Shop With Style

Holiday season = party season! With the holidays upon us, you’ll no doubt be planning your outfits for more than one festive get-together. Hair, shoes, jewelery, makeup…all planned. But you best not forget the most important piece…the shapeware! Before there was Spanx, there were girdles, but shapewear has evolved well past both now! So we’ve got 5 of your must-have pieces for the holidays, and beyond, right here!

Before we get to the list, there are some important things to know about picking out shapewear:

• Stay with your size – Don’t think, “Well, I wear a large in everything else, so I’ll go with a medium in shapewear to really suck things in!” Nope. It doesn’t work like that. A smaller size won’t make you look smaller. Shapewear cannot make extra pounds disappear. As much as we might like it to be magic, it’s still governed by science. Choosing a smaller size will only relocate that fat to other, even less flattering places. So stick with your size, and let the shapewear do the rest!
• Know the difference between medium and strong construction – If your shapewear doesn’t have a “performance level,” look at the label. The higher then nylon/Lycra content, the more dramatically it can change your shape. Just keep in mind the above rule…shapewear can smooth out bulges, but it does not “disappear” extra pounds.
• High waist=smooth lines – There is nothing worse (or more uncomfortable) than the waistband of a girdle cutting into you or rolling down. That’s why you should be looking for pieces with higher waists. They will ensure a smooth, curvy waist. Some pieces are even designed to hook to your bra to ensure the waist won’t roll down!

5 key pieces of shapewear every woman needs:

• Wear-Your-Own-Bra Torsette tank – This amazing little tank can smooth out your waist, tummy, and back while allowing your bra to keep your boobs full and shapely, not flattened and smooshed. The hem of it can also be used as a layering piece, as you would any other tank top.
• WYOB Singlet – This is the piece you will want if you’re wearing a body-con dress or pants. As with the above, it will allow your bra to do its job while keeping your entire mid torso, from your waist to your thighs, seamlessly smooth and toned looking.
• High-waisted Shaping Mid-Thigh – Perfect for under dress pants or a longer skirt. The high waist will keep your torso smooth, while the longer line keeps your butt/thighs toned and looking cellulite-free.
• Half-slip with Built-in Panties – This is such a versatile and perfect piece! Worn under any body-con skirt or dress, the built-in panties help keep it in place, and your tummy, thighs, and butt looking fab.
• Waist-Cincher – If you’re looking for a little extra oompfh in the “hourglass” department, this piece of shapewear is a must-have. Yes, its more restrictive version has recently been made famous by Kim Kardashian, getting the credit for “waist training” her figure back into shape after childbirth…but this version is much more wearable. The hook-and-eye closures and strong “boning” will nip you in, in just the perfect spot for creating an hourglass look to go gaga for!

You know them, you love them… but have you been taking clues from them to spice up your own green-eye makeup routine? You should! Often times, turning to celebrity eye makeup is one of the best ways to get a little extra inspiration… and we’ve got 10 celebs who really know how to flaunt those green peepers!

• Angelina Jolie – She is definitely one of our all-time favorite green-eyed beauties, and an all-time favorite tutorial subject on YouTube for her consistently winning celebrity eye makeup. Angie prefers to stick with a soft and lovely cat-eye: soft taupe in the crease and under the lower lash line, a dark line of kohl or liquid liner winged-out on the upper lash line, with natural or slightly enhanced eyelashes (thanks to the addition of demi or individual lashes). But another reason she’s one of our beauty icons? Those brows! She has some of the most perfectly groomed and shaped brows ever. Brows can make or break your look, so be sure to keep yours up to snuff. If you are unsure of your best eyebrow shape, enlist the help of professionals in a salon… at least until you get the hang of upkeep yourself.
• Kristen Stewart –While she doesn’t seem to be one for much makeup off the red carpet, on the red carpet, she absolutely smolders! Kristen loves to highlight her bright green eyes with dark, smokey looks, lots of dark plums and grays, and she usually sharpens the look by lining her inner rims with black. If you’ve got a night out on the town planned, Kristen Stewart should be your green-eyed go-to inspiration.  
• Emma Stone – Always, always seems to have the perfect eye makeup going on! Most of the time, especially when her hair is that lovely reddish-orange, she pops her green eyes by applying a peachy shadow to the lid, a warm brown through the crease and outer V, a smudged line of dark kohl or a sharp line of liquid liner along the upper lashes, and a healthy dose of black mascara. More often than not, her bottom lashes will be either left bare, or will only be lined about half-way in. Her eyes are almond-shaped, but she plays them up even more by extending the outer V, with liner, shadow, or both.
• Olivia Wilde – This girl should definitely be on your go-to list of crush-worthy celebrity eye makeup. Though she has been blonde a time or two, her light green eyes pop far more with darker locks. If you want to experiment with colors, she’s a good one to study. Olivia knows that copper, plums, and grays really accentuate her green eyes, and she’s not afraid to layer the same color in shadow and Go bold, baby!
• Aishwarya Rai – Wow… does she have some gorgeous eyes, or what? She’s one of those celebrities with big eyes that set our hearts a-flutter! Aishwarya usually likes to play up the lovely almost shape of her eyes, as well as her Indian heritage, with thick liquid liner along the top lashes, drawn out into a graceful wing at the outer corner. As for color, she keeps it warm, with lots of browns, coppers, rusts, and occasionally some dark plums. When going for a more exotic look, she lines her inner rim with a black pencil, which really defines the shape and makes the green color pop. And those lashes! Always long and fluttery. To get the same effect, you can definitely add mink false lashes… but to keep your lashes gorgeous 24/7 (for up to 3 months), look into getting  eyelash extensions at your local salon.
• Rhianna- She’s not afraid to experiment with her clothes, or her hair, or her music… but if you notice, she can almost be conservative with her celebrity eye makeup She knows her green eyes are one of her best features, and she knows how to work them to the max. Her preferred look seems to be either a bare lid, or just a sheer wash of a neutral color, with a smudged black/gray line under the lower lashes only (none on the top lashes), and lots of mascara. For added emphasis RiRi also likes to line the inner rim with black.
• Charlize Theron – The girl is stunning, no doubt about it. She loves to play up the light green of her eyes with shimmery peach, coppers, and browns, with the darkest shades accenting the outer V. Even on the red carpet, Charlize has been known to shun regular liner, opting only for lining the inner rims, and pulling the look together with long, lovely lashes. You could also recreate this effect by applying a wash of mid-tone shimmery peach on the top lid, with a shimmery taupe under the lower lashes.
• Scarlett Johansson – It’s hard to beat ScarJo when it comes to rocking a nude cat-eye and luscious red pout. Her beautiful almond-shaped green eyes just lend themselves so well to a nice tapered liquid liner winging out at the corners! But, applying liquid eyeliner can be tricky, so you might need a little practice to get the look just right. And, to get just the right angle and length on the flick, be sure to look straight on in the mirror with a relaxed Don’t pull the eye taught…that method is almost always a disaster! Check YouTube for tons of other great tips and tricks for achieving the perfect cat-eye.

As you can see, just by studying your favorite green-eyed celebs, you might be able to have a little of their green-eyed glamour rub off on you. True, often times, their looks are the result of skilled celebrity eye makeup artists… but the tips and tricks used to get those looks are universal. With a little practice and patience, they can be adopted into your own makeup routine, and adapted to your own beautiful eyes!

You’re seeing it everywhere right now. The dark lip trend is in magazines, on the runways, even strutting up and down the city streets and sipping at the local coffee shop. You might be thinking, “That trend isn’t for me. I’ll never be able to pull that look off.” But guess what? You soooo can!  And here’s how…

• Pick the right shade – Rest assured, there is a lush, dark hue for each and every skin tone out there. If you have fair to medium tone skin, try versions of purple-based merlot colors. For those with medium to olive skin tones, try hues of burgundy with a more terra cotta base. Deep tone skin can really push the boundaries of deep and dark, so try a merlot with a bit of black or brown.
• Exfoliate, Exfoliate, Exfoliate – You’ll hear this tip in almost every lip color guide…because it honestly makes a huge difference to how color glides on and looks. If your lips are dry, cracked, and flaky, any lip color will get stuck in the cracks and crevices…but a dark lip color will look positively atrocious. Scrub gently with a product like Fresh Sugar Lip Polish, or Bliss Fabulips. You can also use something simple like olive oil and sugar. Then wipe with a warm, damp cloth and follow with a non-waxy moisturizer.
• Check your upper lip – You may not think it will make a difference, but trust us, it will. Wearing a dark lip color will draw attention to…yep, you guessed it…your lips. Not only can the dark color get snagged on the tiny hairs, but the hairs can also cast a shadow on that upper lip. Both of which will draw the wrong type of attention. And bleaching the hair won’t work. So, go the distance and remove the hair completely.
• Let your skin glow – Dark lips will tend to highlight any blotchiness or imperfections in the skin, so even it up and make it glow as much as possible. That means scrubbing and exfoliating your face, removing any little patches of dry skin, then applying a skin brightening BB or CC cream, which will also help to even things up and get you glowing. After all, you want a clean, even canvas for those bold lips!
• Even the base – Everyone’s lips have some sort of natural hue, and sometimes, that hue can throw off a perfectly wonderful deep Winter lip color. So after applying foundation, dab on a bit to your lips and blend. You’re not looking to completely white-out your own hue, you just want to tone it down a bit so that the lip color reads true when you apply it.
• Strategically line – Lining when applying a dark lip color can be tricky. If you make a mistake, it will be very The best way to line a dark lip is to start with a nude color. Line just outside your natural lip line and blend away from your lip. The will not only help to keep the lip color from running, it will also make the color itself pop. Next, apply a liner in a similar shade to your lip color to just the area of your cupid’s bow and the middle portion of your bottom lip. Next, apply the lip color with a lip brush, to give you more control over color placement.

And there you go! Perfectly luscious, perfectly beautiful deep, dark lips for the Winter season.