Holiday Face + Nails Inspiration
I don’t often get too crazy with my nails, in fact usually I have a gel color on that lasts me for weeks. I received this brilliant emerald green polish in my Birchbox last month. Wondering what a Birchbox is? Great, I’ll explain.
Once a month, I get a small box of 4-5 “Deluxe Size” beauty samples. They’re always a surprise, but are based off preferences I picked when I first joined. I’ve been a member for over a year now and each month I have received new and different things to try out. From make primers to mascaras, perfumes to lotions, and face cleansers. Sometimes I even get chocolate. They’re all mini sized, but big enough to last a month at least. They give you the option to buy the full size product later with free shipping from them. You get points towards products when you review and buy items, which brings the cost down further. It’s $10 a month, for essentially a little present to open in your mailbox all year long.
If you would like an invite to join, you may click here — please know that I get some points for each person that joins at my invitation.
To get the “silver tipped” look, use Essie’s newest limited edition collection of sparkly goodness — this is “Set In Stones” — after 2 coats of your base color. Apply a large goopy amount of the glitter polish to the tips and then wipe the excess off from the brush back in the bottle. Using the clean brush, drag the glob of sparkles slowly up your nail bed until it looks just right. Be sure to apply a good, thick layer of top coat or you’ll snag your glitter chunks (har har) on your favorite pair of tights. Ask me how I know.
Looking for some make up inspiration for the holiday season (even though it’s nearing a close …) then you’re probably looking for the classic red lip with a simple cat-eye lined lid.
Sorry I’m so close to you here. You can probably see my contact lenses and smell my breath at this point. For a nice and simple cat eye, pick up a felt tipped liquid eye liner. My favorite is Smashbox’s Limitless Liquid Liner Pen. I always refer back to Keiko Lynn’s quick tutorial about winged liner, but essentially you’ll need to play with the technique during some downtime, just to get the feel for it. If you’ve never attempted this before and you’re running 10 minutes late for a party, please, save yourself the hassle and don’t attempt to do it right then and there. The felt tip however will help with control, versus a brush tip.
When I wear bright lips and winged liner, I like to keep the rest of my make up simple. I’m wearing a pale shimmery eye shadow — Urban Decay’s Midnight Cowgirl. I have several coats of mascara on (Tarte Amazonian Gifted Clay) and a touch of flush to my cheeks (Benefit Benetint in Rose) with a bit of sparkle dust as well.
For a perfect red lip, it’s essential that you first line and fill in your lip completely with a matching pencil. Not only will this help avoid feathering and bleeding, but it will help saturate the color and keep it from wearing off where your lips are moist nearer to your mouth. I like to line just on the very outside edge of my lip, to make them a touch fuller. Once you’ve completely colored the whole lip in with the pencil, then apply your lipstick in the same manner women have been doing for years: carefully with a bit of a sexy opened mouth. You know.
I used MAC’s lip liner pencil in “Cherry” and MAC classic creme lipstick in “MAC Red” but if you can’t drop $40 on a red lip, I’ve always had incredible results with Revlon products. Again, make sure you get a matching pencil as well. It’s crucial. If you’re unsure about what hue of red will look right with your skin tone, it’s probably best to see a professional. I had the MAC girls try several on me in natural light before I settled on this specific shade.
Happy Holidays my darlings, I hope you found a little holiday inspiration here today and let me know in the comments what looks you’ll be wearing this season!
