page spread feature the new face of Mary Kay in sleek black with the new eco-chic compact. I would LOVE your feedback and thoughts on MK’s new look!
(If you comment, but I don’t already have your contact info, you can send your contact info confidentially to me at lauramjackson@marykay.com). Offer expires 12.31.08.
Finding the perfect lip color can be frustrating and a bit intimidating when you see the unending line of lipstick shades that are available. By the time you’ve tried on 12 different shades you can’t remember what color your lips naturally are, your lips are parched from applying and removing different lipsticks, and you wonder how healthy it is that you just shared a tube of lip color with every other women who stopped at the counter! So you usually end up grabbing the color most like the same color you always buy and run for the door (after paying for it of course). After wearing it for a while you decide the color isn’t what you had hoped and you toss it to the back of the drawer where it rolls around with the 9 other tubes of lipsticks with the same fate. Sound familiar?
Here is a little tip that will send you in a different direction on the quest for the perfect lip color.
The secret to a great color is to first find your base color! Once you do this, you can basically wear almost any color and it will look great on you! Your perfect base lipstick and lip liner should match the inside of your mouth, just inside your lips as you pout.
I have to admit, before I tried this trick myself, I was a bit skeptical. To begin the experiment I first exfoliated and softened my lips with Satin Lips which is always a treat (for myself and my husband who gets to kiss them!) Then I tried my new base color, Sheer Blush, and my new base lip liner, Dusty Pink, by applying them first to my lips. I did this 4 separate times as I tried four colors I wouldn’t normally wear – an outrageous orange, a brown, red, and a berry. It was amazing because they all looked great! My favorite was the orange and berry toned lip color.
The base color can be used underneath any color, or on top of colors that are too intense. You can also wear just your base color as an everyday look for natural looking lips. The great thing is that with just one new lip color, you have yourself hundreds of possibilities that will look great! Finally you can wear all those retired colors rolling around in your drawer.
It does sound awkward to be pulling your lip down trying to match the color of your inside pout, so another secret is that you can also match the color to your fingertips! The color that disappears is your perfect match, just like foundation.
Voila – great looking lips!
If you live in the Seattle area and would like help finding your perfect match with a free lip consultation, contact me via my website and we’ll find your base color for the perfect pout! It’s very fun!
Beautiful You 