I was so very excited to be back on track with my blog this week, though as fate or whatever you believe would have it, my wonderful – nearly 14 year old – beautiful – Boxer-Beagle, Ruby, has gone missing.
Unfortunately, it was my idiotic fault and she escaped, unknowingly until a couple hours later, through an open gate in an impossibly short 2-5 minute window of time.
She has now been missing for 28+ hours – a terrifying lifetime to me. She is in wonderful health for her age, but still there are frightening factors to take into account. Ruby has always had constant and chronic ears problems and is deaf, scary enough, though she is amazing intelligent with a personality that wins everyone over.
The other issue to take into account is the Texas heat, while she did go missing late yesterday afternoon/early evening (after the worst heat of the day), she was somewhere unknown and possibly alone last night and all today. She always finds the coolest spots to lay, so I am confident and wishing that she found a safe place to be during those extreme temperature hours.
There is of course the facts that she has possibly been without proper food and water, or that she may have been injured.
This situation is heartbreaking. Those feelings of guilt, pain, sadness, panic, loneliness and helplessness are becoming overwhelming.
While I do have people around that care, I would very much appreciate any positive thoughts from you all. Pray, Wish, Hope, Think, Believe – which ever – whatever you believe in – please think of her today and until she is found, hopefully safe and healthy.
This awful (and unfair for Ruby) situation will be occupying every minute of my time I can possibly allow until I bring her home.
Wishing you a safe night my Ruby! I love you and you are dearly missed. Find your way home – we’re here.
As we are quickly approaching September, and with it Autum/Fall and then of course Winter, it’s the time of year where bold lips tend to start popping up.
I feel this may be because many women think these seasons are easier to get a away with a bold lip, or that cooler weather gives a chance to not only layer up and accessorize your outfits, but also your makeup. Plus, there is that whole issue of not having to worry about your bold lip melting away in the summer heat.
Personally, I wear a bold lip whenever I want – no matter the season, with the only thing changing maybe the technique of application and the shade I choose.
So, first things first, you CAN wear red lipstick – no matter your skin tone, undertone – AND you can wear both COOL and WARM based reds. The key is to choosing the right shade for your LIPS and having the confidence! BOLD LIPS both inspire and require confidence.
When in doubt choose a cool toned (blue based) true red – this color flatters most. Bonus: Cool toned reds counteract any yellowness in your teeth. Warning: Some warm toned reds can enhance the yellow in teeth.
The only people I would say should avoid bold lip color would be those with very thin lips. Remember that you are drawing major attention to your mouth, so if your lips are quite thin, you will only be accentuating how thin they are. I would recommend that you draw attention to a more prominent feature, maybe your eyes or bone structure, choosing a nude/natural color for your lip.
Another group of people that should be wary of a bold lip are those with quite noticeable asymmetrical lips. Again, the bold color will only accentuate this, though, you can attempt to even out your lips (long-wearing liner is a must) – but this will require a conscious mind throughout the day/night while wearing your bold lips.
I grabbed this photo line up courtesy of The Beauty Department. SEE? Everyone can wear COOL and WARM lips!
PORCELAIN: This ultra-light skin tone with cool undertones looks best with a cool red with hints of plum, but looks daring with a warm red.
FAIR: This light skin tone with cool undertones also is most harmonious with a cool red, while a warm red is bold.
BISQUE: This pink under-toned skin color looks best with a cool red, but can also pull off the warm red.
BEIGE: This skin color with yellow undertones is most harmonious with a warm red, but can wear a cool red too.
OLIVE: Warm reds look best on this skin color with green undertones, but as you can see, cool reds look pretty too.
TAWNY: Again, warm reds are the way to go for this gorgeous skin tone, but don’t let anyone tell you you can’t wear cool reds too.
CARAMEL: Cool reds are wearable but warm reds are gorgeous on this skin tone.
ALMOND: Warm reds are pretty but cool reds are meant for you.
My Ultimate Application for Long Lasting Bold Lips:
PRIME – Prior to applying any make-up, apply a thin layer of lip primer (or a non-tacky, completely transparent, non-greasy lip balm or eye cream), at the same time as your moisturizer. Ever-s0-slightly OVER-LINE your natural lip line with the primer – this will prevent the lips color from bleeding outside your your natural lip line. Let your lips be the last step in your make-up.
BLOT – When your other make-up/hair is finished, grab a tissue and blot your lips once. This will absorb and unnecessary primer left on your lips.
LINER – Now this can be optional, but it is recommended for a long-lasting bold lip. With a light grip and stroke, line your natural lip line with a lip liner in a shade as close to your lipstick color as possible, unless you are looking to create more dimension with two lip liners one darker and one lighter (perhaps I should do another quick post on this topic?). Then FILL IN your lips with the pencil. Look for a long-wearing 24/7 lip line if possible. Why? This way as your lipstick wears away when your eating/drinking/talking, the color of the liner is still in place – or should be – and you won’t have to worry about so many touch-ups. TIP: Take a step back and look at your lips to ensure your lip shape is accurate and what you want.
APPLY – Using a lip bush, if possible, apply a layer of your desired lipstick shade over your liner. A lip brush ensures precision and precision is key with such a bold lip.
BLOT – Take a tissue and blot your lips once.
APPLY AGAIN – Apply a second layer of your lip color and you are almost done!
USE A FINGER – Okay – that sounded a bit dirty, but still, take your finger into the center of your lips/mouth and lightly close your lips around. Pull your finger out, this trick known by many, ensures that bit of lipstick at the inside center of your lips doesn’t end up on your teeth.
BALANCE CHECK – When wearing bold lips, remember that you need to balance your face with your other make-up. Lightly define your brows, if needed. Add a coat of mascara and a bit of color to your cheeks.
EXTRAS:
GLOSS – If you want a bit of shine after the above steps. Add a dab of gloss in the same shade or a shade lighter to the center of the lip and press (don’t smush or slide) your lips together lightly and few times to distribute.
MATTE – If your lipstick is not matte but you want a matte lip, after the above steps, take a small flat eye shadow brush and dip it into an eye shadow or blush the color of your lipstick or a shade lighter. Then most importantly tap off the excess and press the brush to your lips, but not quite to the edge. Should you need to apply more powder, use a clean brush or the other side of the flat brush you used. You do not want to get lipstick in your eye shadow/blush.
Things to Remember:
You can always break into the bold lip look/trend with a sheer gloss or balm, before jumping into lipstick. Gloss and balm are more forgiving. You can also blot a sheer application of lipstick, rather than applying a full layer of the color, and it can act as more of a stain.
The same bold color can look dramatically different from day to night.
Again, CHEEK BALANCE is important. A bold lip with bare cheeks can wash you out.
EXFOLIATE your lips with a warm and slightly damp wash cloth and sugar prior to applying anything. A bold lip will draw attention to you and you don’t want that attention being on crusty, chapped and dried out lips.
Finally, have fun and get ready to be noticed!! xoxo
So, as some of you know I recently became a Chloe + Isabel Merchandiser, and we have had some amazing and gorgeous collections come out recently! I just could not help myself and just had to share 🙂
The jewelry pictured below is just a small selection of what is available, so be sure to head over to my boutique to check out the rest.
Confession: I have a major girl crush on Miss Emma Watson – for her beauty, style and grace to not become one of the corrupted young Hollywood stars.
Unless you have avoided the internet, television, book stores and movie theaters – you would have seen this woman literally grow up on screen through the Harry Potter series as the fabulous Hermione Granger.
She was adorable back when… and now she is absolutely gorgeous (with and without make-up). If I had to choose one word to associate with her beauty/make-up – it would be bold.
Emma always plays up her brown eyes, almost always perfectly, to go along with her naturally bold brows. I love that she is not afraid to be a bit daring… with bold lips and intense eye make-up.
TIP: If you go with a bold lip, remember you need to balance the color, by adding a slight amount of blush to the cheeks and lightly defining your brows (if needed).
Of course, once the Harry Potter films were concluded, she did one of the bravest beauty moves I can think of – she chopped off her hair!! It was a perfect pixie cut that she rocked with total confidence! LOVE her!
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