2014 Color of the Year Announced!

So, it has come to my attention that Pantone, which is a pretty leading company in the fashion industry, has just announced the color of the year for 2014 … And it is called “Radiant Orchid”.  Last year’s was Emerald, which I could totally get behind, as dark jewel tones look good with most skin tones.  But this one, dark purple with a fuschia-y sort of undertone, is a little harder for everyone to match well.  Then again, in 2012 it was Tangerine, and that one really only goes with some people’s complexions, and we all managed just fine, right? :3

Alright; so if you don’t think you can pull off a full orchid/fuschia dress, then maybe this will help you.  Instead of going FULL TREND, try to just add it into your accessories.  You can still see the color if you add it as a belt, but it’s not completely overpowering.  And, you can still pair with a neutral shoe so so that it’s not too crazy … Or if you prefer, and usually I do, you can match the belt to a pair of shoes, as seen to the left, to bring that color interest down so that you can really see a continuity in your outfit.  It’s sort of like how Gigi doesn’t like nude lips – I hate nude shoes with an outfit that doesn’t have any other beige/tan/neutral tones in it.  IMO it’s tacky – but, a lot of people disagree, so wear what you like.  Shoes are actually a great way to keep the color away from your face if you don’t think it looks good on you – and chances are, if you aren’t striking a pose in that orchid or fuschia colored dress, then you don’t like wearing the color too much … But, when you feel the fashion compulsion, you have options!  The shirt or pants in that color don’t have to overpower your sensibilities (or your wardrobe).

However, accessories are definitely the best way to go to keep yourself on trend without looking like a hot mess, if that’s what you’re afraid of.  Jewelry is always a good option to add a little sparkle or interest into your ensemble without totally overpowering your outfit.  Choose two or three pieces to put together in conjunction with whatever else you’re wearing – a chunky bracelet or earrings can really add a lot of pizzaz with minimal effort.  And, speaking of minimal effort, why not just switch out your purse for that purple pop?  You don’t even have to think about it – put everything in the purple bag, pick it up in the morning when you’re running late for work, and get on the go, no more questions, no more confusion, no decisions to make.  Nice and simple!

Barring those options, another really easy one is to just paint your nails and forget about them – you don’t even need nail art (I know, blasphemy coming from me, right?) But, two quick coats of polish and a top coat, and you are set for a week – sometimes more, depending on how well you can preserve the life of your manicure.

To the left is Dim Sum Plum by OPI, but any purple with a hint of fuschia is going to suit your purposes – or even without the fuschia.  Seems like on the Pantone site, you have a decently broad range of what colors fall into the Radiant Orchid family; some of them are almost lavendar, and there’s even a black light in the toss – see the picture at the top of this post, or head to their website to check out the color.

And, when all else fails, go all out with a blown out purple smoky eye or a glam Show Orchid lip, because amped up shades are the loudest thing you can get from MAC.

All out bold eyes are fun for the club – but hell, why not wear it to the supermarket?  Just because you aren’t doing something glamorous doesn’t mean you can’t look glamorous, am I right?  Just, don’t go too over the top and do an orchid lip and eye …

You might end up looking like a flying purple people eater or something, and while Maneater is a pretty sweet jam, probably not how you want strangers to think of you.  (And by think I mean while they turn 360 degrees and moon walk away from you).

But, if you still want to be a little more daring, but you can’t go totally all out glam when you’re heading to the office, why not try a scarf?  If solid purple is too much for you, then try a scarf with other colors – blacks, grays, whites, tans, you know, the neutrals – mixed in to break it up a little bit.  Either way, there are a million and one ways to incorporate this new color trend into your wardrobe, instead of just throwing on a shirt or pants that might not be totally flattering to you.

And now I’ll leave you with this little guy, who totally gets what I’m saying :3

❤ RaeynnBeau

Orange is the New Black!!???

So, guess what I just found out when I was looking for fall fashion trends to write about for work?  Apparently the fashion gods decided that this fall, much like the television program, Orange is the New Black … you have no idea how excited I am, because I am going to rock the shit out of this trend xD

Orange is definitely my favorite color, mostly because it’s loud and I think it looks good with my complexion, and I love to wear it even when it isn’t trendy.  Which sometimes gets me looks, but if done tastefully, orange can really be an awesome pop of color in an otherwise drab or dreary outfit.  I recognize that some people can’t wear orange; unfortunately, not a lot of people recognize that they can’t wear orange when they want to … So I’m writing to sort of give some ideas for ways to wear the color without totally overpowering the outfit if you aren’t really able to wear it, and even if you are, because looking like a citrus fruit walking down the sidewalk isn’t cute either. xD

First, we’ll start off by carrying over a trend from earlier in the year – orange lips.  Orange lipstick became super popular in the beginning of summer, and everyone who is anyone is making guides on how to wear the lip.  (So I must not be anybody because I didn’t make a video on this xD)  It’s a really good way to say “BY THE WAY LOOK AT MY LIPS” if you want to draw attention there.  However, use with caution; this lip really needs to be worn with a very subtle make up look on the rest of your face, because otherwise it will look unbalanced.  It can definitely be loud, depending on if you go with something particularly crazy like Morange from MAC, but it can also be a really fun statement if you wear it right.  Look around on YouTube if you want to know how; there are millions of videos.  Or, if you want, leave me a comment and I can jump on the bandwagon and film something.  (I’m never above requests, no matter how already done they are).

Next we have orange nail polish (pictured is Osaka to Me Orange is OPI, which is my favorite orange polish) in case you don’t know if you can pull off all of that orange on your face.  Nails are a great accessory that a lot of people don’t think of, and it only takes at most ten minutes to throw on two coats of color and a clear coat, (and that’s if you are watching TV or something while you’re doing it) and if you use a fast drying top coat, you’ll be set in a few minutes.  Quick nail art can always spruce them up a little more nicely as well – if you just take a sponge and some dark brown polish, you can make a quick ombre gradient down your nail, depending on how long they are, and a little blit of glitter can draw attention with some glitz and glam.  It looks like you took a long time planning, when really you were just watching your favorite TV show the night before!

Now we have Taylor Swift as a model for the next idea for a pop of orange; a scarf.  Especially with the months getting colder, a scarf is the perfect accessory to add a little orange into your ensemble.  Paired with a solid tone neutral coat or jacket, and it really draws the eye.  However beware, if you don’t have a good complexion for orange, rather than wearing a solid  colored scarf like Taylor is, try and find a patterned scarf that has orange accents in it.  That way you won’t have all of that orange right up against your face if it happens to clash with your skin tone, but you’re still incorporating some interest with the pops of bright color against then neutral tone of your coat.

If you really want to keep the orange away from your face, then orange shoes might be what you should look for.  A flash of color with a drab outfit, if you are wearing the majority of a neutral color, like black, white, brown, or tan, especially in an office setting, then a killer pair of shoes is a good way to introduce the flare of fashion into your life.  Actually, the most popular thing for this season are calf high boots like cowboy boots, so if you can find an orange pair of those, more power to you!  I think it might be a little much, but no one can say it isn’t fashionable for this fall season, that’s for sure. xD  Otherwise, simple strappy sandals can be enough to add a hint of orange while not overpowering then lower half as well, or a peak of orange from some sneakers underneath your jeans.

Next on the list of accessories is an orange purse, which can either be solid like this picture example, or it can be patterned with splashes of orange as well.  And, if you are using a clutch like this or a handbag, you can decide how close to your face it gets.  Hold it at your hip if you aren’t sure whether or not orange is all that flattering to you, or keep it up near your face like in this image if you are sure your complexion screams “MOAR ORANGE PLZ”. xD  A bright piece like this could be paired with a dark dress or pants suit for the office, or as in the picture, a bright contrasting color like a deep blue for an even more dramatic color combination.

Finally, we have my favorite fashion trend of the year, paired with this new orange hype – the over sized coat.  I could write a whole post just on how to wear the coat, but this is definitely one of the most versatile options for wearing orange if you can pull off the color in large doses.  Since I love wearing orange, I think I can (or at least, I hope I can!) and would love a big warm sweater like coat like this to keep me warm on the particularly blustery days in the Big Apple.  If you really want to wear it but orange isn’t exactly the right color for you, make sure you leave it undone and wear a contrasting color to offset it, like the black outfit in the picture.  Or, if you need to do it up because Baby it’s Cold Outside, then you might want to consider wearing a contrasting color scarf and belting it with a contrasting color, like a thick black belt, to break up the block of orange.

As you can see, I’m pretty excited about this development, and I can’t wait to see more orange clothes in stores in the months to come.  It’s an excellent color right alongside black imo, so the only thing that I’m personally surprised about is the fact that it’s taken this long for orange to become a fashion trend like black!

Until next time,

❤ RaeynnBeau

Review: Baby Lips by Maybelline

Alright – this is partially a quick review, and partially testing out blogging-on-the-go, because I just got the WordPress app on my phone.  We’ll see how this goes.

But first – a story! :3

So, I was at work yesterday, and I had my chapstick out, whatever. So, I dropped it (it was my Burt’s Bees with mango butter – the only one I like) and one of the warehouse guys came past carrying a box, so he wasn’t looking at the ground. I’m sure you can guess what happened.

Snap.

Crackle.

Pop.

He stepped right on it worth his steel toed boot.  Needless to say, it was rendered useless to me.  After a quick dig through my purse (I really shouldn’t be allowed to carry big purses xD) I realized that I didn’t have my back up, Chicken Poop, with me. And yes, that is the name of the chapstick, or as the bottle calls it, Outdoor Lip Junk.

As you can see, I had a dilemma on my hands.

On my lunch break, I headed over to Walmart, hoping they’d have my mango Burt’s Bees. And suffice to say that if they had, you would not be reading a review right now… ^^;; I’m a bit picky about chapsticks, so I was into real problem territory now – but I was saved by the most excellent Gregory Gorgeous as I wandered around. If you don’t know who he is, do yourself a favor and YouTube him. As previously stated, he is most excellent.

Anyway, I saw the Maybelline Baby Lips chapsticks, but saw that they had SPF20 in them, which I am not a fan of because I find that things with sunscreen in them trends to be greasy.  But then I remembered that in one if his videos, Gregory Gorgeous said he really liked these lip balms. So I looked again, and decided why not?

I haven’t been a fan of tinted lip balms since my escapade with Yes to Carrots, so I opted for 05 Quenched, which is the clear one (the picture I took is at the top of this review).

Let’s start with the smell. It’s very light, and makes me think if those little oval shaped white hard candies that taste like imitation coconut extract. Surprisingly good, since I don’t like scented makeups. 🙂 As for the consistency … Well, that’s a win too! xD You can definitely tell there’s sunscreen there, but there’s only enough to give it a sort of creamy texture, not enough to make it greasy, which I also love.  Add that to the fact, that as Gregory Gorgeous said, it’s not that you NEED to keep applying it, it’s just fun to. I think it has something to do with the pretty large applicator…

See? But either way, great product, I really like it, and I’m thinking of trying the colored ones now when I wear lipstick to work!

I’ll add the star rating later – I can’t figure out how to do it on my phone xD But jsyk it will be a 5 🙂