Finally Embracing the Fall/Winter Color Palette…
My craving for deep plums and berries, olives, and rich reds has finally hit in full force…several months too late, apparently, as many brands are beginning their collective and meticulously coordinated launches into all things spring. Still, despite the sunny skies and often 80-degree weather here in So-Cal, I’m just beginning to embrace my love of all things fall/winter. It coould possibly have a little something to do with these boots:
I bought them last week from Hautelook! They’re by French Connection and retail for about $150 or so but I got them for a steal at $63! Yaay–happy!! I should point out that I am so not a big shoe gal. In fact, I probably only own about 6 pairs of shoes–3 that I actually wear on a daily basis (Converse, flipflops, and my workout Nikes). So purchasing something so “fancy-shmancy” (at least to me, the queen of comfy-casual) is completely new for me. But I am excited that I finally have a “grown up” pair of casual shoes to dress up my outfits a bit without being too much, if you know what I mean.
Anyway, so I got these shoes and since then, I think they’ve inspired me a bit to get back into the spirit of the cold(ish) weather season and play with my makeup items that are usually collecting dust, since I tend to favor a more warm, summery makeup look year-round. So what have I been reaching for? Let’s take a look!
–L to R: Jouer Powder Eyeshadow singles* (connected together using Jouer’s innovative slide-n-lock packaging) in Crème, Mahogany, and Pistachio, Guerlain Écrin 4 Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette* in 500 Turandot–
For my eyes, I’ve been really liking these 3 Jouer shadows: Crème* (satin matte ivory), Mahogany* (sparkling deep plum-brown), and Pistachio* (shimmering olive green). I’ve had these lying around for quite a while to be honest (ah, the perils of having an overloaded beauty stash and a wardrobe/closet to stash them in that makes it not-so-easy to see everything you own, rendering many beautiful items virtually invisible and, therefore, unused by me :/) but when I got the hankering to start playing around with some fall shades, I discovered this cute little trio that, when combined, formed the perfect, quintessentially fall-esque eyeshadow palette!
As for Turandot*, well…just look at that beauty! Many people have professed their love for this palette and with good reason–the shades are so, so gorgeous, pair beautifully together, and scream “fall/winter” to me (though they are beautiful any other time of the year, as well). The lovely Christina from Temptalia (who, I’m sure, has one of the largest makeup collections known to man) also chose to use this very palette on her wedding day–one of the most important days of a woman’s life!–so need I really say anymore than that?!
I also want to add that I have currently reignited my love affair with Make Up For Ever’s Aqua Eyes Liner in 5L (a gorgeous olive green), which I was absolutely obsessed with about a year and a half ago. I forgot to photograph it though and besides, my current one is very tiny and ugly and used-up so not sure you would have wanted to see it anyway.
–L to R: Senna Sheer Face Color in Moonberry*, Becca Mineral Blush in Sweetpea, Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Exposed, Youngblood Crushed Mineral Blush in Rouge*–
In theory, the idea of a sweetly flushed, I-just-took-a-brisk-walk-outside-in-the-cold type of cheek is incredibly appealing but in reality, I’m quite boring with my makeup and tend to reach for the same shades of peach and warm pink over and over again. But I must say, once I embraced the fall/winter eye colors, the rest of the face just kind of naturally followed suit. I started pulling out my beloved Becca Sweetpea and Tarte Exposed (I know, I know–I gave this blush a lot of crap when I first got it but honestly, I get the fuss now. The texture is obviously not my favorite but the color…I really get it!) more and more. Once I had acclimated to not wearing a peachy hue on my cheeks everyday, I decided it was time to bring out the big guns–shades that I have always been too chicken to wear: Senna’s Moonberry* and Youngblood’s Rouge*.
Moonberry is a luscious sheer berry. I will just say it now: I love it. Absolutely love it. I can’t believe it’s taken me til now to bring myself to try a berry shade like this. In the pan, it looks dark and intimidating but silly me, I should’ve known that deep berry blushes like these are usually on the sheerer side to render them more wearable. I mean really, this blush is gorgeous on the cheeks and very easy to wear!
Once I got over my fear of Moonberry, Youngblood’s Rouge suddenly didn’t seem so bad anymore. I usually steer clear of red-toned blushes since the very tip of my nose tends to get red a lot. But Rouge is, again, quite sheer and super-duper easy to blend out (thanks to the loose powder form) and looks oh-so-natural on the cheeks. It’s a simple blush and contains no shimmer or glitter–it’s just a really pretty matte, mid-tone, warm reddish-pink. Applied very sparingly, I look like I’m naturally blushing. Applied a bit heavier, I look like a snow bunny fresh off the powdery slopes. Either way, the effect is gorgeous.
–Jouer Tinted Lip Enhancer in Shiraz*, Fresh Sugar Plum Tinted Lip Treatment SPF15, Chanel Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss in 68 Troublant–
True to form, I prefer my berry/plummy lip colors on the sheer side. My 3 favorite lip products that provide the perfect accompaniment to the products above are Jouer’s Tinted Lip Enhancer in Shiraz*, Fresh’s Sugar Plum Tinted Lip Treatment SPF15, and Chanel’s Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss in Troublant (practically brand-new because I’m so bad and have barely touched the poor thing since purchasing it in fall 2012, despite the fact that I LOVE the color and the formula). The first 2 products are perfect for daytime and are great because they are tinted balms, so no extra layer of lip balm underneath is required.
Troublant, on the other hand, is just a bit more creamy and pigmented and really adds a bit more drama to a look–perfect for a non-fussy nighttime lip. It’s glossy and sexy and is surprisingly moisturizing for a gloss. It also lasts hours on the lips. I really have nothing bad to say about this beautiful gloss!
–Swatches L to R: Jouer Crème, Mahogany, Pistachio, Guerlain Turandot Palette far left shade, top middle shade, bottom middle shade, far right shade, Senna Moonberry, Becca Sweetpea, Tarte Exposed, Youngblood Rouge–
–click images to enlarge–
I apologize in advance for the mismatched quality and sizing of the photos below. I admit, I was too lazy to retake the swatch photos of the lip products so I just used the old swatch photos from the original reviews.
–Chanel Troublant swatched heavily on left and sheered out on right–
So how bout you guys–are you still embracing the different shades of fall/winter or have you already moved on to spring? What are some of your favorite products for creating a wintery look?
*these products were provided to The Beauty Sample free of charge for review purposes. Despite this, my opinions are always honest and I only included products in this post that I truly use and love
*this particular product was won in a giveaway held by the gorgeous and always sweet Lily from ChloeAsh.com. Despite this, my opinion of the product remains honest and unbiased
