Fall/Winter Makeup: Dark Lips and Soft Copper Eyes

Every year, fall makeup collections and trends feature dark vampy colors (as well as gorgeous reds) which I sigh and admire on others but never ever dare to try out on myself.  Well, dare might be the wrong word - more like, I couldn't find a color that would work for me.  This year, though, I found the perfect dark vampy color - Urban Decay Vice lipstick in Blackmail. I have been living off a Sephora sampler of these lipsticks which has a couple of dark shades in it - Blackmail being one of them.  My favorite way to wear this dark lip is pairing it with soft eye makeup - sheer wash of color on the lids, copper shadow used as a liner, and tightlining to define the lashline without looking too harsh.  Here's what I used for this makeup look and an easy how-to.

Fall/Winter Makeup: Dark Lips and Soft Copper Eyes - Products Used for the Eyes
Bobbi Brown Longwear Cream Shadow Stick in Taupe
MAC Eyeshadows - Shale | Coppering
DHC Eyeliners* - Liquid eyeliner in Black* | Gel Eyeliner Pencil in Brown*
Mascara - Diorshow in Black

1.  Bobbi Brown cream shadow stick in Taupe applied all over lid - helps cancel out discoloration and works great as a long-lasting base/primer.
2.  MAC Shale applied all over lid with a fluffy eyeshadow brush  - blend out along the edges towards brow bone.
3.  MAC Coppering applied as a soft liner along lashline with a smudging brush - this gives a softer application and thicker line.  Also apply along lower lashline.
4.  DHC Liquid Eyeliner pen used to tightline along upper lashline.  The fine tip of this eyeliner is perfect for applying color between the lashes, depositing color between the lashes and giving a defined look without a visible harsh line.  DHC Gel Eyeliner Pencil in Brown used to line waterline.  Finish with mascara of choice - mine is Diorshow Mascara in Black.

For the rest of the face, I used my usual combination of foundation and concealer - Diorskin Nude Air Serum foundation (I use a combination of shades #30 and #40), YSL Touche Eclat, and Cle de Peau concealer.  For the blush, my winter staple is a now-discontinued cream blush by NARS - Montenegro.  The creamy dark berry shade adds a healthy glow to the skin (I use a Real Techniques stippling brush to apply).  For the lips, I have used Urban Decay lipstick in Blackmail.  This is a comfort matte formula that feels amazing on the lips and is incredibly pigmented.  Use over a lipliner for more opaque/complete coverage, but I couldn't find one and so skipped!  The lip color doesn't feather or spread even when applied on its own (with a lip brush), but this is one of those colors that does show the underlying lip texture unless used with a lipliner.  Anywho, scroll on for swatches of what I used and the finished product look.

For a week or two, this has been my go-to makeup look, and I am so glad I got around to trying out this fall makeup trend.  I think the key has been finding the right "dark" lipstick for my skin tone, and I got really lucky getting the UD Vice sampler to try.  Blackmail is admittedly quite scary to look at in the tube, especially for a neutrals-only person like me, but it's also surprisingly easy to apply in sheer layers because of the fabulous comfort matte formula.

In other news, I have been waiting...and waiting.....and waiting for my new laptop to arrive, and it's beginning to look like I will be waiting until 2017 for the thing to land here 😒  Of course, that also meant I could only stroll around window shopping over the weekend, but I did feel much better after I went to the Apple store to scowl at everything there.  Did you pick up anything over the weekend shopping madness?  Do share!

*products provided c/o DHC.