Have you been to Barnes and Noble and picked up a copy of Luca Magazine yet?
I have an article in this issue (just in time for all your holiday parties) that is all about how to apply the perfect red lip.

All images in this post were photographed by Kelly Cappelli,
Hair by Lisa Marie, Makeup by Corinna Cooke

HOW TO APPLY THE PERFECT RED LIP

Nothing says "hello, gorgeous," quite like a sensational, bold red lip!

Red lips are the perfect accessory for winter. They're fun and flirty! Once the new year arrives with its bleak, dull, gray days, and spring feels like it's never going to get here, a feisty red lip adds excitement to your look and your day.

Red lips make such a statement; you barely need anything else. They look fantastic with a pared down makeup look for day, then add a cat eye and structured brow for night. They dress up jeans and a white shirt, compliment an all black ensemble, and pair up perfectly with a party dress and faux fur.

Check out these 5 steps to perfect your pout and wow the world!

1. Exfoliate

Dry, flaky lips don't look good in red. To pull off a red lip, you need to have silky smooth lips, so the first step is to exfoliate. You can use a store bought lip exfoliator, or you can make one at home. A super soft baby toothbrush makes a perfect lip exfoliator,  as does a warm washcloth. Just remember to be very, very gentle. If you rough your lips up, they'll still look dry and flaky.

2. Hydrate

After exfoliating, and ideally, a couple of hours before you get ready to go out, apply liberal amounts of lip balm, and let your kisser soak it in. Your lips need to be nicely hydrated so that your red lipstick looks smooth and luscious. Before applying your lip liner, you'll gently blot the lip balm away.

3. Line Your Lip

Red lipstick needs to know its boundaries, and you want to color inside the lines. Use either the lip liner that matches your lipstick or one that's a shade or two darker, (for a little extra dimension), to give your lip a perfect, crisp outline.

4. Stain and Apply

The perfect red lip has more than one layer. Apply your red lipstick, then blot with a folded tissue to help set the first coat into a stain. This step is super important because it stops your lips from looking patchy as the top coat wears off! Now apply a second coat, making sure to stay inside the lines.

5. Get Precise

Run the edge of a lip brush through your lip liner, making it disappear into your lipstick while giving your lip a crisp, fresh edge.

My Favorite Red Lipsticks

In this story I use Infared Matte from Smashbox

I'm all kinds of crazy for Charlotte Tilbury Red Carpet Red

One of the greatest blue based reds ever made is MAC Ruby Woo

Let It Shine! New work in Luca Magazine

All images via Luca Magazine

photographed by Kelly Cappelli

styled by Jennifer O'Bannon

hair by Lisa Marie

makeup by Corinna Cooke

As you already know, I'm the Beauty Director for Luca Magazine.
The new issue of Luca just hit newsstands, and I am really excited to tell you that it is available in every Barnes and Noble, nationwide!

Luca is a super positive magazine for teens and early 20 somethings. It's full of great information, fantastic fashion, and a delicious dose of beauty.

Here is a winter party story from the new issue, all about the rules of shiny makeup...

There's no time quite like the holiday season to throw on a party dress and let your gorgeous self shine! 

When your outfit shimmers, set the night on fire with an artfully placed super sheen, drawing attention to the feature you want to bring out the most.

There are rules to the game of shine - make sure you only gloss up one place on your beautiful face.

When your skin is shiny, your eyes are sparkly and your lip is glossy all at the same time you can look sweaty or super oily, which detracts from your gorgeousness.

The trick is to pick one feature to shine and balance it with another feature that is almost matte

Here are three fabulous ways to let it shine

1. Get your skin gleaming with a creamy shine. Instead of a glittery highlighter work a glow product into your complexion and balance it with a demi matte lip,a firm brow and a nearly bare eye. 

2. Keep your eyes and your skin soft and demure but go all out on an ultra glossy lip that shimmers in the firelight and balances the sparkle in your dress.

3. Own the night with a metallic or glittering eye. Tone down your complexion, add some depth to you lip, then steal all the attention with a wildly festive, high impact eye!

As a bonus for my blog readers here are 4 of my favorite shine products. I use them both at home and in my pro makeup kit to create a gorgeous glow to the skin.

Charlotte Tilbury               Laura Mercier                           Stila                     Pony Effect
Wonderglow                      Infusion de Rose                  Aqua Glow               Radiance Glow
                                           Nourishing Oil            Perfecting Bronzer          Hydrating Starter
                                                                                                                                   

Winter Lipstick Rules

Lipstick gets really fun in the fall and winter.

Kylie Jenner image via GetWorldMedia.com

We replace the soft, sheer, shimmery lip glosses of summer with big, full bodied lipsticks in bold reds and deep dark berries, burgundies and wine tones. Lips become a central focus in the colder months creating a look that is moody, sexy and frankly flat out fabulous!

There is however some maintenance required in order to pull this look off. Underneath these big lip colors your lips have to be smooth and super hydrated. Crusty, dry, flaky lips ruin your look at the best of times but a deep, or bold lipstick shade amplifies a dried out lip and just looks plain awful.

To keep your lips looking healthy and kissable when the barometer drops, gently exfoliate them with warm water and a wash cloth, being super careful not to rough them up or tear off lose skin. The stress here is on being gentle. Follow up with a really good lip balm. The lip balm part of this equation is super important as you need to not only keep your lips hydrated all the time, but also to give them a protective barrier against the cold weather.

I love this passion fruit lip balm 

I keep EOS lip balms everywhere - my nightstand, my handbags, my car, and apply them throughout the day and before bed at night, helping me to keep my lips supple year round, and preventing them from getting dry or chapped in the winter. EOS lip balms are paraben and petrolatum free and are packed with antioxidant Vitamin E, shea butter and jojoba oil. I buy these little spheres in all the different colors and different flavors because at $3 each, why not try them all? (You can find them at places like Target)

I also keep them in my pro makeup kit. When a model/actor/client gets in my chair the first thing I do regardless of the time of year is apply lip balm so that it can be soaking in and hydrate their lips throughout the makeup process, prepping their pouts for lipstick. Everyone loves EOS lip balm spheres and at only $3 they love that they can throw them in their handbag when we're done!

image by Kelly Capelli

  
We just shot a new winter lip tutorial for the upcoming issue of Luca Magazine . (you will love it!) My model had EOS lip balm soaking on her lips during makeup, getting them prepped and perfect for the story. 
The new issue of Luca hits newsstands December 1st.

image by Kelly Capelli

Take care of your lips, buy a killer dark lip color for fall and pucker up that pout!

Pattern Play ~ Luca Magazine

I love editorials where there is movement.
I love seeing models jump, slow skip and dance - it makes the story so interesting!

Here is an editorial I worked on with photographer Kelly Capelli for the fall issue of Luca Magazine.
Did you know that I'm the Beauty Director for Luca Magazine? You're going to love what we have coming up for you!

This story is all about prints and patterns for fall, mixing them up, breaking the rules and having fun with it! The makeup is a slightly more extreme version of one of my all time favorite themes for fall/winter, a red and gold eye. I love to see a gorgeous glow to the skin all year round, so I've been using Marc Jacobs Spotlight 700 Glow Stick to get a glow, instead of a crazy high shimmer highlight.

I hope you will engage in a little pattern play this fall!

XO

See the full editorial with credits here

Throw And Go ~ 5 Minute Hairstyles For The Girl On The Run

I haven't really talked about it here on the blog until now, probably because I thought it was too good to be true, but I'm super excited to tell you I'm the new Beauty Director for Luca Magazine!!!

Luca is for girls aged 16 to 22 (and is read by girls from 12 to 26!). It has fabulous fashion, beauty, fitness and much, much more. If you could see me as I'm writing this I am smiling from ear to ear - I am so proud of this magazine, and so very proud to be a part of it!

Today I want to show you an editorial from the newest issue. 

The story is Throw and Go, quick yet chic hairstyle ideas for those mornings when you are running late and have to throw and go!

Photographed by Isaac Bailey

Hair by Andy Biggs

Makeup By Corinna Cooke

Get the low down on what Andy did and which products he used here

Check out the cover story with gorgeous Sadie Robertson here

Subscribe to Luca Magazine here

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