Trend Tuesday: How to Style a Coral Blazer

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! Now that we are all rested and refreshed from the long, well-deserved, long weekend lets jump right back into talking about makeup and fashion. As Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer I decided I would start things right with a blog post about Corals. Not only are corals a huge makeup must when it comes to the summer season, but corals will pop up everywhere in fashion and style as well. I have to admit it is one of my go-to colors in summer. It’s fun, it’s bright, it’s loud, but it can also be intimidating to wear if you don’t know what to pair it with or how to style it. So take out that coral dress, or blazer, or shirt, or accessories and lets start putting some looks together. I’ll take you through how to style this color and why you need at least one staple piece of this color in your wardrobe.  

As the baby, softer sibling color of orange, coral is a statement fashion color with a much more wearable undertone! Coral is a color that can be worn by many people, of all skin tones, but it is especially a flattering color on my darker, tanned goddess babes. The reason coral is such a wearable color is because it tends to be on the bluer tone of orange, which means it is equal parts warm and cool, to suit people of all shades and skin colors.  Coral can bring a pop of color to any outfit along with slight side of sophistication when paired with any look. Because of the versatility that coral brings, it can also easily be paired with neutrals as well as other colorful combinations.

My staple coral piece is the blazer. One, because a blazer can be worn in just about any occasion, and two, it can also be dressed up or down. For my look today I decided to keep the outfit pretty simple and casual. Even though you may think a blazer is for a night out or a business dinner. Blazers are a great way to add color and elegance to a casual look, especially a coral blazer like the one I am wearing. I paired the blazer with these H&M jeans and a cream color blouse. Finished off the look with a pair of comfortable nude color flats. Now you can easily take this look and transform it into other looks for any occasion using the same coral piece.

For example, lets take this blazer and substitute the blouse and jeans for a dress. One huge trend in fashion is color blocking, which means you take a bright colorful piece and pair it with another colorful piece. In passed looks I have dressed up this blazer with a colorful tube dress. Stick with greens and cobalt blues to contrast the brightness of the coral. You can also decide to go with a more muted palette and use a black and white stripped dress; either would compliment a coral blazer nicely.

If a night out isn’t your speed and you still want to rock this coral trend, use coral accents and accessories. Find some statement jewelry pieces you would feel more comfortable wearing and use them to spruce up any summer look. You can use coral jewelry with casual looks, night out look, or any day out looks. Remember that your color palette can be anything that will compliment the accents. White, black, and yellow are colors that would make coral jewelry pop.

Hopefully I have given you some ideas on how to style coral pieces and let me know in the comments below what your staple coral piece is and how you love to style it? Till next time, Stay Chic Everybody!

If you love fashion as much as I do be sure to follow my blog, Looks By Li on Bloglovin and connect with me on all social media. Lets be friends!

What I wore:

Blouse: H&M (similar) 

Blazer: J Crew (similar)

Jeans: H&M 

Flats: H&M (similar) 

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My Top 5 Blushes for Summer Swatches | Liana Veronica

Summer Essentials: Top Five Blushes

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Hello chic people! I hope everyone is having a wonderful Wednesday. Normally today I post a new edition of Wednesday Wishlist, and trust me there is a lot more I have to say about things I am looking forward to testing and seeing, especially the new summer collections in makeup and what the new hottest fashion trends for summer will be, but sincere we are getting into the warmer weather here in NY and summer is literally just around the corner, I thought I would do my top five blushes of the season instead. I hope you all enjoy this post and if you want to see what my top blushes are then just keep reading.

Lets jump right in! These are in no particular order, just five of the blushes I use the most during the warmer months and the ones I think you should all put on your wish lists if you have not already checked them out.

Charlotte TilburyNorman Parkinson Color of Youth Lip and Cheek Glow $58:

This blush is a bright orange-red color with warm undertones. I have to admit I am a sucker for packaging and this beauty definitely spoke to my heart! I was pleasantly surprised when I got the product and it turned out to be as amazing as I’d hoped it would be. This crème blush is delicate, yet highly pigmented if you use a heavy hand. It glides on like butter and does not disrupt the foundation underneath. It has incredible staying power and lasts all day on my oily/combo skin. I can’t recommend this blush enough. It is also a cream so it will keep your cheeks looking glowy and not dry or chalky like some powder blushes might. The packaging personifies vintage Hollywood, with a youthful look. Charlotte created this blusher in her Norman Parkinson collection to represent the color of love between him and his wife Wenda. I must say not only does the blush represent love; I have fallen in love with it. It is absolutely stunning. I know what you are thinking though, that price tag right?!!! Well let me tell you. I use this blush almost everyday and I have had it for at least a good 6 months now and as you can see I have barely made a dent in it. This thing will last you a very long time, and because it is so highly pigmented you literally only have to use a few dabs. I like to apply it with a beauty blender for a diffused application and look.  The blush claims to be blendable, weightless, and creamy. I say check, check, check please! It ticks all those boxes and more. Definitely look into this blush for the summer months.

NARS Orgasm Blush$30:

Next on my top five blushes is, none other than a cult favorite on YouTube, NARS’s orgasm blush. This blush is a deep pink with golden shimmering flecks, looks almost baby pink on the skin. I actually acquired this blush for the first time from the Guy Bourdin collection and collaboration with NARS cosmetics a few years ago and as you can see this palette is still going strong. I believe the palette retailed for about $60 and let me tell you if you have never tried a NARS blush these palettes are the way to go. Not only do you get a ton more product than you would with a single blush, but you get other colors to try as well for the price of just two blushes, in the regular single packaging. I have to say there is not a single blush from NARS I have tried that wasn’t great! These are a definite must have if you are a makeup lover like I am. NARS is also currently hosting a limited edition packaging and size of this gorgeous blush, if you guys care to check it out! They have titled this campaign #whatmakesyoublush , so be sure to tag and check them out on Instagram. This blush is a universally usable color on every skin tone and with its high pigmentation a little goes a long way with this one as well. You can build the color up to look like you have just stepped out of a rigorous workout. Or lightly dab it on for a sun kissed flush of color on the cheeks. I use this color religiously during the summer and it looks amazing over pale or tanned skin.

BECCA ShimmeringSkin Perfector Luminous Blush in Blushed Copper $34:

This blush is slightly golden bronze in tone with very warm undertones and a peachy-orange appearance on the skin. I believe originally this blush was marketed as BECCA’s limited edition skin perfector highlighter, but the more people tested it out the more it became known as a blush instead. If you look on the Sephora website it is now under the blushes and no longer in the limited edition packaging that I bought it in. Once again it’s just packaging, what really matters is the product and let me tell you this one is a keeper. It is stunning!! If you are familiar at all with any of BECCA’s skin perfector products you know there is nothing out there like them. They look glittery on the outside, but when you apply them to your cheeks they transform into this glowy, almost ethereal look to the skin with a hint of peach tones to make your skin look healthy and bright. BECCA recently did their second round collaboration with youtuber Jaclyn Hill to create a palette with blushes and highlights. If you have not tried any of their blushes or shimmering perfectors I suggest getting on this palette. At a cost of $52 it is a bargain for what you are getting.

Milani LuminosoBlush $8.50:

This blush is a true peach color with gold flecks and goes on the cheeks very peachy and glowy without looking like you have glitter on your face. One of the most affordable and another cult favorite on YouTube, luminosos is a must-have! I know I have said this before about other blushes, but honestly you cannot go wrong with this blush. I have to admit it’s the only blush from Milani that I have tired, but if the rest are anything like luminosos then I will be purchasing a hell of a lot more. This blush has buildable pigmentation, and is very long lasting and did I mention how cheap it is?? I mean this blush should cost more honestly due to what it provides, gorgeous blush.

Hourglass AmbientLighting Blush in Mood Exposure $38:

This is a plum pink tone blush with highlighter ambient powder infused in a gorgeous marbleized pattern. It looks pink mauve on the cheeks and glides on like butter. I know you think summer and mauve may not go together, but I think this blush is gorgeous especially for summer because of the laced ambient highlighter it has. When applied you get a pink plum shimmer flush to the cheek that looks like you have been slightly pinched. Its long lasting and blends like a dream. I highly recommend any hourglass product to be honest. I definitely want to add more blushes to my collection of this brand. Comment below with what other Hourglass blush colors I should try?

Last but certainly never least, thank you all so much for sticking with me and supporting this blog. I am highly passionate about makeup and fashion and I love sharing that passion with you all! Comment below with any blushes you think I should try next, and what are your favorite top picks for summer blushes? I hope you all enjoyed this post, and for more Looks By Li be sure to check me out on Bloglovin. See you all in my next one and as always Stay Chic Everybody!

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Trend Tuesday: Lavender is the New Pink

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Hello everyone and welcome back to Looks By Li! Today we’ll be discussing lavender lips, and some of my tried and true tips and tricks on how to sport this eclectic trend. I remember the first time this trend took a strong hold over the Instagram community, all thanks to the infamous Kat Von D liquid lipstick in requiem. I will admit I was obsessed with the trend too, but I had no clue how to rock it without looking like I was dying of hypothermia. After some trial and error and lots of experimenting I finally figured out that less is more, when it comes to an accentuating lip color.

It all seemed that after the thrill of this color a lot more cosmetic companies joined the bandwagon, along with MAC releasing their Nicki Minaj 2 Viva Glam Lipstick and Lime Crime released D’Lilac lipstick. I knew I wanted to hop on the lavender lipstick train, but I wanted to first find an affordable option since I knew this was not a color I would be reaching for often. Then the makeup Gods heard my plea and out came Colourpop with their new line of matte liquid lipsticks. In the very first launch of this collection they released the color in Koala, a gorgeous lavender pink color with a blue undertone. Despite popular belief this is a very wearable color.

Tips and Tricks on How to Wear a Lavender Lip:

1.) Skin Tone:

With any lip color, not just lavender, the number one tip is to make the color work for your skin tone. For reference my skin tone at the moment is about an NC20 in MAC foundations and for the look today I worse Laura Mercier Smooth Finish Flawless Fluid Foundation in Cashew. If I had to describe my skin tone I am on the lighter spectrum of medium skin tone with neutral undertones, but I think any skin tone can make this color work for them. Remember, the second you think you can’t rock a trend because it’s too out there or showy don’t forget you can always mold a trend to suit you; you don’t have to change your style to suit the trend. The most crucial importance to keep in mind when choosing a lavender lip color is to make sure it suits your skin tone. The wonderful thing about makeup is that companies are always coming out with colors of all shapes and sizes and color schemes. So pick the one that will look best on you. I chose the colourpop color because it had warm undertones with pink notes mixed in with the lavender so it works for my medium skin color. People with warm skin tone, like myself, will look best with lavenders with hints of pink and orange, while people with cool skin tones will look best with lavender colors mixed with more purple and blue tones and darker blue purples instead of pink purples, if that make sense. Cool tone people should stick to cool tone purples.

2.) Keep the Eyes Neutral

The second tip is to try to keep your eye look as neutral and minimal as possible. I decided to go with a very simple graphic like eyeliner look with warm light shadows on the eyelid to mimic my own skin tone. I wanted the liner to call some attention away from the lips so as to not keep all the focus on the Lavender color. Try to keep the eye looks minimal and warm in tone, or try a warm smoky eye using warm browns instead of black.

3.) A Flawless Face

A flawless base is a must to achieve a wearable look with lavender lips as the attention focus. One thing we mostly associate with beautiful lavender colors is velvety flawless skin. Try to go a light on highlight and less intense on bronzer to give you the appearance of a more flawless base. Use a satin or matte finish foundation to provide enough dimension and glow, without making you look to pale or too dry. You want to achieve a matte look but not a flat dimensionless base. Keep the face as neutral as possible.  Keep everything even, so the attention goes to your eyeliner and lips. I went for a matte finish here to get ride of any pores and imperfections that might otherwise distract from the lip color. Don’t forget to go full coverage for this look to achieve that airbrushes appearance.

Last but certainly not least, pick an outfit and hairstyle that will compliment the makeup look. I am not one to always match my outfits to my makeup, but this trick has its merits as it help bring a cohesiveness to the your overall appearance. For my look I went with neutral color again to make sure to bring all the focus to the lip color. I chose this white blouse with a pop of character in this bow detail around the collar and paired it with black trousers for a more business chic look. I love mixing edgy outfits with colorful lip makeup. I would have also substituted the trousers for a nice pair of black faux leather pants. My hair I kept very minimal and simple with a ponytail. I wanted to make my face the focal point of the makeup look.

I hope you all have enjoyed this look and join me again tomorrow for another edition of Looks By Li on bloglovin. Be sure to leave me a comment below with your favorite lavender lipstick? As always I say till next time and Stay Chic Everybody!

Products Used:

FACE:

Foundation- Laura Mercier Smooth Finish Flawless Fluid Foundation

Concealer- MAC Pro Long wear

Powder- MAC skin finish in light medium

Bronzer- MAC give me sun

Blush- NARS orgasm

Highlight- Hourglass ambient lighting powder in incandescent light

EYES:

Shadow- UD naked palette in Virgin and naked (light dusting)

Eyeliner- UD 24/7 eyeliner pencil in perversion smoked out

Mascara- Benefit roller lash

LIPS:

Liquid Lipstick- Colourpop Koala

Monday Must-Haves: Slingback Shoes

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Hello my chic people and welcome back to another edition of “Monday Must-Haves”! This is a series, here on my blog, which incorporates makeup products and fashion pieces super hot and trending at the moment. Usually they are staples to anyone’s wardrobe and makeup bag essentials that are just simply a must-have for the season. If you missed last week’s edition, click here! This week’s pick has to be the infamous Chanel Slingback shoes that everyone on Instagram has been going ham over!

It seems that Chanel has done it again, making the slingback, block heel shoe popular once more. Most often this shoe is viewed as, dare I say, old fashioned and grandmotherly-like, well its time to bring back these puppies back from the retro 70s era and into the 21^st century millennial’s era. But pair these beautifies with one of these oh so popular today retro-trends, like a nice pair of high-waist shorts, or flared jeans and they give anyone a little boost of height along with some retro-chic elegance. I want to show you how you can style this gorgeous shoe, and find a more affordable option to the classic Chanel block heels.

There is no surprise once I saw these babies pop up all over social media I was hooked. This is why I too jumped on the “flipped-out” trend wagon when I saw Chanel’s revamped version of the label’s classic Cinderella slipper going down the Fall 2015 runway and on instagram bloggers everywhere! The Chanel versions were so massively in demand they sold out everywhere almost instantly. If you had your heart set on these you may get lucky looking at pre-loved resale sites or EBay.

Not to mention, had I gotten these beauties from the brand label it would have set me back over $1,000. I must admit I have never spent that much on a shoes before and, as much as I love these, I wasn’t about to start to today. I couldn’t get over wanting these gorgeous shoes though, so as the clever fashion blogger that I am, I set out on a mission to see if I could find a more affordable version that would still satisfy my need for a retro block heel sling-back shoe I wanted.  Finally, I stumbled upon these beautiful two-tone, black and nude, block heel slingbacks from Next Clothing. This boutique is based out of the UK with over 500 stores in the UK, Australia, and the US. They also ship worldwide and let me tell you, they shipped quickly and for only $58 US. You heard me right ladies, $58! It doesn’t get much more affordable than that.

I know a lot of people get turned off by the idea of “designer inspired” luxury items, but let me explain…these are inspired looks, not “knock offs” and there is a difference. Regardless of the facts, take solace in knowing that designers such as the Balmain creative director, Olivier Rousteing, admitted himself that he downright loves when retailers like ZARA copy his work. According to Rousteing, this is the mark of good work and a creative mind. So don’t be ashamed if you can’t afford the high-end brand names, you can still rock the look using affordable alternatives and a bit of creativity. After all remember that fashion has no rules, only room for creativity and exploration.

Now let me give you some tips on how to style these retro glam shoes. For my look I went for a more sophisticated, everyday look with a hint of modern tribal print chic! I paired my block heels with this gorgeous flowy, tribal printed coat, a pair of skinny dark wash jeans and a thin, chiffon cream color blouse. Now you can easily help dress down these shoes or up depending on the occasion and your personal style. Two ways to achieve this is by substituting the jeans, for some high wasted shorts and just a regular plain T-shirt, add a distressed jean jacket for a little bit more flare. If more glamour is what you seek. Substitute the jeans for a high wasted pencil skirt, keep the chiffon blouse, and alternate the coat for a trendy black blazer, the perfect look for a night out, or business chic outing.

I hope you enjoyed this look and for more fashion from Looks By Li be sure to check out my fashion page on Chictopia and follow me on Bloglovin for everything makeup and fashion in one! Hope you all have a wonderful day and Stay Chic Everybody!

Get the look, all links below:

Heels: Two-Tone block heel slingbacks- Next 

Blouse: H&M similar

Coat: H&M similar 

Jeans: H&M 

Feature Friday: Celebrity Inspired Makeup Demi Lovato

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Hello everyone and I hope you are all having a fabulous Friday. If you are new to my blog, I like to do a little series here on Fridays featuring an outstanding piece of fashion trend, or makeup products and looks I believe deserve some feature attention. This week I wanted to tap into some of the hottest makeup trends being sported by some of the most stylish and famous young celebrities. This week I picked this gorgeous neutral eye look with a gorgeous plum/hot pink bold lip, rocked by Demi Lovato. If you have never heard of her you probably don’t watch much Disney channel.

She recently got featured on the cover of Latina magazine and I don’t know about you all, but she looked stunning. Demi has been through a lot at such a young age, but I consider her to be one of the best role models for young women today. She has battled everything from eating disorder to mental health and is still staying strong and pushing through, getting the help she needs, and maintaining her composure as best as one can given these circumstances.

Demi is also a Snapchat queen (theddlovato): She is known for strutting the red carpet and everyday makeup looks with an on-point eyebrow game and bold lips. She says she enjoys the filters on snapchat but nothing beats just relaxing at home in an oversized sweater and Clark Kent like glasses. She states, “I have so much fun with the filters. I love it.” She has become a beacon of help for young girls struggling with eating disorders and she wants nothing more than to talk about her serious embrace of music, which allows her to demonstrate with more clearly than ever that heavens blessed her with vocal cords of gold. Not just literally, but figuratively she used her music to help her get through it all, and speak out loud about what she has been through.

I truly admire her and I hope, if nothing else you enjoy her stunning makeup looks! Demi’s latest beauty look is definitely “Cool For Summer” so I just had to show you all how to recreate it. The singer rocked a pink lip at a recent AOL music performance, which is the perfect pop of color in your Spring/Summer makeup routine.

How to get the look:

First off you can see by the images that she Demi is on point with her bold eyebrows, bold lipstick color, and lots and lots of bronzer and highlight! I took a more subtle approach to the look using a hot pink lip with a violet undertone to bring down the hot brightness of her lip color, but still staying in the same pink family. I also toned down the brows in my look, as I was not blessed with the thickness of her brows so I had to improvise on my small, thin eyebrows. For looks like this that require a lot of bronzing I love to break out my Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel bronzer, it is simply sublime for creating glowy bronzy looks for summer! If you have not tried this product I highly recommend it. Yes, I know its pricy, but it will last you forever, and I promise you wont regret the purchase. It glides on smoothly and is the right tone for any skin color. For the lip I used Nars Audacious Lipstick in “fanny”, a stunning hot pick with purple violet undertones. For the brow I used, non other than Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow powder duo in medium. I love the look of powder rather than pencils as it gives you a sense of boldness, but not to the extent of making your brown look drawn on. If you enjoy that look, rock it girlfriend! If not my suggestion is use the powder like I did. You can easily rock this look for an everyday, to a party, or even to a special event like Demi.

I hope you enjoyed this look and be sure to comment below with your celebrity makeup look that has inspired you for the summer season? Also let me know if you guys want to see more looks like this and who you would want to see an inspired look about. If you missed last week’s feature Friday, be sure to click here! For more Looks By Li be sure to follow me on Bloglovin. If you also enjoy YouTube video be sure to check out my channel at Liana Veronica for even more makeup news, hauls, and tutorials! Have a great weekend and Stay Chic Everybody!

Products used:

FACE:

Foundation- L’Oreal True Match Lumi Cushion Foundation (Review) 

Concealer- Maybelline Fit Me (Review) 

Powder: Laura Mercier Translucent

Bronzer: Soleil Tan de Chanel

Blush: NARS Orgasm

Highlight: BECCA Shimmering skin perfector in Champaign Pop

EYES:

Shadows: Urban Decay Naked 1 Palette- “virgin” all of the eye lid, “Buck” and “Naked” mixed together only in the crease, build up the color to intensity desired; “half baked” only on the lower part of the lid. 

Eyeliner: UD perversion

Mascara: CoverGirl Super Sizer Fibers Mascara (Review) 

LIPS:

Lip liner- MAC magenta

Lipstick- NARS Audacious Lipstick in Fanny