Brown Girl Gumbo

With fall officially upon us, treat your nails to awesome autumnal saturations that will make your digits standout. Essie’s current collection has 6 eye-catching hues that will make you swoon.

From a deep burgundy color called, “Carry On,” to my favorite, a striking grey-green shade that resembles a muted camouflage tone named, “Power Clutch,” these nail polishes are the perfect accessories to your fabulous fall ensembles.

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If you kept up with last week’s New York Fashion Week extravaganza, I’m sure you not only noticed the eye-catching trends we can expect to wear next spring, but you may have also noticed some celebrity make-up trends that you can wear for the fall.

Normally, fall makeup consists of the darker or vampy hues like grays, deep purples, metallics or anything in the jewel-toned family. However, what I liked seeing the most on our celebrity trendsetters was the concept of bending the rules when it comes to adjusting your makeup for the season—specifically when it comes to lip color.

Check out Solange in this eye-catching bright pink lip-color.

You can achieve a similar look with MAC’s Amplified collection “Girl About Town.” It’s also one of my personal faves. If you want to tone down the lip color, you can always do so with by applying the appropriate lip-liner in the same color family over your lipstick.

With full eye brows and a dewy, “make-up less” look, model Jourdan Dunn rocked in the Jason Wu fashion show wearing a matte orange lip. I typically shy away from matte lip colors since they appear so drying on my lips. However, Revlon has a similar “Coral” shade in the Colorburst collection which is actually pretty moisturizing. More on this in the future!

If you want to turn heads, look no further than applying a sultry, hot color like Red on your pout. I know sometimes we women of color might think red is too hot to trot, however, no matter what your complexion or lip size—there is a RED for you!

The key is to look for the right shade and texture of red that complements you. I would highly recommend visiting a make-up counter to find your perfect match. Oftentimes the drugstore packaging of lip-color may be misleading and can become frustrating trying to find your right color. With a make-up pro—the guesswork is taken out. A visit to your local Sephora or any other make-up counter takes the stress off and allows you to embark in star treatment.

Take a look at Angela Simmons and her perfect red pout. Again, Mac has a similar color in the satin collection simply named “MAC Red.”

There you have it. Will you be embracing fall’s more subdued lip-colors or will you be trying the more bold approach?

Posted by Khadijah C.

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As some of you may know, I was selected by Galderma to attend the 2011 Primetime Emmy Awards this Sunday in Los Angeles. Besides being incredibly giddy about dressing up and walking the red carpet, I’m excited  to let you guys in on the fun too.

Prior to the event, my guest and I will be getting glam by an expert stylist and makeup artist. Here’s where you come in…simply email or post a question in the comments section asking Dr. Luftman and/or the stylists and beauty experts who will be on-hand any questions related to the skin condition rosacea.

Because we BGs and guys aren’t usually affected by the skin ailment, it does occur. It’s especially important for us to seek treatment early in order to avoid hyper-pigmentation.

I’ll choose TWO lucky readers’ questions who will then receive a Cetaphil prize pack which will include a Cetaphil Gentle Cleanser and Cetaphil Facial Moisturizer. Some of my loyal readers may remember how I highly recommended both products a few years ago – it’s the best stuff on the market, especially for sensitive skin. 

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