What Happened When Jonas Foiled My Weekend Plans

Let’s face it, no one here in the NYC metro area really thought that winter storm Jonas was going to be that bad. I mean just a month ago we were expecting the cherry blossoms to bloom – but Mother Nature finally came back from vacation and was like:

Initially, I thought Jonas wouldn’t be so bad and I would still be able to get my hair done, take a little trip to Ricky’s and then make my way to Trader Joe’s but that was a resounding NO! So there I was – at home with my plans foiled. Finally, I thought let me just go through my beauty stash to see what I’ve got going on in there. Lately, I’ve been trying (okay, buying) out of the box colors. I wanted to get out of my neutral rut – I mean how many berry/brown shades can you own without them all looking the same. My favorites have been the shades that are vivid purples. I was actually surprised at how well they worked with my skin tone. I’ve even been so bold as to wear them at the office (not sure how they’re feeling about that, but whatever).

I love a matte lip or at least a semi-matte lip. First of all, they last longer and I don’t have to set an alarm on my phone reminding me to check and/or re-apply. Currently, my two favorites are from Kat Von D and MAC. Now here’s the thing – you MUST exfoliate and moisturize before you use either of these two formulas. For the record, I do not think there is such a thing as a hydrating matte liquid lipstick. A matte lipstick – yes, (that will be another post) but a matte liquid lipstick – I have yet to find one that really lives up to that hydrating/moisturizing claim. One more thing I don’t need to tell you (or maybe I do) you NEED to exfoliate and hydrate before you wear a matte liquid lipstick. Bite Beauty has two products that will make your lips so smooth and kissably soft that you’ll basically wonder how you ever survived without them. The two products that are in my arsenal are the Whipped Cherry Lip Scrub followed by the Agave Lip Mask. After exfoliating and hydrating I follow up with one of these two matte liquid lipsticks.

Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Susperia  (a bright lavender purple) or

MAC Retro Matte Liquid Lip Colour in Recollection (an intense lavender purple)

Here are swatches of the two colors:

In addition to exfoliating and hydrating prior to application, I would also recommend using a lip primer/liner like Bite Beauty’s Line & Define Lip Primer. This primer acts as a base for your matte lip virtually smoothing out all fine lines while preventing feathering for that sculpted look. Don’t be surprised if you just randomly start seeing pics of my lips on Instagram. By the way, are we social? Just to the right of this post you can connect with me there – no pressure. Until next time – which will probably be tomorrow, always remember to SEE. TOUCH. TASTE.