Mindy really is as cute and beautiful, smart and funny, and as much fun as you’d think she’d be. I’ve been inspired by all she’s done since we first met a few years back. Plus, just being around her has made me rethink my usual uniform of solid color black, gray, navy, and white. Her love for bold color and clothing with print, pattern and design has rubbed off on me immensely.

I don’t watch television at home, so I usually play catch up on The Mindy Project when I’m traveling by watching episodes back-to-back on the plane. Recently I was in a hotel room during a particularly long travel job, missing home and feeling downright homesick, so I decided I’d turn to the television to keep me company before bed. I casually turned it on and walked into the bathroom to brush my teeth, when I heard a familiar voice coming from the tv, and felt so overwhelmed with happiness – it was like I was sitting in Mindy’s dining room, going over the hilarious night she’d had. I actually walked back into the bedroom and smiled at the television as if I had just run into an old friend.

In the pics above we were in Mindy’s office, and it was one of those times she’d told me to go for it and make the decisions on the makeup look for the evening event she would be attending. I was particularly proud of myself for this one.

As always, the majority of products I used for the look are from the world of the green beauty market. If you’re not familiar with them, follow the links to learn more about each one.  I’ve been focused on exploring the non-toxic cosmetics industry for years now and have found the best of the best.

On her eyes: I blended two Kjaer Weiss shadows, in ‘Divine’ + ‘Onyx’ all over her lid, and softly under her bottom lash line. I then carefully placed a bit of Alima Pure’s shadow, ‘Smoke’ – a deep blue green shimmer –  on the middle of her lid and buffed it into her lid to give her an extra pop of color when batting her lashes. I lightly lined the inside of her entire eye with black liner and coated her lashes in a ton of mascara.

On her brows: I used a mixture of brown brow gel from Eco Brow in ‘Liz’, and a brown shadow called ‘Espresso’ from W3LL people to fill in her brows and make them a little extra intense.

On her cheeks: I’m not gonna lie- I’ve had a hard time getting all-natural cheek color products to show up, and last for hours at a time on women with complexions in shades similar to Mindy. I’m not sure why this is, but it has bummed me out on numerous occasions when I thought I’d given her a really pumped up cheek, only to see photos of her from the nights’ event, looking like I’d forgotten her cheeks entirely. In this case I turned to a blend of powder cheek colors from Tarte (a not-natural, but really great color line) in ‘Tipsy’ and ‘Natural Beauty’

On her skin: I’ve tested every green beauty product foundation on her skin and have yet to find one that’s as perfect a match, and as long lasting as ones from Smashbox and Makeup Forever. Mindy also turned me onto using a foundation from Kat Von D that works really well for her complexion. I also really love using both the Secret Camouflage concealer from Laura Mercier, as well as the Bobbi Brown foundation sticks, to even out her skin on the quick. I’ve been setting her foundation with a powder foundation from W3LL People with good success in both oil control and color matching.

Finally on Miss Mindy’s lips: I used a blend of burgundy and red lip colors, including: the Aura multi use stains from Vapour Organic Beauty in ‘Lure’ and ‘Impulse’.  Generally speaking, I’m not a fan of overly glossed lips. In most cases I’ll just press a teeny bit of a gloss into the middle of the bottom lip and have my client purse her lips to add moisture and a touch of shine. For Mindy, I pressed a drop of ‘Bitten’ gloss from Vapour Organic Beauty into her pout with my ring finger and stood back to admire how gorgeous it had all come together!

 

 

When my friend Jessie stopped by my house recently, I couldn’t resist asking if I could dress up her lips with some colors of the season. I knew she would look gorgeous in Burt’s Bees all-natural semi-matte lip crayon, ‘Napa Vineyard‘, and boy oh boy, did she ever. I topped it with just a bit of Burt’s Bees tinted lip balm in ‘Rose‘ to keep her lips feeling perfectly moisturized.

Later in the evening when we were getting ready to go out, I had a thought: we should add a few coats of Burt’s Bees all-natural lip gloss in my favorite deep, rich purple-tone, called ‘Starry Night’, and see what happens.

The result was so super pretty. A very different, but still deep, richly pigmented, multi-dimensional color, just perfect for falling temperatures, snuggly sweaters… and a hat.

If you’d like help finding the shade I think will look best on you, click here and here to explore the Burt’s Bees Lip Shade Finder and Lip Tip Library.

Thanks for showing off the lip colors so well, beautiful Jessie! xxx

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Burt’s Bees. The opinions and text are all mine.

Fall: It’s that sweet spot between end of the summer and the start of the holiday season. It’s time for you to break out those gorgeous fall lip colors and see how fun they are to wear. Choose from a barely there sheer wash of color, super pigmented mattes, and glossy payoffs.

A good number of you have asked me for a lip color round-up to introduce you to some of the shades we see this time of year on the runways and red carpets:  deep, rich plums lipsticks, purple-y red glosses, satin-finished blackberries, and sheer merlot stains. It’s not always easy, though, to gauge just how this type of color is going to look on the lips.

The finished product not only depends on the way in which you apply:

1. directly from the tube, with a heavy hand, in a smeared, back-and-forth motion;

2. from the tube, but only lightly dabbing the stick onto your lips;

3. with a lip brush to make a precise edge;

4. by tapping your finger from the tube to your lip, adding layers of pigment until you reach the desired intensity level,

but it also depends heavily on what your natural lip color is before you start applying.  Those with a lot of pink or red in your lips are going to find that the deep purple wine stains can take on a completely different hue, and those of you with a really deep brown color to your lips may find that some of these shades disappear completely on you, or never show up with enough intensity, no matter what you do.

All of that said, it’s really difficult for someone like me (or a makeup company, for that matter) to definitively advise you on what to buy based on how you look sans lip color.  I can however, suggest shades to play with, and tell you my favorite ways to apply them. What should ultimately influence your decision when you’re standing at a makeup counter, or staring at lipstick swatches on the screen of your computer, wondering: when was the last time my  laptop’s color temperature was calibrated? [NEVER?!] are variables like: your eye color, your hair color,  your skin tone, your clothing color palette, your mood…

In no particular order (really, just the order in which I pulled them out of my big ol’ bag of lipsticks), here are some of my favorites. Those of you who follow this blog based on our shared love for ‘green’ beauty options, please take note that there are a handful of lip colors that don’t fall into that category, however, they’re such rich and dense shades – shades which are not readily available (or at least not that I know of!) in the all-natural world of lip color – that I often use them on photo shoots when I need that intensity. I did just check Jane Iredale’s webiste and found that she has a few deep purple shades that I have not yet tried.

HOW TO GET: NOT TOO HEAVY, NOT TOO LIGHT: THE PERFECT APPLICATION OF COLOR

When you’re new to wearing these shades, it can be overwhelming to see yourself with a thick application of. let’s say, Ilia’s ‘Ink Pot‘, or Mac’s ‘Rebel’ (which are very similar in color).  Instead, try tapping the lipstick onto your lightly lip-balmed lips, or use your ring finger to tap a good amount of product from the tube, and then press the pigment into your lips. This is how I generally apply all lipstick, even on myself. It helps to ensure less caking along the corners of your mouth as the hours pass, and through the act of pressing the product into your lips, you’ll find it sticks around longer than if you simply swipe the tube across your pout once or twice.

HOW TO GET: SHEER COLOR WITH A DEWEY FINISH

There are a multitude of great sheer options on the market that are easy to apply, and the more swipes across your lip, the deeper the shade becomes. My top favorites include: Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer in’Prune’ and Kjaer Weiss’ ‘Sensuous Plum’.

HOW TO GET: SHEER GLOSSY LIPS

Trying out a lipstain, like ‘Quickstep or ‘Foxtrot’ [Foxtrot not pictured below]’ from Josie Maran is another great way to become acquainted with these shades. To start, color the marker onto UNMOISTURIZED lips (this is important to ensure the color will adhere), and then try following up with a gloss, like the gorgeous blackberry one from Vapour Organic Beauty in ‘Bitten‘, or their more chocolate shade ‘Risque‘. This makes for a luscious and easy to wear fall shade.

HOW TO GET: INTENSELY COLORED, MATTE OR SATIN FINISH LIPS

If you’re going for a much more dramatic look, make sure that your lips have been moisturized, but then blot them with a tissue, to ensure that your deep lipstick of choice adheres evenly, and depending on the look you’re going for, you might want to lightly outline your lips in a similar shade lipliner to ensure the color doesn’t bleed.  I wouldn’t advise that a dramatically deep, highly pigmented purple or merlot shade (like the one pictured on the model in the photo on the right) EVER be  highly glossy (i.e. adding gloss on top of the lipstick) in real life (a photo shoot is a different story). It’s guaranteed to slide off your lips, appear blotchy, and get on your teeth. This means that a super deep shade should be in a matte, satin, or have a super light dewey finish. It’s a great idea to lightly touch a tissue onto a closed mouth to ever so slightly remove excess product. My picks to accomplish this kind of look: NARS, ‘Train Bleu’ matte lip pencil, Chanel ‘Rouge Noir’ Lipstick, MAC Smoked ‘Purple Matte’ Lipstick, and Vapour Organic Beauty ‘Siren Bold’ Lipstick.

HOW TO AVOID:  THE DREADED LIPSTICK ON YOUR TEETH LOOK!

My grandmother showed me the best way to ensure that this embarrassing faux pas doesn’t happen:

1. after applying your lip color, open your lips into an ‘O’ shape.

2. grasp a cotton swab by the middle between your pointer finger and thumb, placing one end of the swab into your mouth, keeping your fingers on the handle, just outside of your mouth with the other cotton bud end pointing straight out, parallel to    the floor.

3. Pucker your lips like you’re  blowing a kiss around the handle of the swab, and gently pull the swab out of your mouth, making sure the inside of your lips comes in contact with the cotton as it leaves your mouth.

4. Repeat with the other side of the swab.

Voila – all of the excess color that would’ve ended up on your teeth has been swept away! Packing a few q-tips in your purse is always a good idea, to use for this trick, or to clean up fallen mascara.

The final two shades on the bottom right of the photo below are soon to be released, are part of the ‘green’ family of beauty products, are super affordable, and super beautiful. Once they hit the market I promise to tell you who makes them!

Happy leaves-changing, sweater-wearing, chilly hands, feet, and noses, FALL WEATHER everyone!

 

 

 

Today marks the start of a beautiful partnership.  Spirit Demerson, founder and owner of Spiritbeautylounge.com, the wonder woman who introduced me to so many fantastic green lines of makeup and skin care, and I, are teaming up to bring you ‘get the look’ blog posts.

I do the makeup while on a photo shoot, take the model’s picture at lunchtime, and send it off to Spirit to pair it with images of the products I used. Hallelujah!  This will make it so easy for you to quickly ‘get the look’, because you’ll be able to see the exact products I used, read how I used them, and click on the link to Spirit’s site to buy them. Couldn’t be easier.

To kick things off, please allow me to present the lovely Canadian model, Marla Boehr.

I prepped her skin by massaging in a few drops of Ila Rose Oil to combat the in-flight dryness I saw around her eyes, nose, cheeks, and mouth (She’d just flown in from Canada).

On her skin:
On her t-zone I sparingly pressed liquid foundation from Vapour Organic Beauty in number 125 and to make the finish look like bare skin, I lightly pressed it in with a slightly dampened beauty blender sponge.

On her eyes:

1. All over the eye area I pressed Kjaer Weis’s charmed shadow in a very sheer application with a medium domed brush. I blended it from the lid up all the way to her brow, sheering it out the further away from her lid I got. I swept some underneath her bottom lashes from edge to edge, as well.

In the crease of her eye I pressed a more tightly-domed shadow brush topped with  Kjaer’s shadow, Wisdom, and used a fluffier domed shadow brush to really blend it into the crease. I took what was left of the shadow on the tightly-domed brush and concentrated the placement of it under the iris, while using a cotton swab to barely blend it towards the edges.

In the inner corner of her eyes I pressed Kjaer’s shadow, Cloud Nine, which really made her eyes pop.

On her cheeks:

2. Onto a soft-tipped fluffy, but not densely packed brush, I blended together Ilia’s ‘All Of Me’ and ‘I Put a Spell on You’ and swirled it onto the apples of her cheeks. I used the same sponge I used on her t-zone to gently blend out the edges.

On her lips:

3. & 4. I used a combination of Ilia’s ‘Femme Fatale’ and Vapour Organic Beauty’s ‘Siren Ravish’ lipstick.  I first pressed Siren Ravish into her lips, and had her mash her lips together to really stain them. Then I applied Femme Fatale with a brush over top of the deeper shade, Ravish, and had her press her lips together a few times to really combine the colors.  I finished the application by gently tapping the pads of my fingers over her lips to soften the texture. Combining the two shades on the lips in this way creates a real depth to the mouth and wears wonderfully.

Finally, these are not products that Spirit has in her online boutique, as they’re not ‘green’, but I really like how they look and haven’t found an alternative that I like quite as much.

On her brows:

I used Laura Mercier Brunette Brow Pencil and Paula Dorf Brow Powder in Neutral

On her lashes

I used Covergirl Lash Blast in very black – very sparingly on top and bottom.

I’ll be testing out using different cameras for these how-to’s. This one was taken with my cracked-screen iPhone, which I think will be going into retirement.  Regardless, Marla rocked this look incredibly well and everyone on set loved it. Note: We were shooting clothes for the Fall, when lip color gets more deep and eyes become a little more intense. Try a purple, a burgundy or a brownish-red this Fall and you’ll be totally on-trend.