Trendy Tuesday #1: Summer Brights

A lot of bright colors have cool undertones, which is part of what makes them so beautiful with a bit of a tan.  If we tried wearing neon in the winter, it would completely wash most of us out.

The key to incorporating brights into your look, whether in the form of clothing, accessories or makeup, is pairing a single pop of color with an otherwise very basic, neutral look.  The most surefire way to pull off a bright lipstick, eyeshadow or blush is by wearing almost no other makeup.

It helps to wear a white base underneath brights to help the color pop, especially on darker skintones.  For example, I typically apply NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk under bright eyeshadow or liner and a white nail polish before a bright (or dark or weird) nail polish, to keep it from staining my nails.

These are a few of my favorite bright cosmetic items:

Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in Lollipop and Tutti Frutti

NYX Eyeshadow Trio in Shangri La

Wet n Wild eyeshadow singles in Fuchsia and Lagoon

Milani Liquif’eye Eyeliner in Aqua

Wet n Wild Lipstick in Fuchsia with Blue Pearl

e.l.f. Studio Blush in Pink Passion

Spotted: Sinful Colors' Summer 2012 Nail Polish Collection

Liberty Belle & Make Some Noise Collections

First and foremost, I'm a huge fan of dirt cheap nail polish brands like Sinful Colors, Wet n Wild and Confetti when it comes to super trendy shades, the same way I look to Forever 21 for trendy clothing and accessories, but am willing to spend a bit more on a classic nail polish color or a timeless wear-with-everything handbag. It all comes down to cost per wear, y'all.  (If I spend $1.99 on an insane Sinful Colors neon that I only wear four times or $8 on a wearable OPI greige that I wear sixteen times, both these polishes cost 50¢ per wear.  Get it?)

Wow Pop Collection

Sinful Colors released three separate collections for this summer: Liberty Belle, Make Some Noise and Wow Pop.  I actually Spotted these displays about a week ago in a local Walgreens.  So far, I've only picked up two shades: Snow Me White from the Wow Pop Collection, which I intend to use as a base to make neons really pop, and, speaking of neons, 24/7, an electric flamingo pink.  I definitely have my eyes on the highlighter yellow and purple glitter below.

Make Some Noise Collection

Do you like Sinful Colors nail polish?  Have you picked up any polishes from this collection?  Do any of these shades appeal to you?

XOXO, T

June It Girl Julep Maven Box Unboxing

I received Julep's Daylight Defense SPF 15 Lip Balm along with three bottles of their Nail Vernis in the following shades, as described by Julep:
Sasha- fresh cantaloupe melon creme
Sandra- friendly, frosted magenta
Morgan- frosty grape purple

Sasha, Sandra, Morgan, extra brushes, Daylight Defense Lip Balm

Julep Nail Vernis are three free, which means they do not contain formaldehyde, toulene or DBP.  I'd be lying if I acted like I know what most of that means, but it's supposedly yucky stuff that's bad to put on your fingernails.
Also, I'm happy to announce that Julep has reintroduced their introductory penny offer but with a new coupon code.  If you've never purchased from Julep, simply click here, take the style quiz to receive your personalized shade selections, and enter the code COLOR2012 at checkout to bring your total down to $0.01 (for realsies).

Cute, summery packaging, complete with a couple Pixy Stix

I didn't even know Pixy Stix (Seriously with the spelling?) were still in production, but I devoured them both almost immediately. #ihavezeroselfcontrol

Super secure bubble wrapping action

XOXO, T

FTC: In the spirit of full disclosure, I should let y'all know that if even two people sign up for their penny Maven Box via my referral link, I'll receive next month's polishes for free.