My new JuliePage lipsticks: Velvet Plum, Valentina and Naked Grape. I love them all but now Naked Grape is my go-to color.

Picked up some great make-up last Saturday. One of my weight loss makeover gurus rolled out her very own cosmetics line. It was time for some new lipsticks and eye shadow. My goals? 1. Find something for winter 2. Any color but brown!

Ugh! I’ve bought browns at a rapid clip. It was time to add some other color to my face.

Julie didn’t disappoint. She recommended a bunch of great fall/winter colors for my lips – purples and reds! As I’ve written before, I have issues picking the right red lipstick for me. I fall in love with a color at the store but when I put it on it just seems like overkill. Not to mention the typical, “Are you sure about that color…it’s really red” smart ass comment from the husband.

Yep, I’m playing with lipstick! Going clockwise, starting in the upper left: Naked Grape, Valentina, Vivid Crush and Velvet Plum.

Well it turns out my eye shadow color is a big reason. I usually apply darker colors. I’m pretty pale in the winter so it just seems like a smart move to go darker.

Well not when it comes to red lips.

Julie recommended that I use lighter color shadow so the red pops but doesn’t compete with my eyes. The lighter color around my eyes has a much more natural look. That way the red doesn’t clash with anything. She applied two eye shadows – Champagne to the lid and Sandy Peach to the top part of my eye – before applying the red lipstick. Bingo! It looked awesome!

With that little tidbit, I no longer feel awkward about red lips. A first! Even the hubby commented how much he loved the 2 reds I picked up.

When I saw this gloss (Vivid Crush) I had to have it! It’s a great color and I wear it alone or on top of my Naked Grape lipstick.

I ended up with 3 lipsticks and one gloss – Velvet Plum, Naked Grape (my favorite at the moment!), Valentina (my go to red!) and Vivid Crush (an awesome red gloss). All beautiful colors and they go on super smooth.

Of course, I picked up the Champagne and Sandy Peach eye shadow too. Both have a bit of a pinkish hue so that helps to wean me off of my brown fixation. I did pick up a light brown shadow – Sandstone…so I’m not giving up the browns just yet.

My new JuliePage baked bronzer – Fuji – and shadow (top, clockwise): Champagne, Sandstone and Sandy Peach.

My last purchase was a bronzer. I was fast running out of my Laura Mercier Golden Shimmer and I needed something fast. Julie recommended I try a baked bronzer (the bronzer starts as a cream, then baked). Her baked bronzer – Fuji – has great pigmentation and is much firmer than what I’m using now. It just seems like my brush picks up the right amount each time I apply it. Yay!

This morning before weigh in: Champagne and Sandy Peach eye shadow, Fuji baked bronzer and Valentina on the lips.

I’m going to have to go back to Julie’s make up studio sometime next year to play with some blue and green eye shadow (yes, I’m branching out!), as well as some advice on what to do with my dry skin. This morning, as I exfoliated my face, I immediately regretted I didn’t pick up Julie’s facial exfoliator. It’s way more gentle than the sandpaper I’m using (I’m talking about you St. Ives Apricot Scrub!).

Until I can get back to her studio, Julie did post two cool ideas for a homemade mask treatment that I’m going to try. This week I’m testing the Apple-n-Oat Scrub. Without a doubt, the best use for the carbs I  no longer eat!

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