Valentine's Day Inspiration

Only eighteen days until Valentine's Day! This Valentine's Day stop your special someone's heart with these beautifully girly looks.  I am in love with both of these looks and am really considering buying both dresses though my debit card might not appreciate it; but no girl can have too many dresses, right? 

First look: Delias Red Lace Party Dress - $64.50, Forever 21 Bold Rhinestoned Dangle Earrings - $8.80 $3.99 

        Red on Valentine's Day will never go out of style.  It is bold, classy, and downright gorgeous.  I also believe that like a LBD, every girl should own a LRD (little red dress).  The lace "cutouts" give this dress interest and keep it on trend.  I paired this dress with these rhinestoned earrings to add some glamor and the sparkle will keep your date's right on you the whole night.  I suggest three hairstyles: messy up-do, loose curls with front pulled back, or deep side part and pulled over one shoulder.  

Second look: Modcloth Affection for Confection Dress - $84.99 (http://sharethelove.modcloth.com/a/clk/1lxDPb, use this link to receive $15 off $50 purchase + free shipping), Forever 21 Graduated Radiant Cut Earrings - $5.80

          This creamy blush colored dress is absolutely adorable and it actually has a lot of versatility.  You can wear for Easter, spring or summer brunch, wedding shower, ect. So though it might be a bit pricey, you will get your money's worth, I promise. I paired these earrings because they will dress up this somewhat casual dress and the gold accent to the earrings will compliment the creamy blush color of the dress.  Because this dress is less glamorous than the red dress I suggest wearing your hair in two ways: pony tail with the front pieces of your hair pulled out or down in loose Veronica Lake-esque waves. 

I hope you can find some inspiration in these outfits and that your Valentine's Day is magical. 

Easy Guide for the Perfect Red

Here's the typical situation - You are sitting on the couch reading your favorite magazine and that month's trend report idolizes reds and the necessity for you to wear it this season; so, being the hopeful fashionista that you are, you get in the car and head down to the drugstore.  You make it to the makeup aisle and see the dozens of reds stacked up side to side, all looking almost identical. This is the part where you start to go a little crazy.  To help you out I have created a simple guide to find the best red for your skin tone.

Steps

Step 1: Determine whether your skin is cool or warm.  Cool skin will have blue or red/pink undertones. Fair skin will fall into cool. Warm skin will have yellow undertones. Beige and darker tones will fall into warm.
Step 2: Cool tones will look for blue-red lipsticks.  The blue will compliment your fair complexion and not be too bright for your skin.  Warm tones will look for orange-red lipsticks.  The orange will compliment your natural warmth. (Tip: the darker you are the brighter your lipstick can be)
Step 3: Put it on and immediately you feel a bit more glamorous.  The most important part to wearing red is to be CONFIDENT.

Tips

Tip #1: Exfoliate lips for smooth application.  I use E.L.F. Studio Lip Exfoliator ($3.00). 

Tip #2: Use lip balm or chapstick to prevent cracks. 

Tip #3: Line and fill in lips with a lip liner that corresponds with your lipstick shade. This will make the red adhere to the lips and last longer. 

Tip #4: Buy drugstore lipsticks until you find the perfect color, then you can hash out more money for a higher end brand. 

Examples

Cool - Revlon Matte Lipstick - Really Red ($6.99), Maybelline Color Sensational Lipcolor - Red Revival ($7.49)

Warm - Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Color - Fire & Ice ($6.99), Maybelline Color Sensational Lipcolor - Very Cherry ($7.49)