How To: Vixen Red Lips.

Red lips are a classic, everybody knows it. There are lots of shades you can wear, depending on your skin tone and hair color. Your red lip color should be an obvious fit for you- it should stand out alone, as well as bring out your skin and hair tones.

If you have fair skin look for more coral tones and oranges:
Listed below are some of my recommendations:

• AVEDA "Star Coral" Lipstick
• NYX "Indie Flick"
• CHANEL "Enthusiast" Lipstick
• My Pick: MAC "Morange"

for medium skin go for true reds, and really rich oranges:

• Chanel Rouge Allure in "Lover"
• MAC "Ruby Roo" Lipstick
• My Pick: Clinique in "Red Red Red"

For dark skin look for colors that are deep and rich- if these colors are too light they will create too much of a contrast and create a harsh look.

• CHANEL in "Bloody" 
• AVEDA in "Rare Orchid"
•  MAC in "Absolute Power"
• My Pick: AVEDA in "Tanzanite"

Now that you  have found the perfect shade for your skin tone, we'll talk about application:

1. Prep your lips. 
You can have a gorgeous lip color, but if your lips are flaking and dry then I promise it won't be worth it! Exfoliate your lips. You can start by brushing them with your toothbrush while you are brushing your teeth. "Kiss Me" by Philosophy works great!

An inexpensive alternative to Philosophy, is to take a reusable mascara wand (You can usually buy them in bulk for under 3.00) and any kind of lip balm, preferably thick, and apply it to the mascara want. Then use the bristle end of the wand to exfoliate your lips, brushing back and forth on you lips for at least a minute. Because Mascara wands are meant to be used on your eyelashes (one of the most delicate parts of your face) it will not be harsh on your lips.


2. Prime your lips.
You can use whichever primer you like. Some good choices are Urban Decay Lip Primer Potion or  MAC Prep + Prime.

3. Line your lips.
 I recommend matching your lip liner to the same brand as your lipstick, mostly because it will match better than any other brand. I like to line not only my lips, but also fill in my lips with the liner as well- it gets really good coverage and helps the lipstick adhere to your lips for longer lasting wear. It also makes the color pop more.

4. Take a concealer brush, or a Q-tip and apply foundation to the out line of your lips (around your mouth) This will help them to look more natural around your mouth.

5.  Apply your choice of lipstick and if you like glosses, or if you are using a Matte lipstick, you can apply a gloss... I personally love the Matte look, so normally I opt out of glosses.



Here is my finished look!


In this picture I am wearing Clinique "Red Red Red"- it is such a glamours color, and definitely gets you that Hollywood Scarlet look you are looking for!

Here I am wearing CoverGirl Outlast in 430

<3 mykel

How To: MAC "All About Pink" Look

Pink is my favorite color. MAC is one of my favorite Cosmetic lines, so it only makes sense that I would merge the two together :)

Products I used on my "All About Pink" look:

EYES:

MAC Eye shadow: White Frost

MAC Eye shadow: Miss Piggy Pink

MAC Eye shadow: Pink Freeze

Clinique Eyes hadow: Strawberry Fudge Duo

Clinique Mascara

Almay Liquid Eyeliner in Black

LIPS:

MAC Satin Lipstick: Viva Glam Nicki Minaj Collection

Aveda Nourish-Mint Rehydrating Lip Glaze: Agave Nectar

1. Prime your eyelids with an eye primer of your choice.

2. Apply MAC White Frost eye shadow in the inner corner of your eye, on your lid, as well as underneath your brow. This will open up the eye.

3. I wanted this look to be eye catching without a whole lot of shimmer, so I started with my Clinique Strawberry fudge duo using the Strawberry and swept it underneath my brow bone and in the inner corners of my eyes. Apply this color on your bottom lash line, also focusing on the inner corner of your eyes. The light shimmer of this makes your eyes pop!

4. Then apply your MAC Missy Piggy Pink eye shadow across your entire lid, and onto the crease.

5. Take your MAC Pink Freeze eye shadow and apply it three quarters of the way on the outer corner of your eyes, and well onto your crease. Use a blending brush to blend into the crease.

6. Apply your liquid liner to the top of your eyelid only (This helps to open up the eyes) starting at the inner corner of your eye, and sweeping it outwards, thickening the product as you reach the outer corner of your eye to create a more natural effect.

7. Curl Your Lashes.

8. Apply two coats of mascara.

Whenever I think of Pink I always think of soft curls, so that was the look that I decided to go for. You can wear your hair however you like, but I chose to curl it and sweep it off my shoulders into a loose bun.

Here are two pictures of my finishing look. I did two; one with eyeliner and one without.

These are the three Eye shadows used: Pink Frost, Miss Piggy Pink, Pink Freeze.

Here is the Viva Glam Nicki Minaj Lipstick

Clinique Strawberry Fudge Duo (Strawberry Side)

Aveda Agave Nectar Glaze

<3 mykel