These Are a Few of My Favorite Things: Crazy For All Things Nude!

So I've been bit by the nude bug this Spring. From nail polish to shoes, I naturally gravitate toward this shade every time if its offered. Reason being, I love how nude looks up against tanned (in my case, self-tanned) skin whether it be polish on a perfectly manicured set of toe nails or pumps that give the appearance of longer legs. I hope that this season isn't the last one that we will be seeing this gorgeous color on the runways and in all the clothing and shoe stores. Another reason I love nude is that it goes with everything and is flattering on various skin tones when the shade is chosen correctly. After all, there isn't just one nude, much like there isn't just one choice to represent any of the other colors and shades.

I added to my nude collection today with a pair of BCBG leather wedges and thus felt inspired to dedicate a solo post to my favorite color of the season, and many more to come. In this post you will see some of my favorite ways to wear this shade as well as a list of my top picks for nude lips and nails! Let's get started..

Some of my favorite ways to wear nude:

I Love....

*nude pumps with a short little black dress or black,cropped or not, leggings, one of my fave pairs? Jessica Simpson (pictured below) from Zappos, under $70 and a very comfortable, basic, nude pump. You will get a lot of wear out of these. A must-have!

*nude wedge sandals or open-toed pumps that expose a set of French Manicured toes.

*a nude dress with some sort of wide black belt or sash tied around the waist.

* mostly nude dresses with a cream or blush tone as an accent color

*nude pencil skirts (high waist preferred) paired with a white button up oxford tucked in.

*nude nail polish (particularly Topless and Barefoot by Essie, see below)

*pinky and peachy-nude lipsticks (again, see below)

*nudes with sequins that JCrew are using for both women and kids. JCrew can make sequins sophisticated like nobodies business.

*nude cropped jackets, boyfriend jackets, spring jackets, you name it! You can wear anything under them and most anything on the bottom as far as pants, shorts, dresses, etc.

*nude (faux or real) leather jackets for spring. They make any outfit instantly chic and kicked up at least three notches from where it started. I recently had on boyfriend jeans and a cotton t-shirt but when I threw on my cheapie TJ Maxx faux leather nude coat over top of it and then added some gold jewels, it was an instant makeover.

*Lastly, I LOVE nude anything with gold or rose gold jewelry. Nude, in my opinion, must be worn with gold jewelry if its a toss up between gold and silver. Otherwise, I love emerald and amber to name a couple of other jewels that look beautiful when paired with my new favorite shade.

Some of my favorite nude or like nude things from my own collection:

BCBG sandals, proof that gold and nude look perfect together. See how the gold trim of the footbed compliments the gold buckle? (above)

Pour La Victorre Nude Zip Up Wedges, edgy and super cool! (above and below)

 

   Jessica Simpson basic nude pumps, from Zappos, Everyone needs nude pumps!

Revlon Soft Nude, Mac Myth, Mac Playing Koi (above)

Mac Myth, Playing Koi, Revlon Soft Nude (above from L to R)

Revlon Peach Petal, Mac Big Baby Plushglass, Mac Bubble Tea Plushglass, Mac Bonus Beat (discontinued)

Revlon Peach Petal, Mac Bubble Tea, Mac Big Baby, Mac Bonus Beat

Sally Hansen Cafe Au Lait, OPI Sweetheart, Revlon Peach Petal, Essie Topless and Barefoot (above L to R)

A Little Info about my favorite nude cosmetics:

Many of these items I've dedicated solo posts for so if you are interested in knowing more about a certain item, please check out my older blog posts. I will briefly tell you a little somethin' somethin' anyway about each product:

It was very hard to choose just three nude lipsticks, let me tell ya. Seeing as how nude is my go-to lip choice every time, I have quite the selection to choose from. The ones I've chosen are the ones I wear the most and the ones that I pair most often with the lip glosses that made the list as well..

Nude Lipsticks: 

Mac Myth: 

Satin formula, one of the all time best-selling shades by Mac. The Satin formula is drying and thus a gloss over top of it is pretty much a necessity. Myth is your basic "concealer" nude with a slight pink tone to it. This shade is not for everyone unless warmed up by a gloss. If you are tan or dark complected then applying a gloss over Myth should take your face from dead as a doornail to alive, in mere seconds. I especially love Myth with Big Baby Plushglass from Mac. Big Baby is a warm peach which helps to warm up the nude lip look and is the only reason I gave Myth another chance before deciding it was not for me.

Mac Playing Koi:

Another satin formula nude lipstick from Mac, this one is part of the recently released Quite Cute collection and can't be purchased any longer through Mac unless you're lucky enough to find one at a Mac store or counter. Playing Koi is a tricky little devil in that it is very opaque and very "peach/pink concealer" looking on its own. Paired with its partner, Bubble Tea, (also from the QC collection) it is much easier to work with and a lot less intimidating. I love a challenge and so this one has been my most used nude as of late. 

Revlon Soft Nude Color Burst Lipstick: 

This shade is from the oh-so-popular Color Burst line. Super creamy and very pigmented, these lipsticks are hands down the best of the drugstore in my opinion. And what's more, Revlon Color Burst lipsticks could stand toe to toe with several high-end shades as being equal to or better in consistency and pigmentation. Way to go Revlon. I digress. This particular shade, Soft Nude, is not your average "washes me out", "makes me look like a corpse" nude. It is much warmer than the aforementioned shades and has more of an orangey-nude hue to it. Don't be scared, it isn't orange! What I mean is it is much more of a warm peach. Looks excellent with Big Baby from Mac or Revlon Nude Lustre Super Lustrous gloss (same line as Peach Petal). If you're a nude lip virgin and want to experiment with the very popular shade, or you have a medium to dark skin tone, this shade may be a good starting point. 

Nude Lip Gloss:

Revlon Peach Petal (has its own solo blog post): 

From the Super Lustrous line, amazing, shiny, opaque, gorgeous pale-peach. Perfect over pretty much any nude or peach lip that isn't too warm. My advice is to apply it thinly because a thick layer of this shade can distribute the color unevenly when you put your lips together.

Mac Big Baby Plushglass: 

This is a warm peach toned Plushglass from Mac. It is infused with Green Tea and Vitamin E and is supposed to possess lip plumping properties. I do feel a slight tingle but the jury is still out on the plumpage. I just like the yummy vanilla-spice scent and sheerness quality. Looks best over Revlon Soft Nude and any nude shades with a darker peach or pumpkin tone to it, or to warm up some of the "concealer" nudes we've discussed in this post and previous ones.

Mac Bubble Tea Plushglass:

Created to accompany Playing Koi lipstick in the Quite Cute collection, Bubble Tea is a perfect nude-beige. It is slightly sheer but still enough pigmentation to give enough color pay-off to wear on its own. Obviously it looks great over Playing Koi but I plan to experiment with other shades as well. A great basic nude gloss that does not have pink as an undertone like most of its kind. Its still available through Mac website! I need a couple of back-ups!

Mac Bonus Beat Lipglass: 

This is from the famous Heatherette collection and has been long gone for a long time. Which makes the mention of this one a big tease and pretty redundant. But if you're dead set on it, I'm sure its available through Ebay for some ungodly price. The packaging is totally worth it though and if you are a Mac collector and you don't have anything from Heatherette, you are no collector. Much like Bubble Tea, this is a true beige-nude. This one is more of an opaque beige than Bubble Tea and less sheer. This is not a Plushglass but a standard, regular, Mac Lipglass, whose line offers the same vanilla scent and amazing shade selection.

I got all caught up in lipsticks and glosses that I forgot a crucial step in the nude lip process: Lipliner. To name a few of my faves but certainly not to include any pictures or anything completely crazy like that, here you go:

*Chanel Natural Lipliner

*Mac Subculture

*Mac Naked (this and the next two were released (or repromoted) with QC

*Mac In Synch

*Mac Boldly Bare

**Due to sky rocketing drugstore prices, if you are even thinking of buying a L'Oreal or Revlon liner, just spend a few bucks more and get a Mac liner for around $14 dollars. Its much more worth it, trust me!**

Speaking of Nude Lips, You May Also Enjoy the Following YouTube Videos! (btw if you aren't subscribed to Lisa Eldridge yet and you love watching/reading anything makeup related, do it right now!)

Nude Nails:

**Please refer to my blog post on Top Polish Picks for Spring if interested in seeing more pictures along with the same info I will summarize right now. If you've already read that post, you may want to quit reading now unless you want a refresher!**

Revlon Peach Petal: 

So, Revlon nail polish formula sucks. It doesn't last but it applies easily and creamily (is that a word?!) and the shade Peach Petal is to die for. The ultimate pale peach. Its the perfect match for the Revlon lipgloss that shares its name. This is by far one of my favorite if not my very favorite shade of peach nail polish to date. Use a very good base coat and an even better top coat to keep this polish from bailing after a day or two.

Sally Hansen Cafe Au' Lait: 

Gorgeous mocha-nude, I wore this religiously before Essie Topless & Barefoot entered my life and stole my heart. This shade was also a part of my top polish picks for spring if you want to see it on the nails. Same goes for all of the polishes mentioned in this post. 

Essie Topless & Barefoot: 

Another shade the made it into my top polish picks blog post recently. The difference being that this one was my #1 choice of best polish for Spring. T & B is a true beige-nude shade with a very slight pink undertone if you really sit there and examine it. One certainly needs three coats to get the most out of this beautiful shade. This is the kind of polish I'm talking about when I talk about how great nude looks up against tanned skin. I wore this one for days on end when I first purchased it. It has no shimmer or glitter or sheen to it, just a plain nude that just so happens to look amazing without any bells and whistles.

OPI Sweetheart:

For those that really just don't like nude nails and prefer a pale pink instead or at least a pinkish nude when choosing pale neutral shade, I've included Sweetheart by OPI. This one is not nude. It does not have a nude undertone. It is a pure pale pink. The kind that looks like rose petals on Valentines Day, this one is a true sweetheart pink. I prefer this one to OPI Bubble Bath or Essie Ballet Slippers any day but this has all been mentioned in my previous blog post. I'm just repeating myself for those not interested in reading it. I could get away with two coats of this but I prefer three to make it completely opaque. 

And For Your Nude Nail Loving Enjoyment, More YouTube: