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: Sunset Eye Tutorial

I was just thinking the other day that I needed a little winter "Pick Me Up" and what better way to do that than with some fun make-up?

I will start this tutorial off by saying I am a major magazine junkie. I have just about about every one (Elle, Glamour, Teen Vogue, Vogue, Seventeen, etc...) And I find myself often aimlessly reading for hours, ripping out pictures, pasting them together and trying it for myself.
This look is inspired by a look from the May 2012 Seventeen magazine, and I have done it more than once, that's how much I love it! 
It's perfect for summertime, spring time, or (If you're like me) all year round.

The main colors used are yellow, orange and a deep, coral red:

Whenever I follow these tutorials from magazines I always tend to do some things different when I try them out for myself, so what I'm doing isn't precisely what is listed as the instructions from the magazine.

 After I have applied all of my foundation,  primer and concealer, I start on my eyes. Always use a  primer with your eye shadow for long lasting wear (I love Urban Decay Eye Primer, but you can use whatever you like. If you need something from your current make-up you can always use some concealer on the lids, which will help the colors last)

1. Take you lightest color (in this case the yellow. You can use any brand you like, but I would make sure it's high pigmented, something that will show up vibrant!) and apply it from the inner corners of your eye, across the entire lid and brow bone, and underneath the bottom lid. This will serve as your base, and brightens up the eyes.

2. Next, take your darker color (Orange in this case) and apply it to the lid. Apply into the crease and three quarters of the way on your lid. Use your blending brush to blend in.

4. To finish the eyes, curl your lashes with a lash curler and apply mascara of your choice (I like Victoria Secret, or Clinique)

For the lips, you can choose a coral or a red. I choose a coral for my look. I used Aveda Star Coral Lipstick. To finish the look, sweep on your favorite blush (Preferably a pink color in dark or light.)

I like the idea of this look being more matte, so I opted out of using shimmery colors or glossy lips.
You can style your hair however you would like. To enhance the dramatic eye and bold lip I pulled my hair into a high ponytail, or you could even try a bun. I accessorized  lightly- I wore some Anchor styled earrings from Forever 21, similar to these:

Here was my finished look!

<3mykel