how to: more luscious lips

I was totally obsessed with E's Eric and Jessie show this season and stumbled upon Jessie's Sex Kitten Makeup Tutorial while googling her. She explains how she makes her lips appear larger by over-lining them with a nude lip liner. Naturally, I had to try it.

I have small lips and often express my envy of my boyfriend's luscious lips much to his annoyance. I have had a nude lip liner from The Body Shop forever but have never had the desire to line my lips before. I used this lip liner, in Beech, and over lined my lips then applied lip balm. It's difficult to capture the transformation via selfies at work in the bathroom, but I enjoyed the subtle difference whether or not anyone else noticed!

before

after

santa baby

Is it too early to start talking about Christmas? Probably. But I'm going to do it anyway because I can't keep my beauty wish list to myself anymore!

This is Part One of the beauty products I want pray to find in my stocking or wrapped up under the tree this year:

all images from www.sephora.com

• Clinique All About Eyes - I have used this before at the Clinique makeup counter, and nothing even comes close for me. I don't struggle with super dark under-eye circles, but often lack sleep and need some help with "puffy eye bags." I don't even care if this stuff doesn't make me look more awake because I feel more awake. And that's all that really matters, right?

  
  
• Stila Stay All Day liquid eyeliner - I've come back full swing and am obsessed with mastering the cat eye, once again. It's a classic look, looks awesome during the day AND night, and is simply pretty. I usually buy super cheap liquid liner from the drugstore, but I think a higher-quality liner stays on longer and will ultimately look better. Meow.

• Benefit They're Real! mascara - This is my holy grail mascara to date. I got it by surprise for Christmas last year and fell head over heels for it (don't tell my boyfriend), and have to have it for my stubby/short eyelashes.

I will probably add half of Sephora to my Beauty Wish List before Christmas, but these are the three products I have to have. I'm going to be extra nice the next month...

purple lips or die

Do not fear purple lipstick. Or, do not fear lipstick in general if you're anything like me (the fear is real).

I have always loved the dark lips for the Fall/Winter, but have only been brave enough to sport red lips on occasion -- and by 'occasion' I mean a couple times a year.

I'm trying to be more open to lipstick, so I picked up The Body Shop's new Colour Crush Lipstick in 240 Damson in Distress. It says 'matte' but I would say it's more 'almost-matte'. This means it is not a shiny lipstick and is mostly flat but has a touch of sheen to it -- it's pretty normal for "matte" lipsticks to have a tiny bit of sheen to them.

Not too dark, not too bright - "all you need is a light jacket!" Kidding.

Verdict: I'm obsessed! The color looks super dark and plain in the tube, but the purple/dark fuchsia/I-don't-even-know color really comes alive once it's applied. And as always, it's important to take it easy on the rest of your face when rocking a bold lip.

Have you tried dark lips for Fall yet?

my newest obsession: Bumble and bumble

I recently went on a trip to New York with my parents to re-visit my Summer stomping grounds. We had a ton of fun but the coolest part of my trip was visiting the Bumble and bumble corporate office. I met a woman who is in charge of marketing there when I attended Parson's School of Design Fashion Campus NYC event in July. I got in touch with her and was super pumped when I was lucky enough to get a meeting with her and a product developer at Bumble. It was awesome talking with both of them and getting a better insight into the beauty industry -- also the office is amazing!

view from the 4th floor of bumble's 8-floor building

After visiting Bumble's corporate office, I immediately went to Sephora to check out their latest products. I feel in love with their spray chalk! I have always loved hair chalk but haven't found one that doesn't require a lot of time to apply - until now. This spray is so easy to use AND has the best color payoff - not to mention it comes in four different shades. FOUR!

can't wait to buy this

boo

my Halloween makeup

The lighting doesn't even do it justice.