Unless you're bi-coastal, a perpetual spray-tanner, or just happen to have hit the good-genes jackpot (damn you!), chances are, in the winter, you're paler than usual. Instead of trying to fight nature, we think it best to embrace the look with a strong makeup P.O.V. The answer? Just the right lipstick. So, we've narrowed down the best hues of the season to four go-to color categories that anyone can pull off. Oh, and we've also snagged major makeup artist Paula Dorf to give us a paint-by-numbers breakdown. From warm-'n'-toasty neutrals to gothically purple tones, these trends let you pump up the glam and update your cold-weather look without breaking the bank. The best part about showing your lips some fun, colorful love is that it'll even make your all-black puffer coat look chic…well, maybe.



We say: We've been seeing this deep purple color popping up in the office and all over town, and when done right, it can be a total makeup home run. Don't shy away from the dramatic look — it just might be the "new you."

Paula's tips: "For this trend, I’d recommend a lip gloss for a sexy, dramatic look. The gloss will look healthy if you use a semi-transparent shade, rather than a traditional matte lipstick, which can make you look like you have bruised lips. The purple shade generally looks better with a paler skin tone (verses a summertime glow), but you’ll want to wear a little color on your cheeks in a medium brown or pink shade, and a nice, classic eye. It may be fun to really play up your lashes, but I’d avoid a deep, smoky eye – as that could make you look like a vampire."

Above, from left: YSL Gloss Pur in #6 Pure Plum, $23, available at Yves Saint Laurent; Lipstick Queen Chinatown Pencil in Mystery, $20, available at Lipstick Queen; Givenchy Gloss Interdit Ultra-Shiny Color Plumping Effect in Velvet Purple, $26.50, available at Sephora.

Photos: (Homepage) Via Maria Valentino/MCV Photo; (Above) Via Yves Saint Laurent, Lipstick Queen, Sephora.

It's a rare occurrence, having ample time to get dolled up before heading out to a party. More often than not, we're running out straight from work and scrounging for any and all beauty products that happen to be at our (or our beauty editor's) desk. So, in the spirit of trying to cram the glam — without looking rushed, of course — we've come up with a 5-minute how-to that will transform any daytime look into a party-ready stunner. With a little help from Kimara Ahnert, makeup artist and founder of Kimara Ahnert Makeup Studio, and pretty much no time at all, we've figured out how to kick up our evening beauty look without even an ounce of makeup remover.

Click through to find out how to feel fabulous in under five. In 5-4-3-2-1...

When you see some of the wildly inventive, surreal tableaux that set designer Marie-Yan Morvan has dreamt up, you wouldn't be blamed for thinking the Parisian transplant also applied her avant-garde aesthetic to beauty. Surprisingly, the 25-year-old — who also pulls double-duty as a prop stylist — takes a much simpler, more classic approach to her hair and makeup. Her beauty philosophy is all about keeping things effortless, but still elegant. She's perfected a simple style that leaves her free to spend the majority of her time concocting fantastical sets.

Maybe it's her captivating curls, that flawless porcelain skin, or the inherent chicness that all French women seem born with — all we know is that we're hooked on this creative tour de force. Read on to learn her tricks for crafting fuss-free curls and her pick for the most perfect red lipstick ever.

Most of our editors have all tried out eyelash extensions and have only had awesome things to say about them—imagine a month where dramatic eyes doesn't have to include loads of mascara. The guru of lash-lengtheners is probably Alicia Hunter, who's a certified NovaLash artist, and works a pair of tweezers like no one else. We want you guys to have the opportunity to try out her services (for free!)—just comment below about what you'd most want to seduce with your new lashes, and we'll pick a winner at random to receive a full set of extensions (valued at $450) that Alicia will apply herself at The Sanctuary Hotel in NYC, along with drinks, and a gift bag of goodies from Novalash and The Teologist. Leave your comment below to win!

Giannfranco Ferré fall '11 image courtesy of Redken.

Truth: We've done the tips from our favorite trainers, and dudes, we're getting t-o-n-e-d! But, sometimes (or more than sometimes) working out is so incredibly boring—there's only so many squats or lunges or planks you can do. So, we're always game for another way to keep off the pounds, which is why we just made plans Thursday night. Enter Blink Pong , presented by Table Tennis Nation, a ping pong tournament July 21 at Blink Fitness' NoHo location. Open to the public, the tournament, or "brawl," is a swe-et way to make some new friends, get a little competitive, and, of course, work up a sweat. "An hour of ping pong can burn 400 calories, so this is a great chance to supplement your workout in a fun, different way," says Cooper Fallek of Table Tennis Nation. We're balls to the, err, net in!

Thursday, July 21, 6 p.m to 9 p.m., Blink NoHo, 16 East 4th Street (at Broadway); 212-228-7000.

Above, clockwise from left: MAC Lip Pencil in Vino, $13, available at MAC; MAC Wipes, $28, available at MAC; MAC Eyeshadow in Phloof!, $14.50, available at MAC.

Broadway may be called the Great White Way, but it's currently awash in color, courtesy of the just-opened Priscilla Queen of the Desert. Based on the '90s-era cult-classic film, Priscilla rocks the (packed) house with outrageously amazing, Swarovksi-decked campy costumes (like we've never seen before) and, of course, megawatt makeup. And behind the scenes you'll find makeup artist Justen Brosnan, the man responsible for bringing the eye-catching looks for the show's lovable drag queen divas to the stage each night. But since a Broadway musical is truly a juggling act of costume changes—and the Priscilla crew has around 70 wigs and 300 sets of false lashes on hand—it's no wonder Brosnan has a few makeup tricks up his sleeve. We were able to sneak backstage and snag some seriously useful pro tips (well, for an over-the-top night out) from the theater dynamo himself:

How to de-glitter: "Our actors don't have much time between scenes, and have to do things on the fly, so to quickly get the mix of glitter and pigments off their lips in time for the next scene, they kiss the sticky side of clear tape."

How to fix an eye makeup mistake: "Wrap a MAC makeup wipe around a Q-Tip and sweep the Q-Tip under the eye or along the lash line to pick up any shadow or liner mistakes. And at the end of the night, I use the MAC oil cleanser to get all the makeup off. You always have to take people's skin into consideration, and the oil cleansers takes everything off in the most gentle way."

How to go from the stage to everyday: "Theatrical makeup has to have longevity throughout the show and read well all the way to the back of the house, but the character Bernadette typically has more natural makeup. You can translate it into a night out look using some of my all time favorites: Phloof! eyeshadow, a mix of Vino lip liner and Mac Red lipstick, Peaches blush, and simple black liquid eyeliner."



Above, from left: MAC Lipstick Mac Red, $14.50, available at MAC; MAC Cleanse Off Oil, $24, available at MAC.

Ew, gross. You'd never use fake tanning methods to get that super-overdone toasted orange complexion that's so popular on "Jersey Shore" cast members and roast chickens, right? No, not you. Never. Still it would be fun to see what would happen if you suddenly had skin like Snooki or the Situation, right? That's where the TanningBooth app for iPhone and iPad comes in. For a mere dollar you can take a photo of yourself and magically shift your current winter pallor all the way to Snooki orange. Of course, you could also use the app to actually, fairly predict what you would look like with a little bit of real, natural solar-sourced color on your cheeks. But, honestly, where's the fun in that? (Incredible Things)

The word salon has multiple definitions, but typically it's used to describe either a beauty business or a fashionable assemblage of notables. And it seems the Paul Labrecque Salon at the Core Club is deftly working the word's dual meaning with their new "Martinis and Manicures" soirees: Just bring together your artful crew of 5 to 10 friends for cocktails and bites, manis or pedis, and a wealth of conversation at the salon's private space from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on weeknights or 3 hour time slots on the weekends. Choose from the Classic manicure ($35), 45 minutes of hand scrubs, massages, nail shaping and your choice of Essie polish—or the Classic pedicure ($65), which consists of a 60 minute treatment using Decleor products that includes a foot cleanse and soak, nail trimming and shaping, callus buffing and exfoliation, a foot massage, and Essie nail polish. Tack on drinks and snacks for $35 and you've got yourself a chic salon within a salon. But wait, Refinery29 readers get 20% off Martinis and Manicures, just book by the end of April.

Paul Labrecque, 66 East 55th Street (between Park and Madison avenues); 212-988-7816
For reservations, call Beth Cobb, 212-988-7816. Reference Refinery29 to get the deal!

It's no secret that Lauren Santo Domingo leads an expensive life—her latest venture, the e-commerce site Moda Operandi, may just be the priciest online luxury retailer in the universe. So her interview with Into The Gloss, a 1,300 word chunk of text where LSD dishes on her beauty routines, doesn't exactly shock us with its extravagance. The covetable clotheshorse, who's 8 ½ months pregnant, reveals she's not exactly a whiz when it comes to the whole shampoo in hair thing. "For hair—not like I wash my own hair, I can’t even remember the last time I washed my own hair." And, yes, she prefers to have her makeup done for her. As for lipstick: "My lipstick changes depending on who I’m meeting with and what time of day it is. It usually starts lighter in the morning and then gets darker by the evening, so I typically have five or six tubes on me throughout the day." Lifestyles of the rich and famous, we guess. Now, off to wash our own hair with lye and apply our one tube of Walgreen's brand chapstick!

It just wouldn't be Fashion Week without the ubiquitous smoky eye. And this time around, the runway staple seemed to pop up at show after show, with makeup artists whipping up looks that ranged from grungy to glam. And why not? The smoky eye is the best option for getting that mesmerizing, smoldering look—but its biggest draw just might be its variability: The smoky eye can be kept night-shift-dark and edgy or softened up using lighter, less severe shades. Here are three fresh and doable yet still sexy retellings of the smoky eye to try now.

Winged Victory—Somewhere between the cat eye and smoky eye, we find Tom Pecheux's look for Derek Lam's fall 2011 collection. Using two new Estee Lauder silver and black shadows, he first winged the black smokey eye shadow out toward the temples, then applied a metallic grey shadow on the center of the lid for a silver foil finish and paired the look with a nude, matte lip.







The Smokey Eye Shadow Tools: Estee Lauder Pure Color Eye Shadow in Black Crystals, $20, available at Estee Lauder; NARS Velvet Matte Lipstick in Madere, $25, available at NARS; Dolce & Gabbana Smooth Eye Colour Duo in Romance, $36, available in March at Saks Fifth Avenue.

Eyeliner may be a makeup basic, but don't think you have to be relegated to just one type. It's one of makeup's most adaptable staples—a daytime and nighttime essential that instantly transforms your look by creating shape and giving definition to your peepers. Ready to master the art of eyeliner in 2011? We show you how to flip the switch on your regular routine and inject some drama, softness, or polish into your look with three easy eyeliner tips.

On the Inside —Lining the waterline, or inner rim of the eye, adds intensity and extra definition, and creates the illusion of a thicker, fuller lash line. Gilbert Soliz, Lead Artist for the Sephora PRO Beauty Team, tells us how.



The Tips: "Start with a sharpened pencil, but rub it down a bit on the back of your hand so it's not too sharp. While looking in the mirror, tilt your chin up a few inches and use a finger on your free had to press lightly inward and up on your lid (or down, depending on which lid you're lining) to flip the lash line forward and expose the roots of your lashes. Using a smudge-proof or waterproof liner, wiggle your pencil in between the roots of the lashes from inner to outer corner. You want to deposit plenty of color, so the product adheres and sits well at the root of the lashes, but don't go too far into the waterline, or the product vanishes when coming in contact with the eye."

The Tools: Bare Escentuals Buxom Insider Eyeliner in Onyx, $14, available at Sephora; Sephora Retractable Waterproof Eyeliner in Brown, $12, available at Sephora.

L'Wren Scott Spring 2011 photo courtesy of Robert Fairer for Lancome. Timo Weiland photo courtesy of Davines. Gucci Fall 2010 photo courtesy of Cover Girl.

What do pastels, metallic grays, and sleek nudes have in common? They're all part of the gorgeous and utterly fresh 2011 nail polish trends. Shades typically lighten up each spring, but instead of going sheer, this year's crop of pastels stays rich and creamy--think smooth purples, bright blues, and yummy peach-tinged pinks. Plus, the nude lacquers spotted at a plethora of spring shows (like Marc Jacobs, Jason Wu, and Yigal Azrouel) are having their moment, and those looking for punched up hits of color won't be disappointed either: Bright, bold lacquers are making an appearance, and some optically intriguing shades of gun metal are popping up, too. So, get ready to totally transform your digits in 2011 with our ultimate guide to spring nail polishes—talk about a cheap thrill!

Back to Nature Nudes —Nude-as-naked nails look refreshingly demure, yet provocative. Make sure your polish comes in a high-gloss formula so you don't end up looking like you have mannequin hands.



Above, from left: Karen Walker Spring 2011 image via CND; Deborah Lippmann Nail Polish in Naked, $16, available in mid-January at Deborah Lippmann; Essie Nail Polish in Sand Tropez, $8, available in February at Essie.