Economy got you down, and drab?.. Put a little color back into your life, and on your face, and I promise you’ll forget for a night that the rest of the world around you seems so glum.

Beauty trends aren’t falling into the black hole that seems to be taking over the rest of the world. Instead of following  trends of economic times and going for drab,  blah-ness, make-up artists are going in the opposite direction and giving women a sense of fantasy, and glamour to take them away from any sort of depressing reality.

To brighten up your outlook on your next night out:

Go for a power lip, and show  optimism with a bold red. Remember to leave the rest of the face minimal for this look.

 Or, get glitzy and flashback to glam-rock days with funky colored shadow.  Try Makeup Forever Aqua Eyes liners, paired with a beautiful high impact colored shadow, or alone under a thin black liner. or just layer up the colors with shadow, and be daring.

We’re nearing the end of winter, yet the heat is still blasting on the inside. Therefore, chances are you are battling dry, chapped lips.  It is important to keep your lips protected in harsh climates, because the skin on your lips is considered a type of membrane and is much more susceptible to drying out and becoming chapped.

If you are currently suffering from chapped lips, take a washcloth in the shower with you and gently exfoliate off the dead skin. After the shower apply a penetrating lip balm, such as Burtsbees with peppermint oil (my favorite, it feels so yummy), or Burtsbees with pomegranateoil, they even have a medicated lip balm specifically designed for severely chapped lips. Stay away from chap-sticks that just coat the lips with a petroleum base. Stick with natural based lip balms, some of what is on your lips does go into your mouth, and the last thing you want to put into your body is unnatural chemicals. Yuck!

Lastly, keep the lip balm with you wherever you go to touch up at the fist sign of dryness.

Not exactly. While the Black Lip has been famous in the past painted on the pale-skin, grunge-loving “Goth kids”. This year it has been spotted on some very famous runways.

Now this is not a fashion statement you want to make in a T-shirt and jeans. In fact, unless you’re working in a fashion based industry I recommend you steer clear of trying this trend until evening hours.  Keep in mind that unless you’re going to an event wearing couture you may not want to go for the full-on Black Lip.

 Here are some tips to help ease you into the trend:

FIRST – Keep the rest of your face makeup pretty muted. As with any bold lip, over doing your eyes and cheeks can make you look over made up. Keep eyes neutral with little to fine eyeliner and black mascara and make sure cheeks are bare to slightly highlighted.

SECOND – Start by lining lips with a clear, nude or (preferably) your favorite fall COLOR liner.  DO NOT LINE WITH BLACK LINER.  Trust me, black liner will not blend well and it will just be a nasty mess.

LAST -Apply YSL or favorite black lip-gloss or Sheer, next to black lipstick. Viola!