Glam it Up for the Holidays

Hi there!
Penny here with some last minute tips and products for cool Holiday looks!

It's that time of year when many of us get dolled up to attend holiday parties, shows at the theater, and to be the hottest hostess! So the dilemma becomes...do I go with my typical red lips and sparkly eyes or do I try something new?

Stila, MIND palette

For the company holiday party I did a little bit of classic with a twist (unfortunately my pics didn't come out well). I used my new Stila 'Eyes Are the Window' palette in Mind; these are matte shadows used to create a slightly neutral eye, but I added a touch of shimmer using NYX Roll-on Shimmer Powder in Almond (love this stuff; I put it on the back of my hand then tap onto the eyelid to avoid using too much). I mixed my staple MAC Blush in Harmony with NARS Blush in Sin (which has a slight shimmer).


For my lips I did an ombre, deep red color using Make Up For Ever Lip Liner in 11C Matte Dark Raspberry, Kat Von D Studded Lipstick in Prayer, with MAC's Lip Liner in Nightmoth blended from the outer corners in for an ombre effect. The look was completed with MAC's Viva Glam Rihanna 2 lipglass for a slight opulent shimmer. It was cool to see that lip gloss over a red color.

Penny loves this time of year when all the 'limited edition' and new palettes and colors are released. Check out the following if you're in the market for great new eye shadow shades:

• Too Faced Semi Sweet Chocolate Bar ($49, Sephora)
• STILA Eyes are the Windows Eye Shadow Palettes ($49, Sephora)
• Maybelline The Nudes ($8.99, ULTA; quickly became a Penny staple)
• Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette ($54, ULTA)
• Bobbi Brown Nude on Nude Palette ($65, Bloomingdales)
• Marc Jacobs Beauty Eye-con No.7 in The Starlet 204 ($59, Sephora)
• Urban Decay Naked On The Run Palette ($54, Sephora, eyes and cheeks; Penny's fave right now) 

MAC Viva Glam Rihanna 2

Trending Now:
Metallic lips and eyes in gold, bronze, and pewter
Plum and berry lip colors
Metallic or vampy nails
Smokey eyes with browns, bronze, blues and grays

Classics:
Red or shimmery lips
Sparkly eye shadows

Kat Von D, Prayer

Smokey eyes
Red nails

Check out this beautiful beauty blogger/vlogger and fellow product princess (Cindy Diaz) who posted a beautiful holiday look 'tutorial.' Her blog is: www.vinylblush.com
The step-by-step video is on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRPgTxNMqso
- Check out her video for the 'jewel-toned smokey eye look' too for something different this holiday season.

Be blessed. Be beautiful.
P

   

Beauty Blitz

Penny's back!

The beautiful fall season with its warm rich colors always inspire me to go shopping for beauty products. (Not like I need any encouragement!) LOL! So this is just a brief review of some of my most recent purchases, and/or shades that I'm loving this season:

Maybelline 'The Nudes' Eye shadow Palette

Maybelline The Nudes 

Love this compact palette! Been using it almost daily. Perfect for travel. I've have gotten both daytime and nighttime looks out of this palette. ($9.99, Target)

MAC Lipstick in 'Fetish'
This is an old standard. This gives me the perfect coppery bronze lip for the season. Remember, metallic colors are in and not just for a holiday outing. ($16, MAC store)

Maybelline Color Sensation The Buffs Lip Color in 'Touchable Taupe'
Beautiful neutral shade. I did a great monochromatic look with this lipstick. Great cool, winter nude. ($5.59, Target)

MAC Lip Pencil in 'Stone'
Perfect lip pencil for the taupe look I was going for. ($16, MAC store)

L'Oreal Lipstick Privee' Collection in 'JLo'
A pretty brownish pink nude. Just a real nice neutral at an even nicer price. ($8.99, CVS)

L'Oreal JLo's Nude

Clinique Quickliner for Eyes Intense in 'Black Honey'
A beautiful alternative to black. This deep burgundy, almost black shade works great for a soft smokey effect. It easily compliments wine, bronze, and brown shadows without the harsh look of black. ($16, Sephora)

NYX Vampy Lip Cream in 'Enamored'
This dark jumbo lip pencil went on smooth and dried to a pretty matte shimmer finish. I love the control you have with a lip pencil and often wear them without lip liner. ($6.49, ULTA)

Bite Beauty Winterberry

MAC Blush in 'Taupe'
I've used this true taupe shade as a blush but prefer it as a contour shade. Worked great for the monochromatic taupe look I did. ($22, Macy's)

Bite Beauty Remix Lip Collection (Winterberry shade)
Love these jumbo lip pencils by Bite Beauty. They are creamy but long lasting with a great pop of color. Especially love that this line uses natural ingredients. I had a great pic of this color on me but it wouldn't post for me. Will try to put it on my Pinterest page. ($25, Sephora)

TIP OF THE DAY:
Most of you know that dark and red lipstick shades can make your teeth look more white and bright. So nudes and pinks could do the opposite if you already have non-white teeth. Penny recommends using a whitening strip like Crest Whitening Strips before you head out the door. 

What are some of your recent fall finds?

Be blessed. Be beautiful.
Penny

Penny's Going Pink!!

Hi all! Hope this post finds you in the best of spirits!

As you all know October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and Penny loves sharing the multitude of beauty bargains that support this cause. It's time to "Fight Like A Girl!" Let's shop with purpose and do our part to help find a cure for breast cancer (and all the cancers out there affecting us all). Here are just a few of the products you should look for this month, and more than a few of the products Penny will be purchasing. :-)

• Bobbi Brown Pretty Pink Ribbon Lip Gloss Collection ($60) – $12 from this purchase will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
• Essie 2014 Breast Cancer Awareness Mini Cube (4 bottles); ($17)
• Sexy Hair Concepts Breast Cancer Awareness Big Sexy Spray & Play Hair Spray, $36, www.JCPenney.com
• Jergen's Original Scent Cherry-Almond Moisturizer, $7, www.Drugstore.com
• Biore Deep Cleansing Pore Strips, $7, www.Target.com 
• John Frieda Frizz Ease Smooth Start Repairing Shampoo & Conditioner, $6 each, www.Ulta.com 



Bobbi Brown
Pretty Pink Ribbon Gloss Collection

• Redken Color Extend Magnetics Shampoo, $41, Walgreens.com; Redken Color Extend Magnetics Conditioner, $22, www.Walgreens.com

• Estee' Lauder Evelyn Lauder Dream Solid Perfume Compact ($49.50) – 100% proceeds to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
• EOS Strawberry Sorbet and Fresh Watermelon Lip Balm Duo ($5.99) – 100% proceeds go to the Breast Cancer Research.
• Aerie Limited-Edition Bridget Bra ($29.95) aerie.com – 100% proceeds to Bright Pink.
• Clinique Great Skin Great Cause ($38); A limited-edition 6.7 oz bottle of Clinique's #1 moisturizer. Comes with a 4-charm key chain. – $10 from this purchase will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Lip Locked (Part Deux)

Penny here!
For some reason after I post something I remember six other things I should have included in my write up. smh. LOL!

So in my last post Penny encouraged folks to 'update' their lip look and be sure that they were choosing the right liner, and blending their lip liner correctly.  Most everyone has natrual color to their lips; look closely at yours when shopping for a brown or nude lip liner. Here are the important things to remember:

1. Blend your lip liner by pressing your lips together and moving them back and forth, or use your finger to lightly smudge the line inward. 
2. Do not overline your lips. Search Google and Youtube for techniques on how to line your lips (especially if you want them to appear fuller).
3. Find a lip liner color that matches your natural lip color or your lipstick  
4. Find a color liner that compliments your lipstick or gloss (not one that directly contrasts it)
5. To get the most out of your lip color one trick the pros use is to dab a little foundation or concealer on your lips to diffuse your natural lip color and let the true color of your liner and lipstick show through. This is especially good for the "nude lips" look. NOTE: Try not to do this every day as it could dry out your lips. M.A.C. used to have a product called Lip Erase, not sure if its still available.

Just to be clear, Penny's not saying that you can't wear dark brown lip liner with something other than brown lipstick or gloss. I'm saying if you do...if there is a look you're going for...if your natural lip color is close to dark brown...then please, please, please blend the heck out of  your lip liner so that the lines are diffused and your lips don't enter the room before you do! LOL! This also applies to purple liner with pink lipstick, etc. Lip liner should be blended into the lipstick. Lip liner can also help your lipstick color to last longer if you fill in your lips entirely with a matching color lip liner. If your comfort zone only allows you to use dark liner, then try a lipstick or lipgloss shade that compliments the darker liner instead of one that is in direct contrast with it. 

Back in the day the look was M.A.C's Chestnut liner with popular shades like  Oh Baby, Chai, or Explicit.  Rupaul rocked the look as late as 2008...but he/she is Rupaul after all! LOL! To update the look, try M.A.C liner in Cork or Oak, and Tinted Lipglass in C-Thru, Spite, or Revealing. Cork also looks great with Hug Me and Honeylove lipsticks. Penny also noticed that the more modern take on this duo usually includes a creamy, or lustre formula lip color or high gloss...instead of a 'frost' formula. (read full story...)

Lip Locked (Revised)

NOTE: Penny wrote this piece a couple years ago (pre-blog) but decided to revise and re-release it...so here goes. Penny knows she's going to get a lot of flack for this one...but oh well. LOL!.

"Back away from the dark lip liner/light lipstick combination!"

We all know the look...we see it all the time. [Think Pamela Anderson, Kim Mathers, and Sara Palin...yikes!].  Yes, this is an outdated look ladies. Don't shoot the messenger; I'm not setting fashion trends or making up beauty rules. LOL! Speaking of rules...there are always exceptions....let's talk about your options. 

"To line, or not to line?...that is the question."

The purpose of lip liner is to keep your lipstick from ‘bleeding’ onto your skin. Some use it to even out lip shape or to try to make your lips appear a little fuller. Lip liner is also supposed to look ‘natural’ according to the pros. When applying your lip liner, remember that it should to be the same color as your natural lip color, no more than one shade darker, or the same color as the lipstick/lipgloss. Never use black anything to line your lips unless your creating a vampire look. LOL! Always blend your lip liner well by smudging it from the outer edges of the lip inward toward the center; its easist to use your finger. Do not leave a hard line around your lips; this is called overlining. If you think blending the liner will change your lipstick or lipgloss color, then pick a shade close to the lipstick/gloss color. It's the APPLICATION as well as the COLOR combination that makes lips hot!

Penny loved her M.A.C. Chestnut liner too back in the day...but now it only goes with dark lipstick shades and is blended well. There are other shades of medium brown liner (i.e., Cork, Stripdown, Spice, Hover by M.A.C.) that will give you a more updated look if blended well with your lipstick or gloss...look for medium browns or pinkish-browns that can be worn with a variety of colors. This is especially for you ladies who have a hard time letting go...just go a little lighter and blend well. (read full story...)