Spicing Up Your Makeup in the Office Place

Like many of you, I’m one of the millions of people that gets up every morning to go to my 9 – 5, leaving fun makeup and bright colors for weekends only. Well, this is just not enough for me to let my makeup freak flag fly, and I’m sure so many of you feel the same. So how do we express ourselves without our bosses thinking we’re psychos?

Unfortunately, you should leave the bright, neon or super dramatic eye shadows for the weekends. While you may think that your bright blue or green eye shadow is not distracting, it can be, and can also make you seem very unprofessional. Most of the people that visit my site won’t judge you on your expressive eye makeup, but others, who aren’t as into it as us, most likely will.

How do you show some color without covering the whole lid then? A smooth sweep of colored eyeliner can be all you need to brighten your look up. Pair this with some natural eye shadow and you’re set! To keep you look sleek and sexy, steer clear of pencils that can leave a harsh look. You can purchase great liquid eyeliners from Tarte or Makeup Forever – but I usually choose to use my wet/dry eye shadows. Not sure which color to pick to make your eyes stand out the most? Here are some tips:

Blue Eyes: Copper, Bronze, Brown, Eggplant
Green Eyes: Gold, Eggplant/Purple, Brown, Bronze
Brown Eyes: Blue, Eggplant/Purple, Burnt Orange
Hazel Eyes: Brown, Bronze, Copper, Gold, Eggplant/Purple

To emphasize the color on your eyeliner the most, stick with a simple and light color on your lids. I usually apply matte taupe across my entire lid, and then a slightly darker matte brown in my crease. Be sure to blend these well with a soft shading brush.

When applying your colored eyeliner, start with a very thin line (I use my angle brush to apply mine, but the applicator on your liquid eyeliner can work as well). If you are using liquid eyeliner, apply some mascara before, and be careful not to brush passed your lashes when applying – this can make your mascara look clumpy and make your eyelashes stick together. Wing it out for a cute retro look.

I always use black eyeliner on my waterline, even if I use colored eyeliner on top. This will further define the eye, especially if you’re using a lighter colored line on top. It’s your choice on whether or not you want to line the bottom waterline. I opt against it usually, bringing more attention to my sexy lids.
Last step – apply your mascara. I usually go with two or three coats, making sure I define each individual lash as best as possible. Be careful when applying. You don’t want to get any black residue on your lid by being sloppy with your mascara brush!

Finish with a simple lip and you’re set!

I’m sure you will have all of your coworkers jealous of your beauty…or, should I say, even MORE jealous!

Matching Your Makeup to Your Clothing - Is It A No Go?

Lately I've been concentrating a lot on my wardrobe, attempting to make myself look a little less sloppy than I have been in the past couple of years. I've bought things I never imagined I would wear, in colors I've never dared go near. I love wearing gray and black, which are great because you can do any makeup you want and it'll still work.

So yesterday I was faced with a dilemma that I never really thought about before. I was wearing a green argile sweater: bright green with light green diamonds on it. Somehow the idea of wearing Being True's Malachite and Serpentine shadows (which both matched the colors in my sweater perfectly) seemed like a good idea. A little bell inside my head rang, however, and I decided to go with a neutral eye.

Somewhere, some time in my life, I was told not to match my shadow to my clothing. But why? Who the hell made this up, and why did I listen? While it may be a little ridiculous to match EVERYTHING on your face to your clothing, is it really that bad to match your shadow to your shirt? If I wore my green shadows with my sweater, would I be arrested by the makeup police?

I'd like to think I know a great deal about everything beauty, but somehow I can't decide if this is right or not. What do you guys think? Do you match your shadows to your shirt? Your lipstick? How much is too much?

Super Shimmery Eyeshadow - Perfect Holiday Item?

Good Monday everyone! Happy Chanukah to all of you who celebrate, and I hope your festivities are going wonderfully. Luckily I got the rest of my holiday shopping done, so I don't have to step foot into a mall unless I decide to lose my sanity for a bit.

My family, boyfriend and I visited New York City and Rockefeller Center this Saturday to see the tree, and boy was it FRIGID! I did notice a couple of beauty trends as I was walking around and going into all the best cosmetic stores...two of which were neon pink blush (no bueno) and ridiculously shimmery eyeshadows.

First off, the blush I saw on some women as I was strolling the streets was slightly horrifying. Nothing is more frightening to me than hot pink or bright peach blush layered onto lovely faces. Please, NEVER, EVER apply more than just a slight hint of color to your cheeks. I'd love to give these women the benefit of the doubt and assume it was a combination of blush and bitter cold that gave them this baby doll look, but I don't think that's true...

Now, onto a trend I'm kind of falling in love with: super shimmery eye shadows. The Sephora home page for the month of December greets you with an adorable model who's eyes are bedazzled. Even when watching the NYC tree lighting on TV last week, the shimmery eye shadows were blowing my mind! So what are the pros and cons of this glittery shadow?

PROS:

• Feeling like a glam princess! Nothing screams glamorous more than bright, glittery shadows that make you look and feel like you're a diva.
• Catching everyone's attention. With eyes that capture the light and shine on, you will surely get everyone to check you out. And as long as you apply to your lid and slightly over your crease ONLY, it'll be for all the right reasons.
• Allowing your gorgeous face to get as much attention as your super sequined outfits. The big fashion trend right now is sequins on everything. Sequined dresses, sequined leggings, sequined sequins...how do you get people to look at your face when you're wearing clothes that make you look like a disco ball? Give your eyes a little sparkle and see how quick the attention goes to your pretty peepers.

CONS:

• Shimmer everywhere! If you're not careful with your application, you can get glitter everywhere...your cheeks, your forehead, and if you're like me, even in your eyes. You have to be extra careful when applying these shimmery shadows, since they have bigger particles that can get into your eyes and actually scratch your corneas if you rub (this has happened to me, and take my word for it, it's horrible). Getting the shimmer on your cheeks and rest of your face is an easy fix, but getting it in your eyes, not so great. If you don't have a brush that holds your shadows tight during application, go for a cream or gel shadow that won't budge. One of my favorites? Sephora's Glitter Cream Eyeshadow. They have a set of four on sale now for $20!
• Not-so-great pictures. When your eyeshadow shines, great pictures could be a tricky thing to achieve. Think of that flash that blinds you after you take a picture, and imagine it reflecting right off your eyelids. It doesn't wind up so pretty. Holidays are a big time to get pictures with your loved ones, and you don't want to be the one asking for another picture every time that shutter goes off. How do you avoid this? Try to angle your face slightly down and look up into the picture to avoid getting too much of your glittery eyelid in the picture. You can also try to shut the flash off if it seems plausible.
• Over-Doing it. Nothing is worse than seeing someone with the same color eyeshadow up to their eyebrows. Same goes for these shadows. When you have extra glitter on your eyes, remember that you can stop slightly above the lid and get a great look. You don't necessarily need to blend different colors together or even use a contour color in your crease. Take it easy with these shadows and remember that fewer colors lead to better results.

Try out a couple of different application techniques and see what works best for your eye shape and size. Not sure what color to try out? Silver works great with almost everyone, while blues and greens work great on those with darker eyes. So would you want to try out wearing these crazy shimmery eyeshadows? Go for it!

Trends To Try For Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is right around the corner...that means seeing family you haven't seen in a year, including your ever critical aunts and cousins who swear they know better than you and pick your style apart. How do you impress them this Thanksgiving and keep them quiet when they see your beautiful face?

There are a couple of big trends this Thanksgiving that you should stick with to ensure yourself a critic-free holiday season:

1. Bold Lips

I'm sure you've seen that bold lips are definitely the hot thing for winter. These striking lip colors in plums, browns and reds don't come without strings attached. The most important thing to remember about dark lip pigments (especially lipstick) is that they bleed into your skin. Be sure to line your lips with a similar color before applying a dark lip color. The wax in the lipliner will act as a barrier and keep your lipstick on your lips, not on your skin.

Don't work against your skin tone. Red is a pretty universal color for all shades of skin, but be careful when picking a plum or brown. If your skin is too pink, browns probably wouldn't be your best bet- stick with this if you have warm skin tones. Plum looks best on those with a cool complexion, so if you do have that rosy complexion, this will be your go to color.

Keep the eyes neutral if you wear a bright lip color. If you stick with the same color pallet, it usually works out great. If you're wearing a brown lip, stick with taupes and browns on your eyes. Plum lips would pair great with some smokey purples.

2. Blush Instead of Bronzer

My biggest pet peeve is seeing women who look over-bronzed or super tan from October to March. Unless you went on an off-season vacation and your tan is REAL, I would tone the bronzer down. Nowadays it seems women forget about blush and use bronzer as the only tool to add color to their face. The best thing about winter is the adorable, natural rosy color most people get when it's cold out.

Try a nice powder blush in a peachy or mauve color. Make sure to apply correctly: coat a big blush brush slightly into the compact, tap out any excess, and give a big smile. Apply to the apples of your cheeks, being careful not to get it onto your undereye area. Drag across with your brush towards your ears.

Blush will highlight your face very differently than bronzer does. By defining your cheek bones, your face will brighten up and glow. If you feel you can't live without your bronzer, apply a light dusting right under your blush. Be careful not to apply too dark, and your face will look fresh and bright!

3. Practical Hairstyle

Thanksgiving is most well known for is eating (duh) and if you're like me, the last thing you need is your hair in your face while you're attempting to chomp down.

If you have long hair and don't want to sport an every day ponytail, try a cute side braid that will keep hair out of your way while still looking adorable. Not into the side braid? Pull the front section of your hair on one side of your head back and accessorize by holding it back with a sweet hair broach (I'm all about the rhinestones).

If your hair isn't long enough to make a braid with, you can go with a simple elastic headband. It will do it's job of keeping your hair out of the way, and act as a great accessory to your outfit. A ton of stores are coming out with great headbands- I always find perfect headbands at Charlotte Russe or Target.


Thanksgiving is a holiday I like to keep comfortable. Showing your family how gorgeous you are is only part of the deal. Wear something cute and stylish, but remember you're probably going to want your after dinner nap! Jeggings or leggings and a nice flowy top is what's on my agenda to wear...nothing beats comfy stretch pants and a top to hide your full belly!

Are you planning anything special with your look for Thanksgiving? What will you be trying out?