Summer 2014 Lips + Tips

Hello lovelies!

The weather is warming up where I live so I thought it was high time I let you all in on the lipstick and nail polish shades I am really looking forward to rocking this summer. I think we’ll dive straight into the lipsticks I can’t wait to wear all summer long!

My first lipstick pick is a cult favorite from MAC Cosmetics. Lady Danger is my favorite shade by far to wear in the summertime. It is so fun with its bright red-orange hue and it seriously lasts on the lips because of the matte finish. I find that as long as your slap a lip balm on a few minutes before you’re ready to apply this shade, the matte formula really isn’t too drying and downright comfortable to wear. Now if you’re going to be eating while wearing Lady Danger you will need to touch up a bit, but it’s such a stunning shade I totally don’t mind.

I think we’ll keep the MAC train rolling with Crème Cup which, I’m not going to lie to you, I wear all year round. It’s a fabulous light blue based pink cremesheen formula which is one of my favorites and is probably the best “nude” shade for my skin tone. I love wearing this on its own or with a gloss over top because it’s gorgeous.

Continuing with my MAC lipstick picks, I know I’ll be wearing Kinda Sexy a lot this summer. It’s a neutral pinky-rose color so it’s usually my go-to on days when I don’t want to wear very much makeup, but still want to look like a person. One example of a makeup situation I would pair it with is if I just want to go to the grocery store so I’ll throw on some concealer, a super light coverage foundation, a teensy bit of a contour/bronzing with heaps and heaps of mascara and this lipstick. It makes you look like you made an effort while still being super easy to do in like 5-10 minutes before you run out the door to be a responsible adult…hehe just kidding! You know I’m going to the store to buy Toaster Strudels and CapriSuns. (Yes, you are right, I am a 5 year old in a 24 year old body…you caught me.)

 The last MAC lipstick pick that will be on my lips all summer long is Crosswires. I love this pinky orange cremesheen formula because it’s bright, but it is also easy to wear. When I’m wearing a shade like this that has orange in it, I really like to make sure my teeth are as white as can be as it tends to make my teeth look a teensy bit yellow. Not ideal, but I can work around it and it motivates me to whiten my teeth a bit more regularly.

My next pick isn’t summer specific, but I do love it and wear it all the time so I thought I’d include it. It’s the YSL Rouge Volupte Lipstick in No. 1 Nude Beige. It’s a good nude lip (I really don't like that term) option for me and it’s easy. I can apply it without a mirror, it wears off nicely (read: evenly) and the formula is pretty darn moisturizing.

I have obviously been on a MAC lipstick kick, so there’s that. Moving on to nails, I’m basically going to go through my whole manicure routine and a few shades I’m loving this summer.

After trimming, filing and buffing my nails I like the apply a nail treatment. The one I have been absolutely loving is the OPI Nail Envy. Now when I first saw people doing reviews on YouTube I was not about this product because I just thought everyone was getting paid to say that it was good (which they probably were), but now that I’ve been using it for about a year, I can say that I actually really like it.

Sometimes I’ll use the OPI Nail Envy as a base coat in addition to being my nail treatment, but for the occasions that I want to make sure my manicure lasts as long as absolutely freaking possible I will use the CND Stickey Base Coat which is ah-mazing! I’m nearing the bottom of my bottle now and I’m sad to say it’s getting goopy and hard to apply. Hide yo kids, hide yo wife cuz Heather's gonna be picking up another bottle when she can’t handle how difficult and shitty the formula gets. I promise I won't be referring to myself in the third person anymore in this blog post, pinky swear.

After whatever base coat I’ve used has dried, I apply two to three coats of the polish I’m using depending on the formula, opacity, blah blah blah. A few of the shades I’m going to be rocking all summer long are as follows: Essie Snap Happy (a gorgeous bright-ass red that is perfect for toes and fingers alike), Essie In The Cabana (the best aqua-turquoise shade you ever did peep, it’s SUCH a pretty color), Orly Rage (because who doesn't need a metallic-ass rose gold in their life at all times?), OPI Pompeii Purple (this shade is so beautiful you'll probably cry, you've been warned) and the last thing I have to share is a nail combo that is just divine in the summer, or anytime there is lots and lots of sunshine and that is one coat of Essie After School Boy Blazer and two coats of Essie Aruba Blue and that produces the most beautiful nail color EVAR! When you're indoors it looks are dark and awesome, but when you're outside and the sun hits it, it's a shining, shimmering splendor and you"ll be in a whole new world (Aladdin reference intended). Oh! And if you're feeling really cray (yes, I did just say "cray"...I regret nothing!) you can do one coat of Essie After School Boy Blazer, one coat of Essie Aruba Blue then a coat of Deborah Lippmann Lady Sings The Blues (this is a super crazy beautiful chunky glitter that looks like perfection on the nails) and your nails will look absolutely fantastic!

I follow up my polish of choice with a top coat and I have two that I really enjoy. The first is Seche Vite Fast Drying Top Coat which smells like it’s super bad for you and will probably kill you in the not so distant future, but the shine it leaves your nails with, girl, it’s worth it. The second top coat is INM Out the Door which I usually use when I’m an idiot and decide to paint my nails like 20 minutes before I have to be somewhere, which happens more often than I’d like to admit.

Once my top coat has had a minute or two to dry, I apply a couple drops of the Nicole by OPI Drying Drops which are literally bottled unicorn tears and work beautifully. It seriously takes two or three minutes and I can be on my way, but before I go anywhere I have to apply cuticle oil because my cuticles are quite dry in the summer and the one I use is the CND Solar Oil, it’s fabulous!

That is all I've got for you. See you with a new post later this week!

xoxo Heather