My Top Five Nail Polish Picks for the Fall/Winter Seasons

So.. in keeping with some of my earlier "fall favorites" posts, I thought I'd add one for nail polish because, well, I'm pretty much obsessed with nail polish. It was hard to choose only five but I'm in a time crunch these days so lets just get on with it, shall we?

Photo from http://imperfectlypainted.blogspot.com

OPI Mrs. O'Leary's BBQ: A nail polish color named after barbeque sauce? Gross. And yet, this shade is anything but. Basically, it looks just like it sounds which translates to a very brown-toned dark red, you know... like barbeque sauce. The formula on this one is one of the best I've used as are most of the OPI cream formulas and it applies like an absolute dream. Two coats does the trick but three is perfection. If you love shades like Essie Wicked, Revlon Vixen, or Chanel Rouge Noir but are looking for something a little bit different, this is a great choice.

Photo from http://therealpolishprincess.blogspot.com

OPI Got the Blues for Red: This is my favorite dark red. By far. I am not a huge fan of reds unless they are deeper in tone and this one is perfect in that it isn't so dark that the red becomes more of a burgundy but not so red that it fails to excite me. Basically, it has enough red to be classified as red but deep enough to be interesting. Once again, OPI hits it out of the park with its cream finish and this is another that applies flawlessly. Perfect for those who want to dip their toe in the vampy-polish pool but aren't ready to put their whole foot in. 

Butter London Marrow: This is my current favorite shade in the purple family. Marrow is a cooler-toned purple that has very subtle silver shimmer which is hardly detectable by the human eye once  applied to the nails. Luckily, it still looks beautiful even if promises of shimmer were immediately broken once the wand met the nail. This color is fairly hard to describe because it isn't similar to others in this shade range that I've used. Which is a good thing because it doesn't thrill me to spend $14 on a polish that I have seen a billion times.

Photo taken from http://getnailedbypolish.blogspot.com

OPI Tickle Me France-y: I tried to avoid including this shade in the list because I think it was in my last year's list but I simply cannot fight it and I would be doing a disservice to the nail polish community if I kept this one under wraps. The reason why this continues to be a favorite of mine is because it is the perfect taupey-coffee shade but more like what coffee looks like after you dump a crap ton of cream in it. The formula is one of those jelly types that apply a bit watery but it goes on so smoothly and so effortlessly that its difficult to mess up. Something about this formula gives you a much glossier finish that is commonly found in the pre-top coat phase of the polish process.  What is interesting is that the formula does not lend itself to the typical chipping process when its been on for a few days, rather, it starts to fade a bit mostly at the tips. Now that I've dissected every aspect of this polish, suffice it to say that this shade and formula is awesome. It is the perfect fall neutral that goes with anything and really flatters the skin tone.

Photo credit www.scrangie.com

Essie No More Film: I just realized that I have no polishes with shimmer on my list. What? How can I make a fall/winter list of fave polishes without shimmer? This was not my intention but the heart wants what the heart wants and the heart wants cream finishes. No More Film is a fabulously deep violet blue that is dark enough to be edgy but not so dark that you can't tell what color it is. I'm picky with blue shades as I prefer them to lean more toward purple, so much so that they actually become purple instead of blue. But this one is a good balance for me. A great choice for those that like dark polish but still want the color to come through so that it doesn't look black. And a rather excellent formula I might add. And as I often mention, opaque in two coats but three is perfection.  

P.S. Three isn't always perfection, sometimes its overkill if the formula is a gloopy-gloppy hideous mess. But those polishes have no business being on my top favorites list.

Looking forward to doing more posts soon! Thanks for reading!

Revlon Lip Butter in Red Velvet: The Perfect Red Lip Color (For Everyone!)

I am typically not a red lip girl. And anytime I do a post on a red lip color, I begin by stating the fact that I am not a red lip girl. This way, you'll know that if I'm taking time out of my day to write a post that is specifically dedicated to a red lip product, it must be really great. And I'm late to the table on this one ladies. My favorite new lippie is the Revlon Lip Butter in Red Velvet. I have like 10 shades of pink and nude but no red. I had heard one too many youtube girls talking about this color before I finally caved. First, let me preface (again) this by saying that I love the Lip Butters and think that Revlon has been knocking it out of the park in 2012 in terms of lip products. So I already knew I would love the consistency and texture and all of that. But I didn't think I would love the color this much. Red Velvet is a gorgeous, raspberry-toned, red. It's not a vampy red, just a richly saturated deep berry-red. This color makes your teeth look SO white because of the blue-toned base and has any amazing glossy shine. And finally, the creamy consistency that we all (or we should all) know and love. Some of the Lip Butters have a grittier texture because of some shimmer (like Peach Parfait) but this one is creamy dreamy which I prefer. I can't get over how richly pigmented and opaque this shade is for being so moisturizing and balmy. I can wear it with or without a lip liner but if you want a more precise application, I suggest a lip liner. I have used it with a nude liner because I don't want to change the color in any way but using a red-toned liner. It works famously over a flesh-toned nude shade (like Boots No. 7 #20 Nude). Seriously, I have been wearing it daily for a week now which is about 7 days longer than I would typically wear a red lip color. It truly is the perfect red for any skin tone. That's what is great about these berry-toned reds, they just work on anyone. If you want to make your teeth look whiter and your lips look red and juicy for the holidays, check out Red Velvet. See below for photos, and notice how glossy this shade looks on its own. I do not have gloss over top in any photo.

Revlon Lip Butter Red Velvet, photo taken by me

Revlon Lip Butter Red Velvet, photo taken by me (above)

Revlon Lip Butter Red Velvet, photo taken by me (above)

My Top Picks for Fall Blushes! Drugstore + High End

I love fall and I love blush! So why not do a post that joins these two things? I've already done my top picks for fall lipsticks so I'm sticking with that trend (just scroll down one post in case you are interested in reading that.) I don't believe in adopting certain makeup trends if they don't flatter your features and skin tone or if you just really aren't that comfortable with changing up your products too much. Thus, the blush I wear more in the fall isn't a super big stretch from what I prefer to wear in the summer, but I may take it down a couple of notches on the brightness meter. My fall/winter blush philosophy is simple. I want to achieve that "I've just gone apple picking in the crisp fall air and now I have that natural rosy glow" kind of look. I've never been apple picking but I assume it is a lovely fall activity. Let's get started.

Lorac Baked Matte Satin Blush in Velvet Rope: This is a deeper toned plummy rose and a little goes a very long way. Don't be fooled by the word "matte" because these blushes are anything but. They are infused with the most microscopic shimmer that gives a gorgeous sheen to the face. You can forgo the highlighter all together if you have this blush brushed up higher on the cheekbones. Will work for all skin tones.

MAC Tenderling: This is a nude/warm pink blush for fair to light/medium girls perfect for the days when you want a natural look but you don't want to go without blush altogether. There is no shimmer in this blush, it is very basic and natural but lovely and not at all boring. This shade goes with any makeup look and especially the heavy eye looks when you don't want to put something too bright or "look at me" on the cheeks. I wouldn't think this shade would show up to well on medium/tan/deep tones.

Cover Girl Cheekers Plumberry Glow: Good ole' Cover Girl Cheekers. This is a nice rose-berry toned blush. don't know about you but whenever I smell a CG powder product, I am instantly transported back into the high school powdering my face at my locker and touching up my Revlon Colorstay lipstick. I am glad that CG has kept that fragrant smell because I quite enjoy the occasional trip down memory lane. This shade is quite shimmery so you don't want to overdo it. Will work for all skin tones.

Benetint: This is a liquid product that works as a cheek and lip stain. The sole purpose of this stain is to achieve the apple pickin' look or that I was describing earlier. In a very big way. This product looks scary in the bottle, its quite a deep red and you need very little but its a really cool concept at the same time. You just apply a few streaks of color with the little brush and blend with your fingers. And it smells like roses. A classic product that goes back to the beginning for Benefit.Will work for all skin tones.

Wet N' Wild Berry Shimmer: I have to include this blush even though mine is currently broken into a million pieces. You can't expect great packaging AND great product in a $2 blush so I forgive them. This shade always reminds me of Snow White as she is strolling about the woods dodging death with that rosy glow. This is a very strongly pigmented warm-berry shade that requires a very light hand no matter what skin tone you are. This is the softest and the most pigmented (tied with Lorac) of all of the blushes in the list and its by far the cheapest! Will work for all skin tones.

Pictures include some close ups and a group shot of all the blushes. Photos taken by me. 

Benetint & Wet N' Wild Berry Shimmer

From L to R, Lorac Velvet Rope, MAC Tenderling, Cover Girl Plumberry Glow, Benetint, Wet N' Wild Berry Shimmer

Lorac Velvet Rope, MAC Tendering, CG Plumberry Glow