Red Velvet Kitty

Cold weather, clouds, and darkness. My entire wardrobe has gone from brightness to nearly all black in the just one month. I've also noticed that my face is starting to lose its color too. No, no. This will never do. Although I love deep autumn tones, my beauty habits don't need to turn grey and boring. I was digging through my closet the other night and I found this great pair of cheetah print heels with scarlet stems that inspired me. Why not try a sort of spicy red with a hint of pink on my lips? Rich golden honey-kissed skin, messy brows, tempting eyes with a flirty red velvet pout. Yes please.

Normally I just wear a bit of gloss. It's easy and never gets old. But a red lip is so classic. It can take any outfit and automatically kick it up a notch. Now I know what you're thinking. How do you find the perfect shade of red? This decision not only has a lot to do with your complexion, but also your mood. I like to think of it as "The Hunt for Red October". You don't want something too springy but you also don't want a red tone that does nothing to complement your face. I stray away from reds with too much blue that will make me look more dead than alive. I also wait to put on lipstick until I'm fully dressed. You've got to make sure the red matches your clothes, right.

For this look, I literally grabbed an affordable lipstick from a drugstore when I was heading out for the night. The color is Red Velvet by Wet n Wild, and it's perfectly priced when you just want to try something but don't want to invest too much money. It stays put so I don't have to reapply between cocktails. Like with any other bold color, keep the rest of your face simple. I always do a bit of bronzer on my cheeks and my eye lids, a little black eyeliner on my lower lashes and then lengthening lash mascara. Throw on this cute little kitty mask, and I'm purrfect. See how just the right red lip can make such a difference. Kiss-kiss.

Barely There

Good morning, sunshine. It's time to get that sleepy head out of bed. Now before you start with your daily routine, stare at yourself in the bathroom mirror. Ah ah ah. Don't pick at that pimple that crept up in the middle of the night. Stop scrunching up your face and obessing over those microscopic wrinkles on your forehead. Just stand back and take in your own reflection like you're looking at a piece of art at a museum. Isn't it just beautiful? So why is it that you pile on layer upon layer of makeup everyday?

Don't get it twisted...I absolutely adore makeup. I check out beauty blogs on the regular. The use of colors, contouring, and shading to highlight your greatest features is just fantastic. But what irks me is slapping on too much makeup. Girl, why do you do that to yourself? You do realize that even RuPaul doesn't wear that much face. I mean, really? It's one thing to wear a splash of color here or there on a night out, but when you're wearing a full mask out to work everyday... That's just ridiculous.

How about we try something new. We're going for less in more and the "barely there" makeup look. Pick only 5 or 6 things to use on your face. Let's try a cream blush, a highlighter, mascara, lip gloss, and maybe a tinted moisturizer. Skip the heavy foundation and go for Urban Decay's Urban Defense Tinted Moisturizer that's paraben free and light reflecting for a great complexion. I love playing up my eyes, so I add a little highlighter at the inner corners and just below my eyebrows. In this case I used Wet n Wild Bronzer in Reserve Your Cabana. Then I add some oomph to my lashes with this Megalength mascara also by Wet n Wild. Wondering about that clear mascara? I use Maybelline Great Lash mascara to tame my eyebrows and add a little shine. Then dab a little Urban Decay Glide-On Cheek Tint and lip gloss from Forever 21, and I'm good to go.

The trick is instead of trying to cover everything, you're just bringing out what you already have. You don't want to look at yourself and only see makeup. You actually want to see your face. Go for products that nourish and moisturize and steer clear of anything that will dry you out. Treat your skin with love everyday, and then you won't actually be afraid of what you see in the mirror.

Beauty Blast: Rose-Colored Lips

Photography by Jenn Hoffman, Makeup by Leslie Rodriguez

Classic and gorgeous. A bold lip is one of the simplest beauty statements a woman can make. I used to be afraid of drawing attention to my lips. I felt like a clown with way too much makeup on, but then I realized the power of a bold color. It speaks volumes without you even having to say a word. When it's done right, you don't really need anything else on your face. To achieve this look, I hooked up with makeup artist extraordinaire Leslie Rodriguez. Here are her tips to get the perfect rose-colored lip...

What you'll need: MAC's lipstick in Rebel and lip liner in Burgundy

"If you're a little hesitant to dive into such a bold color, there are a few steps to ease into it. Your first day, you can use it as a stain by applying with your finger lightly to your lips and a little bit of lip balm. On your second day you can use the lipstick directly on your lips. Once you get acquainted with having a darker color on, add a liner to get the complete look. On Nikia we filled in the lips with the liner and applied the lip color with a lip brush.

This rosy lip is so easy and looks fantastic on any woman. Getting this look should take less than five minutes, but will last all day. For extra glam appleal make sure you line your line your upper lip to accentuate your Cupid's bow. It's one of the sexiest parts of your face. You'll be breaking hearts left and right.

Pucker up: Are there any bold colors you want to wear, but are nervous to try?

Halloween Glam

The thought of getting dressed up for Halloween is super exciting. I start planning like a month or so in advance. "Ooo, what should I be? I could do this. I could do that." After talking about my ideas amongst friends, I come up with a killer costume. And then a few days before, I ditch the whole idea. This is exactly what happened this year. I was dead set on being George Michael from the Faith album complete with stubble and aviators. Then earlier this week, I wasn't feeling it. So today, I panicked. "What the freak am I going to be?!"

I know I'm not the only one who's done this. Or, even better...you've got the greatest costume figured out in your head, let's just say Karl Lagerfeld as an example. Sorry to any of my friends who are actually dressing up like this.
You've got the wig, glasses, gloves, suit...so you think you're all set. But before you can even vocalize your grand plan your BFF says she's going to be Uncle Karl but she's taking it even further with a stuffed white cat. Ugh. Foiled again. So what do you do now? Don't fret, my little pretties.

Go for what inspires you. Maybe it's a color or an animal. Maybe it's your favorite song or movie. If you're totally into Frank Ocean's album, throw on some tangerine makeup and a dress of the same color and call yourself Channel Orange. If you're an 80s kid, find a cute auburn bob wig and a pink dress and say you're Molly Ringwald from Pretty in Pink. Just make sure you pout a lot. Wink, wink.

Search through blogs or flip through magazines and let awesome style grab you. I was totally moved by Jean Paul Gaultier's Ready-to-Wear Women's collection that honors some of music's biggest icons. Think about how easy it is to pull off Grace Jones or Boy George, but how fun it would be. Or maybe there's just a fantastically dark makeup look you've been dying to try. Halloween is the holiday to do. I really love vamp makeup with deep violet lips and cat eyes. Super sultry.

I wandered around a costume shop for hours today trying on stuff until something moved me. If that's what you have to do to find your Hallow's Eve mojo, then do it. But don't let the lack of an elaborate outfit put you in a funk. Sometimes, you got to get creative. However you decide to masquerade, do it with style.