I think I've mentioned this before, but as a reminder, I am NOT a makeup artist nor do I claim to be fully capable of doing even my own makeup a lot of the time. This means that if I suggest something makeup related on this blog, it's probably [almost] idiot-proof.
That said, I've gone a little outside of my makeup box (again). I have a manager at work who's always wearing bright pink lipstick. I admire this for a couple of reasons. First, she can pull it off. Second, we work in public accounting...and approximately 3% of the office gives a fuck about what their faces look like, so the people (women) who make an effort definitely stand out.
A group of us went out for dinner/happy hour and somehow the topic of makeup, specifically lipstick, came up (of course?). At some point, it was suggested that I should try lipstick. So I naturally found myself at the Nars counter at Nordies...here are my favorite finds:
1) Best Pink - Carthage: I love this color because it's not too Barbie (though the photo may look it). It's a true, matte, bright pink - not a baby/bright pink (which is what I would call "Barbie") and no tacky shimmer. I love the matte lipsticks because they tend to be a little more subtle but can be played up with a layer of gloss on top!
2) Best Red - Vesuvio: I chose this red because it's not too "classic" red. When I think of a traditional red lip, I think of a fire engine, a holly berry and/or a street walker. This is not THAT color. It's rich, but not in-your-face bright red.
3) Best Coral - Torres del Paine: I've been seeing a lot of coral these days, especially on lips. My fear was that I wouldn't be able to find one that didn't scream orange, but this is the perfect combination of a summer pink and a summer orange - and I'm in LOVE with the lip pencils. They go on super smooth and are so easy to apply!
4) Best Neutral/Pink - Tolede: This is a much more subtle hue, which I love for an natural/daytime look. It appears a little more mauve in the photo than it is in person - "neutral pink" is the best way I can describe it!
5) Best Nude - Isola Bella: Again, I love this for a more natural look, especially for summer. It's super smooth and what I would describe as a "sophisticated' color.
So I am the FIRST person to tell you that my expertise is not doing makeup. However, my lack of skill in this department has led me to look long and hard to find products that are basically idiot-proof and make my morning a little easier.
Eyebrows are one of those things you really don't want to screw up. First of all, they're on your face. Second, there's that whole symmetry thing you have to worry about. I have blonde eyebrows, which is way more awkward than it sounds - natural blondes out there feel me on this - but I'm terrified of eyebrow pencils or powder to fill them in. I'm always like one swift move away from looking like a hooker. Through high school I just kind of let them be blonde out of laziness. When I moved to L.A. for school I had to find a new place to get my eyebrows done, which was a daunting task. My roommate/sorority sister (yes, I got a bid even with the blonde eyebrows) and I asked every girl in our dorm from Beverly Hills that had good eyebrows for recommendations. We ended up at Benefit on 3rd, where I was convinced to tint my brows a few shades darker. Genius. I HIGHLY recommend this if you have blonde eyebrows.
Fast forward to last month...I went in to get my eyebrows waxed and tinted on a weekday morning (because people at work believe that I have a "doctor's appointment" at 11am once a month and don't care that I come in late...). Normally, I get them done either on a weekend or on my way home from work so I don't have to worry about redness, etc., but this time I asked her to clean them up so I didn't get busted at work when I walked in with freshly waxed eyebrows.... She used Benefit's "Gimme Brow" fiber gel product to fill in and make my brows stay in place. I was immediately addicted. It's kind of like mascara for your brows: it makes them look much more full, defined and clean. I use the light/medium shade and it's perfect. It's also great for that "in-between" period when you don't quite need a brow wax yet, but the color starts to fade because you can kind of layer it to get a slightly darker tint! Thank you, Benefit, for saving me from the street-walker eyebrow look.
So everyone knows that NARS Laguna bronzer and Orgasm blush are like the best two makeup products ever made. Well let me introduce you to the third: NARS "Pure Radiant" tinted moisturizer.
Let me start by saying that I am NOT a big makeup person. First of all, it's expensive. Second, one of my biggest fears is looking like one of those crazy cake-faced girls that wears way too much of it. If you're not good at makeup and you wear a lot of it, you typically end up looking cake-faced...and I am not very "good" at makeup. I wear bronzer, blush, a little eyeliner and mascara. Oh and I dye my eyebrows darker because they're blonde, but I let someone do that for me. Messed up eyebrows are impossible to fix so I leave it to the pros.
Anyway, I went to order my night-time moisturizer last week and a free sample of this new NARS product came with my purchase (from Nordstom, and the promotion is still going on). I am pretty light-skinned (luck of the Irish) and somehow I ended up with the medium shade "St. Moritz" as the sample. The shade did actually work for my skin once I let it soak in a little bit, but I ended up going back to the store and buying the lighter "Alaska" shade for keeps.
I don't normally use any foundation because I'm afraid of it causing breakouts--in addition to the cake phenomenon--so I was skeptical about using something so "make-up-y." What did attract me to it is the SPF 30 protection it offers. I used to use a Mario Bedescu daily moisturizer with SPF 15, but they changed their formula and only offer an SPF 30 product that is specifically sunscreen (and smells like it). The NARS tinted moisturizer offers (non-smelly) sunscreen protection as well as a little tint/coverage to smooth out my complexion, without that obvious make-up look that I hate fear to see on women. It's really lightweight and blends perfectly. Best of all, you can apply it just like you would any daily moisturizer--no brushes, sponges, makeup pads, etc. It might be one of the only makeup products I feel compelled to post about (I feel a post about the Laguna/Orgasm combo has been done one too many times)...so it MUST be good, right? Obviously.
