So it's not quite spring yet, but I can't wait for some green and pinks, and those gorgeous tulips that come up and lean effortlessly into the sun. What better way than to incorporate this feeling into my nails?! I decided to give this Doc Marten Inspired Floral nail design a try.  I didn't have the exact colors she used in her tutorial, so I used what I have from my crazy extensive nail polish collection. In place of a black base I opted for Essie's No More Film, a gorgeous navy with a violet lean to it. For the rose I used Essie's Lovie Dovie and Fiji for the highlights. For the greenery around the roses I used Turquoise and Caicos. While she used a brush for her design, I found using a dotting tool just as effective. I made the personal choice to just keep it low key to two nails instead of all five. I do love the finished look. I can't wait to try this look again switching up the shades.

Described on MAC's website as as "A 77-Mineral Moist Complex that instantly nourishes lips with maximum moisture in a lightweight, non-sticky formula," I would have to agree! I'm very pleased with this gorgeous coral/pink called Lady at Play. MAC describes it as a cool tangerine but it looked more pink on my olive skin tone (see swatch below!)  It was so ultra smooth going on and lightweight that it was a complete joy applying this lipstick! One handful of pistachios and three hours later, it still looks pretty amazing on. One thing that stands out to me about this product is how buildable it is in formula and I love that it's not sticky so on those really windy days in NYC my hair won't be a magnet for it. Speaking of magnets, the bullet has a super cool magnetic closure keeping it secured inside. These things matter for us girls that toss lipsticks in our bag on the go.

A loud bright pout never goes out of style it seems, but it always makes a reappearance in popularity, at least in print around Spring time. Above, are a few of my go to colors for this coming season. The always indulgent Tom Form lipstick in Cherry Lush is the perfect full on red for me. Red, black and white are in for Spring. Think Beyonce at the Grammys. Purchasing a Tom Ford lipstick is a bit of a splurge but after trying it I realize why; like YSL lipsticks this is one of the best formulas out there. It stays put, it's highly pigmented and it's almost featherweight after application. For an everyday, less screaming, more office friendly look I love NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Never Say Never, described on their website as a Pink Lilac, making it a more wearable, warm pink but with some punch to it. It leans violet and it's also a long wearing formula. I will be purchasing more NARS pencils as they're coming out with a new line of Satin Pencils this spring with a great selection of nudes, pinks, and reds. Next is a color I would normally stay away from, but I've learned to love a cool pink with a blue undertone like Chanel's Rouge Allure in Extatique. Of all the lipsticks, this is the sheerest in application. This is a great formula if you like a sheer look with color payoff. Chanel makes great lipsticks and like Tom Ford's, worth a purchase at least once! They also have such great shades for every skin tone.  Lastly is MAC's Lickable lipstick. Simply a hot pink lipstick that I believe will work on pretty much every skin tone. MAC has done more and more bright colors as of late, and this is a cremesheen formula which means it's not drying to the lips, it's long wearing and pigmented. Seeing as I'm a great big lipstick fanatic, I will review other colors as they fascinate me. Swatches below.

I was inspired by my favorite celebrity/fashion/blogger manicurist Sophy Robson. After asking her on Facebook how this was done I thought I'd give it a try. Colors used: Essie Lovie Dovie  and Pop Beauty Nail Glam in Turquoise. Got some help with my nail tools by Sephora.

This winter has been like days of old for some New Yorkers. We had some relatively warm winters recently but this one has been brutal at times. We're all looking ahead to warmer spring days. If you've flipped through the March pages of Vogue, Bazaar and Elle you'll see we have a bright spring ahead of us in terms of makeup; with bright turquoise lids, and a very bright fuchsia pout, which I'll highlight in separate post as it deserves it own. While there were pops of color everywhere, one trend seen during most of fashion week for Spring 2013; fresh, clean, lit from within, unbronzed, natural skin. This might have something to do with the many new releases of beauty balms and high tech foundation formulas hitting the market now. Seeing as I don't have supermodel skin, and I'm slow to ride the silicon packed beauty balm train these are my staples for that barely there look. Good old Olay Complete because it's still a great reasonably priced moisturizer with an SPF and makes for a smooth canvas. MAC Face and Body Foundation because it's still one of the best foundations out there with just enough coverage without looking caked on and it's long wearing to boot. MAC also re-promoted this foundation because it's finally available in a travel size bottle. You need so little of it that it made more sense than the jumbo size it was originally sold in. This foundation is praised time and time again by leading makeup artists because of it's super thin fluid finish. Another great MAC product is the Pro Longwear Concealer. It's creamy, lightweight and wonderful for under the eyes. For the lit from within look I like to use just a pea sized amount of highlighter. NARS Illuminator in Copacabana is still one of the best for a subtle glow, and my new favorite is Becca's Shimmering Skin Perfector. If you haven't tried Becca this is a great product to start with. These Skin Perfectors are so blendable, so easy to use and comes in three amazing pearlized shades. No large glitter particles here! A little goes a long way with both these highlighters.

This season MAC has introduced their Pro Conceal and Correct Palettes. Having somewhat of a difficult skin tone to correct, I was pretty excited about this, and for good reason! I received this in the mail and quickly tried it out on blemishes and some dark spots and it's fantastic. It's creamy but it provides build-able coverage where needed. I always found my prior concealers either too yellow, or too red and not enough peach for the under eye area for example. (Indian skin can be problematic!) This $40 palette allows me to mix the exact color that I need depending on what I'm using it for; covering blemishes or evening out the skin tone. I love love love that MAC has now made their pro products available to the rest of us, after all, we want access to some of the best tools and products too. The other option is spend a whopping $250 on Bobbi Brown's Ultimate face palette. This universal palette is used far and wide by makeup artists everywhere, and covers all ranges of complexions. For little old me, I'm happy with my MAC Pro Conceal and Correct Palette in Medium.