How to Wear the 'Not Nude Lip' Trend

I've never been very good at applying makeup or being on the up and up of makeup trends, but as I'm getting older, I know it's important to learn these little tricks and figure out what products are going to work the best on me. That's one reason I love shopping at Ulta - they have so many options under one roof, from designers to drugstore brands so you don't even have to spend a ton to find something for you.  More than that, I love that they have experts there ready to help you find the right product, brand and shades for you and how to apply it - giving on the site tutorials on your face.
So, this last weekend I set out to learn how to wear the 'Not Nude Lip' trend and what products would work for me.  Lipstick has always been something I've had fun playing around with. It is a bit easier to grasp (I mean, a swipe of the tube to the lips - anyone can do that!), but what I learned at Ulta was that you should to think past just your lip color.  Depending on what you're doing to your lips, you have to balance out the rest of your face.  So, of course, this not quite nude, a bit more pinkish lip trend comes with the some suggestions.
I wanted to still keep my makeup more natural looking and less cumbersome for an overall more casual look. But before even getting to the lips, you have to start with the base of your face.  While there are no strict rules you must follow (hey - if you like it, you should flaunt it), with this not quite nude lip, you should add a bit of contouring to your face to keep everything from fading into each other. This just helps accentuate your features. 
(Full list of products at the bottom of this post, but all products found at Ulta! Beautiful photos by Jeannette Howard Photography - she is awesome to work with if you need a family photographer!)

For the face, the awesome artist at Ulta actually showed me how to contour my face, which is something I've never done before!  Contouring sounds scary and like nothing I have time for, but it's really all in the brush stroke and right products - so really very easy.  My other concern was not feeling weighted down by layers of make up - but with thin layers of the right product, my makeup felt very weightless.

What you need to set the right foundation for your look:

1. Primer - I used Spackle by Laura Gellar.  This just allows everything to lay nicer on your face and help you achieve more of that clean and smooth look.

2.  BB Cream - I used this instead of foundation which includes SPF. (*Tip: Apply with a brush for a more airbrushed look!)

3.  Using Crease-Less Concealer for the Under Eye by Laura Gellar, smooth over your under eye skin.

Now you can move on to adding some dimension to your face:

1. Brush Bronzer just under your cheekbone back into your hairline. I used Laura Gellar's Bronze N Brighten, which I liked for a smooth color as all the different hues are swirled and baked together.

2. Add highlighter to the inner corners of your eyes, under your eye brow and under your eye bone, below the concealer to lift the skin color.

3. For a little color to your face, add blush to the apples of your cheeks (above the bronzed contouring).

Next, whether you're playing up the eyes or not, you need mascara!  For the daytime, I kept it simple and just applied neutral shadow and Fortifying Lashes Mascara by Laura Gellar.  This mascara is actually a lash primer and conditioner, but looks great alone or top with another mascara for extra pop for night. 

And don't forget the eye brows!  I'm actually in the process of growing mine out (trying to achieve a fuller brow), but you can easily fill them in to achieve the same look!

^^ One eye with the primer mascara and one eye without!  See the difference?!

And now the lip...  This might be the easiest part!  

1. You need a lip pencil (which I tend to skip most of the time, but for this look, it really helps make your color last).  I used a waterproof pencil in buff by Laura Gellar to outline my lip, but also fill it all the way in! This sets a good base to allow your lip topper to stick.

2. I tend to shy away from lip glosses because they are sticky, my hair gets stuck to my lips and it wears off really fast, but I love it for how smooth and moisturizing it is. So, Ulta suggested this Luscious Lips Lipstick which feels like lip gloss, but is a stain that lasts a long time! 

---> Cherry Almond is the perfect 'Not Nude Lip" color!

Full list of products used to make this look possible c/o Ulta:

Now head over to my friend, Erin's blog at Pretty, Polished, Perfect to see her 3 product picks at different price levels to achieve this 'Not Nude Lip' - something for every budget! And stay tuned to see how I take this look to a night look, playing around more with my eyes.

This post in sponsorship with Ulta, but all my options and makeup choices my own!

Follow along here: BlogLovin, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook