OOTD: Violet Lips and Cheetah-Print Shoes

On a Thursday in mid-September, I woke up to the lingering, shining summer sun with a smile on my face. The beautiful weather inspired me to incorporate a few things into my ensemble that make me very happy: the color purple, and animal prints.

Because I wanted to pair a print with a bold color, I knew that the base of my outfit needed to be as neutral a canvas as possible. I adorned myself in a pair of dark-wash skinny jeans (New York and Company) and an easy, breezy, camel-colored top I purchased from Target years ago (Xhilaration). The shirt features a high-low hemline, brass buttons on the sleeves, and a back that is made up of layered, vertical pleats.

Once my outfit and accompanying cheetah-print heels were in place, I explored my available purple options to throw into the mix.

As you may already know, I love lipstick! A must-have line in my lipstick collection is the Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick; I apply this once in the morning and it lasts on me all day! Today I pulled out “Como,” a vibrant violet shade from Stila’s 2015 Summer Collection.

To complete the makeup portion of my look, I used Benefit Cosmetics’ “Dallas” blush, purple eye liner, and L’Oreal Paris’ Voluminous Mascara. I went for light coverage on my skin with Laneige BB Cream.

I bring the colors of my entire look together by putting on a turquoise and purple accent necklace and placing large, purple studs in my ears, and then grab the finishing touch: my dark purple Michael Kors bag.

Last but not least, I turn to styling my hair. As a brunette with caramel highlights, I figured I’d use the sun to my advantage by pulling my hair to the left in a side pony tail, in turn allowing the sun’s rays to bounce off the highlights and add some natural volume and additional color. Using a backcombing method, I twirled and pinned my hair around the hair tie to give it a more refined and elegant (albeit still casual) look. I left a few loose lends out to keep the style from appearing too formal, but you can easily transform this look into one that is more boho/messy or sleek/formal with a few simple tucks and pins.

I hope that you had a fabulous weekend, and that the summer sun brightened and inspired your day the way that it did mine. Stay Stiletto Sharp!