The perfect red lipstick

The perfect red lipstick

How to find the shade most suitable for you and manage to create the makeup look exactly you want

Style & trends

The first and most important thing to know is what type of a look we want to create. Some shades of red are associated with eras in fashion and styles or trends from the past so we should make sure to choose a color in accordance to this. For example if you’re trying to create a Marylin Monroe inspired look - you should surely opt for a brick red colour while if we’re trying to dress up as Cruella de Vil, who is an extremely popular character right now, for Halloween - you shall chose a bright bold classic shade of red.

Type and texture

It’s usually a matter of choice and preference only but it’s also pretty important. You can opt for a more liquid textured red lipstick or a more creamy/matte one.

A benefit of liquid lipsticks is that they are light and hydrating - so your look won’t be too formal. Unfortunately they will probably be less pigmented and might get runny if you don’t use a lip pencil. Yes, this could be used as creative approach but most of the time it’s just annoying. Especially fond are moments when we flaunt a colored in red smile on important photographs while actually believing we look classy.

A benefit of creamy and matte lip colours is that they are less likely to run or smudge, they are usually more pigmented and long-lasting and you can even mix two different shades - darker for the lip corners and lighter for the middle part of the lips. The only warning here is in regards to lipcare because you need to get your lips properly moisturized before applying the creamy/matte lip colour in order to get the lipstick to both look and feel good.

Lipsticks: DIOR, Maybelline, HM, NYX Cosmetics

Undertones

It may sound a little bit complex especially for someone who doesn’t know a lot about painting and colours because we talk about colour mixing. However, it is very logical and easy to understand - every colour can vary and have either a warm undertone or a cold undertone, as the warm undertone is yellowish and the cold undertone is blueish. For example a warm undertone red is the colour of bricks, the traffic light red, the strawberry red. A cold undertone red is the raspberry red, the dark red rose colour and the wine red.

The same thing about undertones is true for our skin colour - and each of us has a warmer or colder undertone to their skin.

The key advice is to choose a lipstick colour with undertones that match your skin undertones. So if you have a warmer skintone - you shall choose a more orangy, brick red or classic bright red and if you have a cold skin undertone - you should opt for a colder shade such as wine red or some raspberry shade. Simple as that.

Despite these little “rules” I just shared with you of course you may fall in love with any red lipstick shade regardless of anything just said simply because you like it or it matches an outfit you have - and of course it’s all fine!

I hope I managed to help you find “your” red lipstick shade. Anyway if you’re like me - you’ll always have many favourites.

- Nicole

My new favorite place to shop - NYX Cosmetics

The first ever NYX Cosmetics store in Bulgaria, Sofia opened doors last month and it quickly became one of my favorite places to shop. With great affordable prices and amazing products that I’ve been dreaming of for so long, it sure couldn’t be any better. <3

I couldn’t attend the grand opening of the store since I was at work all day but I made sure to visit it as soon as I could in the weekend. And let me say my visit went very well and took more than an hour haha because I just fell in love with everything and couldn’t stop looking around.

Let’s start with the cool videos playing on the screens inside and outside the store that feature some super talented and Insta famous makeup arists for example my favorite girl Leigh Dickson. Next thing to mention – all the products were so cool and I swear I’ve never seen more shades of makeup ever in my life. Although I still haven’t tried as many as I would like to, I surely will so stay tuned haha.

I bought some very useful and quality products that you’ll see in the photos below. And I also got a contour palette as a present because there was a promo campaign after the opening of the store. I’ve never contoured before because I’m not really into that trend but I occasionally use the highlighters and I like them a lot.

Thank you for reading guys. :) I’d love to hear your opinions on the store so make sure you share them in the comments.

Also do you like NYX in general? What is your favorite NYX product? What other makeup and comsetic brands do you use?

- Nicole

New hairstyle & hair color

Hello, happy October and happy autumn! As part of my preparation for the new season, the fall trends and all the projects and events coming up for me, I decided to make a style change. So I recently got a new haircolor and hairstyle. Up until now I've been rockin' a long blonde hairstyle with dark ombre roots in my natural brown color. My hair was super long and hippie style, I actually liked it a lot but I felt I wanted to try something new. 

I had a pretty clear idea what I wanted my hairstyle to be. I wanted a lighter color and textured hairstyle, shorter bangs and a pinch of 'wild thing' haha becasue I'm a rock chick of course. I did my best to find photos of a color and a hairstyle I liked and then headed for my hairstylist appointment.

And here comes the best part. It's because I've been going to the same hair salon for about two years and the results are just always stunning. My stylist Petia always listens to me when I'm explaining to her what I want for my hair and then she does her magic and Voila! I look exactly as I wanted to. Thank you very much, Petia! :) And this time it was no exception, I was so happy when I got home that I immediately started taking selfies of course haha. If you're following me on Instagram, I bet you saw them in my stories. :D And now I'm ready for autumn and trying out different dos which I have decided to start doing more often in the future so stay tuned for more hair related blog post and photos!

Thank you for reading guys! I'd love to hear about your fave hairstyles, latest haircolor and hairstyle changes and more so tell me in the comments below! :)

- Nicole

LIPSTICK TIME...💋

Who doesn’t love a new lipstick?…or 2 or 5 that you don’t really need and already have in similar shades but you adore them so you get them anyway. Yeah but when you’re getting ready in the morning it always feels like “Daaamn which one do I wear today? This one doesn’t match my outfit, and my lips are to chapped for the cute matte one…Ughh!!” Right? Well, I found a way to solve this problem. Turns out that all it takes is just four essensial lipsticks. Of cource you can buy many more but these four will save you whenever you’re in a hurry or busy and will asure you always make the right choice for your lips.

I decided to give you a handy guide to how to pick these four basic lipsticks you need for beauty survival and what ocassions they are suitable for.

P.S. My faves are from Essence but I bet every brand has good alternatives. Also it turns out that some of the shades I have are out of stock right now so I can’t link them, sorry.

#1 Your lips’ best friend.

What is it? A good ol’ nude shade of a moisturising lipstick. Pick a color close to the natural color of your lips and make sure it’s not a matte lipstick because you need it to be nourishing and softening your lips. You can carry it in any bag so it’s at hand 24/7 and the best thing is that you can apply it even without a mirror.

When to wear it? It’s suitable for any ocassion honestly. It’s winter and your lips need moisturising? Great! It’s too hot and a darker color would smudge? Great! It is a good choice when you’re on the go or when you just don’t want to everdo your makeup. It also looks great paired with a smokey eye because it balances the heavy eye makeup.

#2 The Matte Queen one.

What is it? Classic Insta loved trend. I know. I know. No matter if you choose a liquid or traditional lipstick, it's gonna make any look selfie-worhty. It's best to choose a brown or brownish color, 3 or 4 shades darker than your natural lip color so that it really makes your lips pop.

When to wear it? Best for selfies! as I already said and also for going out because let's be honest it gaves that classy cool chick vibe to any outfit. For best results combine with a cat eye.

#3 The Liquid One.

What is it? Glossy and lovely and it smells like your favorite fruit. You can get creative and choose from a variety of lip glosses and moisturising liquid lipsticks. Glitter or no glitter. Colored or clear. Whatever you want! The only rule here is - choose one that makes you feel good and kissable.

When to wear it? ANY FUCKIN' TIME YOU WANT! :) (I bet it's not obvious that I just love lip glosses too much. :D )

#4 The wild color. 

What is it?  Every girl's got one favorite bold bright lipstick color. For Taylor Swift it's red, for Emma Watson it's raspberry. Just choose your fave and you're set. There are some tips and tricks that could help you find the best shades according to your skin color, hair color, eye color etc. I might write an article about this in the future so if you're interested in one let me know in comments below.

When to wear it? Just whenever you feel wild and want to try out something colorful, you feel your outfit is too plain and want to add a splash of color or something like that. Personally, when I wear a bold color I love to match it with my nail polish or some accessory.

That’s it, you’re ready to rock the world now! 💋

- Nicole