Rock Bold Lips and Bright Eyes

Colour blocking is this spring’s hottest look.  From Camilla Belle, to Rihanna and Katy Perry, everybody (and we mean everybody) is doing it.  But if you’re worried about looking like an oversized lollipop, we’ve got the solution.  Turn it down a notch (size-wise, not colour-wise) and rock bold lips and bright eyes instead.

Here are some tips to working the bright and bold colour trend for your eyes and lips.

Bold Juicy Lips

Reds, oranges, hot pink and fuchsia - anything bright and juicy will help create a sexy springtime pout. Top it off with a splash of gloss to get the guys (and girls) drooling or choose a matte finish to really attract attention.

To keep your lips the focus of this look, opt for a natural flawless complexion and emphasise your lashes using black mascara.

Pinks:

Hot pink lips can seem a little scary and images of Barbie may even come to mind, but this colour actually works well when paired with (cool toned) pale to medium skin tones and lighter hair. With Fuchsia, if you have fair skin, opt for a bright true tone in this shade and for those with darker complexions choose a deeper magenta.  Fair skin with a pinkish undertone will suit blue-based pinks and for those with a yellow/golden undertone but with light skin should opt for yellow-based pinks. Dark skin will suit blue-based reds and pinks and tanned skin will work beautifully with corals and reddish pinks.

Reds:

Red lipstick is universal and works well on all skin tones, but a deeper shade with a blue undertone is best suited to those with pale complexions. Brick red is a popular colour at the moment and those with fairer skin should opt for a matte shade. For medium skin tones opt for a shade with orange rust tints, and darker skin will suit true brown red or a colour with a deep earthy orange based tone. For something brighter, medium toned and tanned skin will suit bright fire engine red.

Oranges:

A matte based orange lipstick is best suited to warmer skin tones or those blessed with a natural tan. Orange also has the ability to work beautifully with porcelain skin. Orange brings out the warm tones so the darker your skin colour, the more your complexion will shine from the contrast in shades. Tanned skin will suit pumpkin-orange and reddish-orange based colours, while fair skin with pink undertones will suit pinkish-orange colours, like tangerine.  Light skin with a golden undertone will rock yellowish orange based shades.

How do you know if you have cool or warm toned skin?

Cool Toned: You may have blue veins and your skin has reddish or blue undertones.  You look stunning in soft pastels, aquatic blues, emerald green and canary yellow.

Warm Toned: You have green veins and your skin has a yellow undertone.  You look amazing in golds, earthy greens, mocha and orange.

Bright Eyes

From orange and yellow to green and blue and purple and pink, bold eye shadows are all the rage. Just like the bold lips trend, a natural base is best, but it’s time to be a little daring and try colour blocking?  You’ll fall in love.  We promise.

Make your eyes really pop by applying your favourite bright colour, line the top lash line of your eyes with black liquid eyeliner and then finish with a coat of black mascara. Add some false lashes for a more dramatic effect!

Apply some tint/lipstick to your lips in a reddish, orange, coral or pink shade (definitely one that compliments your eyes.)

Tip: Highlighting your lips and eyes will work best for evening rather than daywear.

What bright colours will work best for your peepers?

Brown Eyes: Turquoise, Hot Pink, Royal Blue, Tangerine, Lime Green.

Green Eyes: Burgundy, Watermelon, Lavender, Bright Purple, Forest Green.

Blue Eyes: Burnt Orange, Fuchsia, Plum, Turquoise, Tangerine.

Hazel Eyes: Apricot, Dark Green, Pale Yellow, Lime Green, Pink.

Grey Eyes: Spring Green, Purple, Violet, Peach, Teal.

Be bold, daring and fearless and you won’t regret it.  Or maybe you will, but you’ll never know until you try it.

Written by:

Karli Emma Smith is a Melbourne based makeup artist, currently studying Freelance Magazine Writing & Editing.  With a passion for all things fashion, beauty and entertainment related, and a particular interest in the lifestyles of the rich and famous, Karli is also interested in health and fitness and enjoys baking, cooking, and getting outdoors for big walks/jogs.  She loves spending time with her family and friends and can’t imagine a life without magazines and media!

Do you want a sophisticated red carpet makeup look that can be done in 10 minutes?

This glamorous day-to-night look emphasizes the eyes and accentuates the cheeks and lips.  Super gorgeous celebrities such as Hilary Duff, Diane Kruger and Abigail Spencer are fans of this sexy, smoky eye, and can be often seen rocking it on the red carpet with fabulous designer dresses.  The lovely ladies at Adorn Mineral Cosmetics have done the hard work for us to show you how you can achieve this and look  red carpet ready!

This look can be achieved in ten minutes using Adorn Cosmetic’s 100% natural, toxic free, pure mineral and organic makeup, suitable for all ages and skin types.

To take your look from day to night, follow these simple steps (or cheat and watch the video here):

Step 1
For an evening look, take a medium to dark tone blush, and apply it to the cheeks.

And then...
Extend and darken you eyelid contour line. Use a dark brown eye shadow to create a ‘V’ shape in the outer corner of the eye, sweeping it into the crease line and across the lash line.

And then...
Take a medium toned eye shadow in beige or caramel, and apply it to the middle of the eyelid. Slightly blend into the dark brown eye shadow.

And then...
Use a lighter eye shadow in cream or skin colour just under the eyebrow to highlight the area.

And then...
Use a pencil or crayon eyeliner to line the top lash line. Focus on the outer corner of the lid for a more glamorous look.

And then...
Apply mascara on the lashes, focusing on the outer corner lashes to open up the eyes.

And then...
Apply illuminiser on the cupid’s bow above the lip, and on the centre of the bottom of the lip to create that pouty, kiss-me-quick look.

And then...
Apply lip liner to the outer edges of the lip, filling the whole lip to ensure lipstick or gloss will not bleed or run.

And then...
Apply lip gloss in a pink or mauve colour.

And then...
Get ready to rock out your new red carpet ready visage!

Written For:

BrionyK - Adorn Mineral Cosmetics
A make-up artist for nearly 10 years, a bridal make-up specialist and an educator of women on the basics of applying flawless make-up.

Hands up those who feel dark circles under their eyes are the bane of their beauty existence!  It's something that comes up constantly in my conversations with women when they are sharing their beauty woes. "What is the best way to cover my dark circles?" is the war cry.  It got me thinking though - yes, it's great to have the skills to cover them but how do they get there in the first place?  I went on the hunt to see what the facts are.

First of all - what exactly are they?  They are a collection of blood vessels close to the skins surface that create a bluish tint which makes this area appear darker.

It seems like with many things in life getting rid of dark circles could be a complicated process. In reviewing a few sources of information, I bring you a snapshot of the most common causes:

Genetics - yes, you can blame it on your family!  It seems that this is a fairly common cause of dark circles and probably one that you can't do much about internally.  A good lightweight concealer will be your best friend.

Lack of Sleep - yes, this would have to be here, whilst it's not as high on the list as I thought, it is definitely contributing factor.  A lack of sleep can make the skin look paler which means that the blood vessels in this area stand out more.

Thinning Skin - aging is a common cause of dark circles as the skin becomes thinner and allows the blood vessels to become more noticeable.  Sun damage it would seem can expedite the process, another great reason to use SPF30+

Allergies and Hayfever - as if sneezing and feeling dreadful is already not bad enough, you have to battle bags too.  Not fair.... really!

Other causes listed are dehydration, fluid retention, iron deficiency or of course giving your eye a nasty bump.

So what can you do for them then?  Well... topical treatments range from applying a small amount of a light weight concealer under the eye (My pick is SLA - Anti dark circles) to using eye creams that are designed to hydrate and constrict the blood vessels (My pick - Algolgoie Eye Contour Cream) and Sunblock (My Pick Fleur De Mer Tinted 30+ Sunblock).

However, don't forget - drink plenty of water, keep your caffeine consumption to a minimum and get good quality regular sleep!  Ahhhh.....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Take care,

Julia.

Written By:

Julia Dickenson - Oradess

Makeup is more than just about the products. It's about power. That's why Julia Dickenson launched Oradess in 2007. As a brand devoted to women, Oradess offers more than makeup. Beyond a line of fabulous products that are designed to bring together elegance and simplicity, Oradess runs workshops, lectures and events to help women embrace their natural beauty. Oradess shows women how makeup can work for them. Women come to Oradess and walk away with greater confidence and a deeper appreciation for their own beauty.

Breakthroughs in the cosmetic industry are a dime a dozen. Each and every day, innovative products and concepts graduate from company boardroom meetings to be showcased and touted as the latest and greatest from their brands and the industry that surrounds them. The next, crucial step is solely in the hands of the consumer.

Of course advertising and marketing campaigns certainly play a large role in this key part of the process. When it comes to a product so highly steeped with caution and personal importance as purchasing makeup however, a handful of niggling doubts is all it takes for the great potential of a new product to be left undiscovered on the store shelf.

To counteract the fears that many women have about purchasing the right makeup for them in store, Adorn Mineral Cosmetics has come to the rescue with a new Virtual Colour Matching Service located within its online shop. The service exists to cater for the demands of busy women, many of whom also share typical complaints about purchasing makeup from large retailers with bad lighting and inexperienced staff.

Owner and founder, Briony Kennedy, hopes the Virtual Colour Matching Service will restore confidence in buying cosmetics online.

“We wanted to go beyond the conventional ways of online colour matching and steer away from comparing the customer to a ‘similar’ complexion. Instead, we match you to you. It’s about providing a high value beauty service for a busy lifestyle.”

All customers have to do is upload a photo of themselves and request what kind of products they would like to be colour-matched for. This process does not use stock images closest to the customers’ skin; instead products are carefully selected for them. The resulting products are then saved into the customers’ profile where they can then purchase directly. Seasonal colours and trends will also be updated in their profile, making life easier for future purchases.

With online stores becoming an increasingly large presence in the retail sector, smart and innovative ideas like this seem to be the way forward for Australian companies like Adorn Mineral Cosmetics. It’s also sure to attract a lot of attention by word of mouth, something we girls are good at encouraging.

You can find your perfect foundation match at http://www.adornmineralcosmetics.com.au/.

written by:

Carley Hall - Freelance A Communications graduate from Griffith University and fully qualified make-up artist, Carley Hall's literary talents can be seen in every publication from the Gold Coast Bulletin to Dog's Life Magazine and The Road Ahead Magazine.  With a passion for seeing and covering live music, Carley has been editing myvisiontv.com.au for the last two years.

Why does Emma Watson have her hands over her ears in this recent Vogue Magazine cover shoot? We can only imagine it's to block out ALL the people who keep asking how to copy her stunning (and winter perfect) glossy plum lip.

How to get Emma Watson's Vogue cover plummy lipstick look

For any dark or bold lip the pros always recommend a 3-step process (check out our MAC tutorial for fire engine red lips here) .

1 - First up you want to use either a lipstain or lip pencil to outline and then fill in your lips. If your lips tend to be a little dry go for the stain, if not pencils tend to have more staying power (up to you).

2 - Next you want to select a long-wear lippie in a flattering shade. DuWop have an ingenious one called Private Plum which actually adjusts it's pigment to suit your colouring (don't ask us how!), or for that just-eaten-a-handful-of-blackberries look we're smitten with the 'Diablo' shade by Illamasqua.

3 - Final step is all about the MAC Lipglass, we don't think you can beat it for a wet-look shine.

SHOP IT: Lipstain in 'Wine', $24, bloomcosmetics.com.au , Velvet gloss lip pencil in 'Club mix - sheer grape), $50, NARS, meccacosmetica.com.au , Private plum lipstick, $34, DuWop, adorebeauty.com.au , Lipglass in 'clear'. $35, maccosmetics.com.au

For more beauty how-tos, check out Drop Dead Gorgeous Daily's Beauty School.