Sheer Lip Color

I've always loved makeup but lipstick always made me a bit nervous. I always found it drying on my already dry lips, my husband (then boyfriend) didn't like kissing gunky lip products and I probably wasn't proficient at choosing a flattering shade.

Well, I've come a long way. So far so that I really don't feel like my look is complete without some kind of color on my lips, even if its a very neutral/natural look. I love a bangin', in your face lip but on a day to day basis I'm just far too busy for the maintenance. I'm putting a baby down for a nap or running around the grocery store. I just want to add a little life to my face. Enter, sheer lipsticks.

The sheer lipstick obsession surprisingly started with a very inexpensive drugstore product; Maybelline Baby Lips in the cherry shade. It was my first taste of the ease that is sheer lip color. I could keep it in my bag and know I had an easy pop of color on hand. This is my most sheer lip color and is really more of a tinted balm but it's still really pretty and is so easy to pull off. It brightens your face nicely and has a light cherry scent. It isn't a true red shade. I'd call it more of a slightly cool fuchsia/raspberry color. Its so sheer though that it still looks nice on my warmer complexion.

I knew I had to get my hands on some more sheer lipsticks. This time I went to the complete opposite end of the splurge/save spectrum. It is the YSL Volupte Sheer Candy in Sweet Fig. I had swatched this little item once before & loved it but the price stopped me from taking it to the checkout line. The next time I was at Sephora I swatched it again & just couldn't say no. It is freaking gorgeous. The shade is so unique. YSL describes it as a sheer, brick red, which is true but it's so much more. It's not vampy like you would expect a brick red color to be, it's much fresher. It is so smooth on the lips & doesn't ever leave my lips feeling dry. The smell is out of this world, definitely the best smelling lip product I've ever encountered. It's fruity & sweet but not in an artificial or sickening way; it's just divine. I can't say enough good things about this lipstick. I will definitely purchase this again. I see myself using this whole tube up, no problem. It will be the perfect fall color but its still very wearable year round.

After my love affair with the YSL lipstick I was on the hunt for a dupe. I decided to check out the L'Oreal Colour Riche Caresse lipsticks. Now, don't get me wrong, I wouldn't call these dupes for the YSL Sheer Candy but they are nice & if you don't want to splurge on the $32 YSL these are a nice alternative. They have a similar scent, slightly sweet & fruity but not near as nice as the YSL. I like the scent but it's just not the same. The feel on the lips is similar too, which I like. I first bought the shade Rose Taffeta. I absolutely love this shade. It's a very nice "my lips but better" shade, a very nice dusty, rosy, mauve shade. Again, I think this will be perfect for fall & winter but it could really work all year round. Of course after loving Rose Taffeta I knew I needed a few more shades. I picked up Sunset Angora which is a pinkish coral color & Merino Mauve which is a medium, mauve/pink. I love Sunset Angora. It's the perfect coral shade for spring & summer. Merino Mauve is a pretty color but it's just too light on my lips. I have quite pigmented lips & this shade is simply too light for me. It did, however, work on Julia so it went home with her. Knowing now that I liked the formula of these L'Oreal lipsticks the addict in me needed a red shade. After seeing some swatches of the 2 red shades available I decided on the shade Cardinal Plume. This really is the perfect red shade; not too orange & not too blue.

So, to summarize, I am really loving sheer lipsticks. Cheap, middle ground & high end. I still love my MAC lipsticks for days out to the mall or nights out on the town. But, when I'm running around town with my kids, the sheer lipsticks win. If I had to chose a favorite, it's no surprise, it would be the YSL for sure. The others are really nice though & will be getting a lot of use from me.

We are by no means department store snobs, but we aren’t penny pinchers either. There are plenty of good drugstore options & awesome DIY tutorials on Pinterest these days but sometimes you need to splurge on the high end stuff. We’ll give you a quick synopsis of our lives up until now which will lead into the philosophy of this blog.

Natalie:

“I was born in December of 1987 and came home to my childhood home in Snohomish, WA. My parents still live in that home today. I was my parents’ first child. Then my sister was born in February of 1990. We grew up in a house where my dad worked & my mom stayed at home. I was always a little ahead of my time; always wishing I was at that next stage. I fell in love with my husband when I was 15, got my first full time job at 18 and was married with a house at 20. I told you I was ahead of my time. We had our first child, Connor, about a year and a half into our marriage. That first year was hard. We had little money, despite both of us working and Connor was a…difficult baby. When Connor was 2 we decided it was time to give him a little brother or sister. Harrison was born in August of 2012 & I quit my job to be a stay at home mom. I have always wanted to be a stay at home mom so I was (& still am) very excited about this opportunity that I’ve been given. We’ve decided that our family is complete & now that I’m done making babies it’s time to spend a little time taking care of me. I’m having fun remembering why I loved makeup, trying some new brands & new techniques. I’ve finally discovered the wonders of skin care! There are few people in my life as interested in makeup/skincare as I am so I’m here to type out some words for anyone who will listen. Be you a mom, single, newlywed, empty nester, teenager, it doesn’t matter. We’re here to talk makeup, hair, skincare & maybe a fashion post now and again.

The twist is that I’ll be blogging with my dear sister. Our mother always said we would be best friends when we grew up & we didn’t believe her. Fine mom, you were right. We want to explore the concept of saving & splurging. As you read above, I’m a stay at home mom. That means we have 1 income. I am working on a budget. There’s a time to save (dupes!) and there’s a time to splurge.”

Julia:

“I’m trying to figure out some clever way to say hi to you all without sounding pretentious or cheesy, but it isn’t quite working so I’ll just go with hello and welcome to our world. My sister Nat and I have known each other for twenty-three and a half years (though she’s been around two years and two months longer) and we’ve decided that we like each other enough to start this blog together. We want to show you what it’s like to live a fun and stylish life, saving money where it makes sense so that you can splurge on what’s really worth it.

                I’m Julia, by the way. As you may have guessed I’m twenty-three years old, and the younger sister of this duo. I’m unmarried, but dating a wonderful man. Right now I work part time and take the occasional community college class when I feel it sounds like a good idea. I’m living at home right now, but I’m trying to make my little corner of the house be as me as possible. I’m running out of bookshelves. Might have to try and make some.

                I love playing around with makeup. My skin is extremely fair with lots of freckles, and I have blue eyes, so I’ll be doing a lot of showing you what works for that complexion type. From foundations that honestly are not too dark, to eye shadow and mascara that will really make things pop (and yes, pale people can rock a bold lip!).”

Sometimes a drugstore item is just as good (maybe better) than the high end version. Sometimes a high end item will last FOREVER & a cheap one is gone in a few months. Sometimes that expensive item ends up being cheaper in the long run. And friends, sometimes that expensive item saves you no money but the product is just so damn luxurious, effective, beautiful (you fill in the adjective) that you just have to splurge. We’ll be exploring all of that & more.