Holiday Red Lips

It's almost Christmas and that means it's time for lights, food, festivities, family time, and of course lots of glitter and sparkle! This is definitely one of my favorite times of the year -- everything just feels so extra special and cozy! I love decorating, baking, relaxing, and sharing the joy of the season with family, friends, and neighbors. I didn't get to do too much fun stuff this holiday season since school went so late into December but I'm glad that I still got to enjoy some of the season with loved ones.

I wanted to dedicate this post to a bit of Christmas makeup, since this is definitely my favorite season for experimenting with different looks. I tend to go a tad overboard when it comes to buying holiday makeup, gifts, clothes, candles, etc. but it's just so irresistible with all the cute holiday stuff out there. One of the classic winter makeup trends is of course cherry-red lips and sparkling eyeshadow looks. I love love love trying out new eyeshadow looks, but one of the things I shy away from every single year are red lips. For some reason, I have no problem wearing green eyeliner or donning a shocking blue smokey eye, but when it comes to wearing vibrant shades of lipstick I always get really nervous and self-conscious. However, being the beauty addict I am, I still like to get my red-lip fix in during December and so, over the years, I've discovered the perfect solution for this problem -- sheer lip glosses!

The one pictured above is the Philosophy Tinsel Town Lip Shine (which I picked up last season, but I believe is no longer available). It's a gorgeous sheer berry-red lipgloss with tons of sparkle that is perfect for this time of the year. It gives my lips a wash of red color, but without going overboard to full-on red lipstick territory. There's tons of other sheer red glosses out there (some of my other sheer red favorites are Sephora's Glossy Gloss in Cocktail On The Beach and L'Oreal Le Gloss in Red Ravishing ) that are equally good for those of us afraid of venturing into the red-lipstick territory. Even when it comes to other "bam-in-your-face" lipsticks (hello plums, hot pinks, and corals), I recommend trying more toned-down versions of the colors in a lip-gloss or even a tinted lip balm format. That way, you can still enjoy the color without going fully opaque and flashy.

I hope you're all having a great Christmas Eve! Despite this holiday season being craaaazy, I'm still got to enjoy one of my favorite Christmas traditions -- our annual family trip to Oglebay, the most beautiful and cozy winter/holiday lodge!

Happy Holidays everyone! :)