/

When it comes to lippies I’m normally a sucker for a bold color but lately I have been gravitating more towards nudes. Neutral tones can really light up your face and accent your makeup. I also feel like a neutral lip shade flatters all women, regardless of skin tone. There’s also a wide range in what classifies as a nude. I prefer to stick to the warm browns, pink and mauves.

Here are some of my favorite nude lip products:

 IMG_7992

[ From Left to Right ]

1. NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Abu Dhabi – This is one of my favorite matte formulas! It’s super creamy and goes on silky smooth. It doesn’t feather like other mattes tend to do but this formula also will not stay on all day. I’m perfectly ok with that as sometimes true mattes are super drying.

2. Kylie Matte Liquid Lipstick in Candy K – The hype over these lip kits were huge! I guess I lucked out grabbing one because I literally just went on the site after hearing people complaining about it selling out in 5 minutes and I was able to add Candy K into my cart and check out. Candy K is a dusty brown rose color. The formula is very pigmented and it dried quick so I recommend applying in thin layers. This stuff will not move from your lips though! While it can feel very dry, just add a bit on gloss on top to soften it up.

3. NYX Butter Gloss in Tiramisu – I’m a huge NYX fan and these Butter Glosses are what I tend to wear on a daily basis. The color of the bottle is the exact color you get when you apply it. Also it smells amazing.

4. Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Lipstick in Pepper – This is such a gorgeous shade. It is a nude dusty rose and I love that it does’t wash out your skin. The formula is creamy and just like most other lipsticks you will be reapplying after a few hours.

5. Nars Satin Pencil on Rikugien – The formula of the satin pencils is very light, almost feeling as if you don’t have anything on your lips. The shade is a mute rose (see a pattern here lol) and it is buildable.

6.ColourPop Ultra Matte Lipstick in Bianca – ColourPop makes my favorite matte lippies that truly last forever on the lip. The formula is incredible and they have amazing shades.

7. Clinique Chubby Stick Intense in Curviest Caramel – This is such a great neutral color. The Chubby Sticks are soft and lightweight and have a great moderate gloss finish.

8. L’oreal Infallible Pro Matte Gloss in Bare Attraction – As my favorite drugstore brand, L’oreal did not disappoint with this Pro Matte collection. Just like the first product on my list, you won’t get that typical drying matte formula with these. They are creamy and super pigmented while still have the perfect amount of gloss finish. Bare Attraction has been my go to for a nude lip.

9. Kylie Lip Liner in Candy K – This liner comes with the liquid lipstick as the Kylie Lip Kit (see #2).  I use this with all my nude shades and it helps to stop feathering.

10. Urban Decay + Gwen Stefani Lip Pencil in Ex-Girlfriend – I absolutely love the collaboration of Gwen + Urban Decay. Ex-Girlfriend is a gorgeous shade and this lip pencil is a match to the lipstick, which also happens to be my favorite but I lost it :/ I love that I can use the lip pencil with all my nude lipsticks and it goes on super smooth.

Here is what each shade looks like swatched on my arm:

IMG_7993

 What are your favorite nude shades?

Make sure to subscribe to Pearls & Paris by clicking follow on the right hand side. I’m doing some updates to my site so this will allow you to receive all my posts via email. xo

/

As a huge fan of NYX Cosmetics, I was thrilled when I found out that their first East Coast store opening would be at one of my local malls – Willowbrook Mall in Wayne, NJ.

1

I had the oportunity to attend the Grand Opening on February 18th and the store is absolutely gorgeous.

Some of the activations NYX consumers can come to store and experience include:

NYX Beauty Bar – consumers are to sit at the beauty bar, choose from a number of different of-the-moment tutorials i.e. strobing, ombre lips, etc. and then re-create those looks using the iPads in front of them that feature their favorite beauty influencers/vloggers taking them through the look step-by-step
NYX Shadow Bar (first one to launch was at the East Coast Willowbrook location) – consumers can create their own custom palettes in store
NYX Lip Bar – a bar of NYX’s most beloved lip colors in a variety of formula options to choose from i.e. soft matte lip cream, butter gloss, etc.

4

7

3

The NYX Willowbrook opening marks the 5th opening in the US (4 in California previously); globally, NYX has opened stores in Canada, France, Italy and Spain. Additional openings are planned throughout the remainder of 2016, with stores in the Southeast and Midwest scheduled in the next few months.

If you are from the North Jersey area, visiting NYX Willowbrook is a must!

Here are some additional photos from their Grand Opening:

2

5

IMG_7065

IMG_7066

IMG_7067

IMG_7057

/

gwen

I had the opportunity to attend the Urban Decay + Gwen Stefani Launch Party last week. We got to mix, mingle, sip on cocktails and best of all – check out the whole entire collection! The line includes a Blush Palette, Eyeshadow Palette, Brow Box, 8 lipsticks and 6 glide on lip pencils.

FullSizeRender-9

The packaging is stunning but the real prize is once you open each item up. The colors & shades are vibrant and pigmented. The Eyeshadow Palette is soft and bendable. It’s filled with great neutrals as well as bold pops of color. The Blush Palette has shades ranging from matte bronze to a gorgeous shade of pink – all of which have buildable coverage.

The lipsticks are very ‘Gwen’, especially all of the reds. The formula of both the lipsticks and lip pencils are fabulous. They go on super smooth and last, which is always a plus! I received three shades and have swatched them so you can see how they look on my skin tone.

FullSizeRender-9 copy

[L to R – Ex-Girlfriend, Phone Call & Plaid]

Overall this collection is a MUST. It’s definitely one of my favorite Urban Decay palettes and you can create so many looks with it. It goes on sale TODAY at the Urban Decay website!

Go check it out!

What are your favorite items and shades from this collection?? If you are interested in seeing swatches of the eyeshadow palette or blush palette – let me know! xo

/

 Holiday Gift Guide Beauty

 1. Buxom Lip Set / $59 – The Full-On Lip Polish & Lip Cream Set features mini sizes of lip polishes and lip creams that let you experiment with tingling, lip-plumping looks in nudes, pinks, reds, and plums.

2. Sephora Contour Brush Set / $48 – This high quality set includes a stippling brush, a flat top powder brush for buffing and setting, and angled blush brush. Also includes PRO Team make-up tutorial. The set is encased in a fashionable slim-line pouch.

3. Illuminate Skin Rejuvenating Eye Mask / $35 -This invigorating sleep mask covers your delicate eyes during sleeping hours with advanced care to minimize the appearance of wrinkles. Beyond blocking all visual stimuli to quiet your mind and senses, this silky, soft, smart textile is carefully embedded with Cupron’s copper oxide technology, derived from a well-known essential mineral. This technology is clinically proven to reduce the appearance of wrinkles for smoother, younger-looking skin in as little as four weeks—with a continuous effect over time.

4. GrandeBrow-Tastic Beauty Box / $100 – If you follow my instagram (@pearls_and_paris) you know that I’m a sucker for amazing brows. I feel like they are truly the first thing that people notice on your face. We all can’t have naturally perfect brows so that is why I love the GrandeBrow-Tastic Beauty Box. It includes 1 GrandeBROW Serum, 1 GrandeBROW-FILL and 1 Stainless Steal Tweezer. This box includes all the tools you need to build beautiful arches, fill in sparse areas and restore your brows to a gorgeous shape!

5. GO SMiLE on the go / $119 – The gift of a shiny white smile! For two minutes each morning and evening, brush as you normally would using the Teeth Whitening Gel and your favorite toothpaste together to clean and whiten at the same time. Brush in small, circular motions. The brush will pulse every 30 seconds, letting you know it’s time to change quadrants. It will then beep and turn off automatically after two minutes.

6. Urban Decay Vice4 Palette / $60 -This limited-edition palette even includes 20 gorgeous shades, a huge mirror and a double-ended brush. Vice4 features a stunning array of colors and a wide range of finishes, from buttery-smooth mattes and shimmering metallics to shades laced with micro-glitter.

7. Make Up For Ever 15 Artist Shadow Palette / $59 -This 15 shade palette features a breakthrough Artist Shadow formula that lets you create endless eye looks with infinite combinations. The advanced gel-powder formula blended with ultrafine pigments provides vivid color payoff and superior blendablilty. An artist’s favorite, Artist Shadow leaves a smooth, even finish that gives lids super-saturated, lasting color. Arranged into five easy-to-apply color trios, this extensive collection ranges from soft, subtle neutrals to daring bolds and brights.

8. Kat Von D Shade + Light Contour Palette / $46 – This is my holy grail as far as contouring goes. This palette features three shades for contouring and three shades for highlighting, designed to shape and define facial features to create a look of authentic dimensionality. I feel as this kit is fail proof and is super easy to use.

9. Lancome Auda[City] in Paris Eyeshadow Palette / $68 – When I think of the brand Lancôme, I instantly think ‘classic’ and that is exactly what this palette is. This is their first multi pan eyeshadow palette featuring 16 shades in 4 finishes. Pick a chic look for the day, an audacious look for the night, or anything that falls in between.

/

If you tuned into the Latin Grammys last night, you saw how stunning Genesis Rodriguez & Zoe Saldana looked on the red carpet.  Well L’Oreal is sharing with you all how to get those looks at home!

Genesis Rodriguez

G

Makeup Artist: L’Oreal Paris Celebrity Makeup Artist, Claudia Betancur

STEP 1: Claudia first prepped her face with L’Oreal Paris Revitalift Miracle Blur ($24.99) which works as a great primer before foundation.
STEP 2: To compliment Genesis’ gold gown, they went for a sultry smoky eye. Claudia first applied a beige toned shade on the lid of the eye. For depth, she applied a dark brown shade from the L’Oreal Paris Colour Riche La Palette Nude 2 ($15.99) on the outer corner of the eye and blend inward stopping halfway.
Claudia’s Tip: When creating a smoky eye, begin with the eyes first and then focus on skin as shadow tends to fall.
STEP 3: To bring the smoky eye to life, Claudia drew a subtle cat eye wing. She used the new L’Oreal Paris Voluminous Superstar Liner ($9.99) which has a flexible felt tip. She completed the eye with mascara, L’Oreal Paris Voluminous Superstar Mascara ($10.99).
STEP 4: For a matte finish, she applied the L’Oreal Paris Infallible Pro Matte Foundation ($14.99).
STEP 5: She added a shimmery glow on top of the apple of the cheeks with L’Oreal Paris True Match Lumi Powder Illuminator in N 202 Rose ($12.99).
Claudia’s Tip: Use a fan brush to have more control on where the powder lands.
STEP 6: She completed the look with a glossy nude lip pen that also fits perfectly in a clutch: L’Oreal Paris Colour Riche La Lacque Lip Pen in 209 Choco-Lacque ($9.99).

Zoe Saldana

z

Makeup Artist: Vera Steimberg

STEP 1: First, Vera applied L’Oréal Paris Youth Code All-In-One Skin Illuminator ($17.99) on her cheek bones, brow bone, nose and upper lip to prep the skin with a glow.
STEP 2: For the eyes, she used the very tip of the NEW L’Oréal Paris Voluminous Superstar Liner ($9.99) on her top inner eyelids to connect the lashes with almost an invisible line.
STEP 3: Vera used the darkest brown shade from the L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche La Palette Nude in 01 ($19.99) on the inner corner of the eye near the tear duct and the bottom lash line, creating a V-shape. She layered the shimmery champagne shade in the inner corner of the eye as well. On the lid, she used L’Oréal Paris True Match Lumi Powder Glow Illuminator in C302 Ice ($12.99), for a radiant glow.
STEP 4: Next she applied primer from the NEW double-ended L’Oréal Paris Voluminous Superstar Mascara ($9.99) and applied two coats of mascara to the top and bottom lashes, for a romantic 40’s look.
STEP 5: To illuminate her skin, Vera applied L’Oréal Paris True Match Lumi Liquid Glow Illuminator in N201 Rose ($12.99) on her brow bone, nose and cupid’s bow.
STEP 6: For the lips, Vera went for a natural toned lip and mixed L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Le Matte Lip Pen in 104 Game, Set & Matte and layered 102 She’s so Matte on top and dabbed with her fingers to blend.
STEP 7: To complete her look, she sprayed L’Oréal Paris Infallible Pro-Spray & Set Makeup Extender Setting Spray ($16.99) to help her makeup last all through the night.