Tis the season…
Every year, I hope for new trends and most years I am disappointed that the same styles are regurgitated. Finally, this year is a little different and its dark, very dark!
Vampy lips are my favourite trend this season and they are not your standard deep reds. Im talking deep berry colours, the darkest you can find. Plums colours are amazing as are blackcurrant. Team this with a nude eye and plenty of mascara with perhaps even a soft brown eyeshadow. The lips need to be the focus for this.
TIP: Dark lipstick colours are much more flattering with a little bit of gloss applied, nothing too overboard. Just a little applied to the bottom lip and pressed together with the top lip will do to add a bit of texture.
On my recent trip to Los Angeles, I fell in love with purple eyeliner. The key here is to keep the rest of your look fairly neutral. Apply a wash of gold metallic eyeshadow over your lids an then line the top lashes with a deep purple eyeliner. For the bottom lashes, either a black or a brown will look great. Opt for a fairly nude colour on your lips, perhaps a pink or a soft brown.
TIP: This looks great for green eyes and fair hair AKA me!
A new favourite of mine for pale skin types is a rose gold eyeshadow. Worn by itself with no liner and a few lashings of mascara has such an impact and will really make your eyes pop. Team it with a bright red lipstick for a little bit of a clash that will make you the belle of the ball.
If you have dark skin, try bright fuchsias on your lips and a dark green eyeliner. If your lips are fairly dark, then mute them down a little bit with foundation to create an even base.
If you are pale, try purple or blue eyeliners with deeper shades of lipstick.
Olive toned skins could try gold or silver eyeshadow and very deep reds.
It is all about experimenting constantly to find out what is right for you and what goes with your favourite outfit, and more importantly, which lipstick will last under the mistletoe and mulled wine!
To help your pout stay put, apply a lip liner over your entire lips and then add your colour, blot, then reapply the lipstick and neaten the edges with the same lip liner. For added staying power, you could always apply ‘Lipcote’ which will seal in the colour.
You simply cannot go wrong with blow dried curls as seen mainly on Blake Lively, my girl crush. If you haven’t quite mastered blow-drying your hair in to curls, use the hair straighteners or a curling tong to curl your hair and while they are still hot, roll them up in to velcro rollers and allow to cool. Simply unravel them and rake through with your fingers.
I always think that as individuals, we should be experimenting with our looks and really trying to find out who we are. Christmas is a perfect time to experiment. Have a play around with lipstick colours and eye shadow shades to figure out what works for you.