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

ROSE GOLD + BLACK LACE OUTFIT

The hot weather cannot stop me from rockin' a cool outfit. I found out that a loose top is the perfect desicion for summer days, then I combined it with a black lace bralette for a trendier and chic look. It is an H&M crushed velvet strappy top in rose gold, yes! the colour that is all over the place this summer. I really love it and I actually bought so many rose gold things lately that I'm not sure if I'll even have the time to style and wear them all :D.

Top: H&M

Black Lace Bralette: ASOS

Lipsticks: Essence

Eyeliners: Essence, L'Oréal

Rings: H&M, Forever 21

Notebook: Moleskine

Soo let's take a closer look at this little arrangement. I added some jewelry because I simply can't go out without jewelry, it kinda has this magical power to make every look ten times better. I also made sure to show you the color of the top up close so I snaped a photo of the fabric.

Metallic necklace: H&M

Choker: Dollskill

Now let's get to the second part. Here you can see some of my fave makeup products right now and the rings I'm wearing basically on a daily basis. So I'm using eyeliners a lot and after years of trying out different products I realized that my favorite are liquid eyeliner pens. They are so easy to use and the aplication takes only a minute, plus that the coverage is great. I hate it so much when you apply your eyeliner and it turns out looking grayish and the coverage is not good, so annoying! But I managed to find products that are really good. I am using two eyeliners depending on what look I aim for and I have an Essence Super Fine Eyeliner Pen for precise thin lines and a L'Oréal Paris Super Liner Blackbuster Eye Liner for a thick bold cateye.

I couldn't pick which out of those lipsticks to wear because they're all in very similar shades so they're all here. :D These are Essence lipsticks btw, all in nude colours because I'm loving nudes this summer. And right next to them are some of my fave rings that I got from H&M and Forever 21. They're honestly so cute I that can't stop wearing them and they're different size so I can even stack them up.

Another thing I really wanted to show you is my moleskine because it's with me practically all the time so it's actually part of all my outfits :D. I am a singer and songwriter and make sure to always have somewhere to write down notes and ideas. So this buddy is my best friend and it's full of rockin' lyrics you'll soon hear because I'm already working on my debut album. So stay tuned. ;)

- Nicole

JULY FAVORITES

So now that July is over, it's time for taking a look at my fave things from last month. The weather was great and I got to spend lots of time strolling around town and shopping.

#1 Aaaand I finally found and bought a wrap choker and I have been in love with it eversince. I've seriously been looking for one in the past few months and I was very happy to find this cutie. It has two star pendants that are both classy and kinda playful so it actually fits my style very very well. So expect to see it a lot in my outfit Insta posts haha.

#2 The next fave of mine is my brand new set of makeup brushes! I just love them already and I've only had them for like two weeks. I found them absolutely accidentaly but they are really soft and high quality. My makeup surely looks like ten times better now. Happy! :D

#3 Another July favorite of mine surely is my new fragrance. It's a present from my mom and it's a Pur Blanca perfume by AVON. I have loved this scent for so long guys, I had one a couple of years ago, then got another one and soon it was my to-go perfume. It lasts really long and it's a floral fragrance great for summer.

#4 I also included here my new elastic telephone wire hand/hair band. I honestly don't know how exactly to call it so I used all the words I came up with. :D It's comfy, cute and easily goes as a bracelet. And if you suddenly decide that you want to put your hair up? Voila! you also have a hair tie.

#5 And last but not least, another one of my July favorites is a present form my bff. It's Treacle moon's Marshmallow Heaven hand cream. No need to say it smells like marshmallows :D. I haven't tried any other products from Treacle moon yet but I definitely will be in the future because they all just smell so so good. And I'll keep you updated of course.

Now it's your turn. Do you like these? And how about your July favorites? Can't wait to read about it 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