Autumnal Lips and Tips

It's officially the end of summer here in New Zealand and I must say I'm always excited by autumn. Warm days but cooler nights, I can wear my much loved skinny Levis again and of course the makeup trends get darker along with the weather. I've got a few stunners I love for the cooler months because who doesn't adore dark berry shades?

My personal favourites if I want something a little on the dark side are a bold MAC lip. Vino lip liner stops the lipstick from bleeding (which you especially don't want with darker lip shades). As the name suggests it's a gorgeous wine shade with a burgundy kind of tone - somewhere between a red and a purple. It's absolutely stunning and looks different depending on your skin tone too. I find more olive tones make it look more red whereas when you're a little pasty face like myself the purple tones are more dominant.

I top that off with Darkside by MAC, it's an amplified formulation which is one of my favourite varieties. Super pigmented with a semi-matte finish it complements the Vino liner perfectly. It casts a little red in the photos (I spent an hour and a half on these photos and I still feel like I didn't *quite* capture everything just right) but like the liner it shows differently depending on your skin tone. It's a very deep berry/plum shade on me which is lovely.

To pair with I love Lincoln Park After Dark by OPI, it's been a constant on my nails for several winters now and I don't think it's going away any time soon. It's definitely a purple toned polish but in certain lights looks more black. It's very flattering on shorter nails with a squoval (square/oval) shape.

What are your winter must-have shades?

Claire x