Fall is just around the corner and it's time to get gorgeous with a different color palette! Now I WILL be sad to say goodbye to my bronzers, but HELLOOO beautiful berries! I'm talking about those lips ladies!!! Think Tuscany on those babies! Like you just had a few sips (or large gulps) of red wine and it stained your lips just so, and everything in the world is just right for that ONE moment... as long as you didn't chug it to the point of a Kool-Aid mustache (please tell me you didn't).
Anywhoooo, I am super stoked about these awesome berries! Now before you climb into your Suburban in your nightgown to go get the latest colors before everyone else has them, don't you wanna know how to properly apply them? And don't you wanna know what the rest of your face should look like? That's what I thought.
So-first, make sure your lips are nicely exfoliated and that you aren't applying anything to dry, chapped lips. If you have no lip exfoliant, that's OK. Take an old toothbrush, dip it in a little bit of Vaseline, and gently rub it in circular motions. Then you wipe your lips off with a clean, damp wash cloth.
Next, apply lip primer. My favorite is MAC's Prep and Prime Lip. Not too much, though. This will just seal the lip-you don't want it to act as lip balm!
After, apply your berry color in LIGHT coats-you want it to stain your lips as you would a red lipstick to keep it from bleeding/feathering. Make sure to keep it within your natural lip line. Then (as with red lipstick) BLOT, BLOT, BLOT! And make sure you use a paper towel, not Kleenex or toilet paper. They're too thin and will wither leave you with one-ply lips, or with a bunch of little fuzzies and you'll have gritty lips all day-eew. I don't recommend putting gloss on top of the lipstick simply because this will cause your lipstick to "move" (it will go outside of your lip line or bleed/feather). Besides, berry lips look better as a matte or satin, in my opinion, unless you're specifically choosing a berry gloss only.
For the rest of your face, keep it simple and monochromatic. Because you're focusing on the lip, you don't want to pair this with crazy eyeshadow. I would hate to see you bust outta the house with frosty electric blue shadow and this berry lip. If you do this, I may not be able to claim you-sorry. ;) However, keep you shadows in the the soft plums, pinks, and neutrals. Cheeks will follow the same rule-no bright pink cheeks! Keep them in the soft mochas and neutrals as well. Make sure your skin looks soft and clean, not overdone with bronzer-remember, in the fall, we lose our tans from summer!
OK, now before you read this, change into some clothes before you decide to jump into your Suburban with your credit card in hand...
Here are some of my favorite berries:
My hands-down favorite because this one looks good on EVERYBODY: Clinique's Almost Lipstick in Black Honey (the picture at the top of the page)
MAC Lipstick in Craving or Captive
Stila's Cherry Crush Lip Stain
Maybelline Water Shine Fusion Berry Intense in Berry
L'Oreal's Colour Juice Lip Gloss in Cherry on Top (if you prefer a gloss)
