Black, Dark Lipsticks Latest Fashion Trend

Take A Walk On The Wild Side

Every season, there's a new beauty trend to go with the all-new fall looks, and it looks like this season it's all about the lips: black lipstick to be specific.

That's right, the Goth favorite is going mainstream. Beauty insiders say dark lips will be everywhere in the coming weeks.

I've tried fuschia, purple and even orange lips. But black? It always seemed a bit too Elvira Mistress of the Dark for me.

Even though this is the hot trend, I just can't see it working in real life, so I asked makeup artist Fran Fernandez, owner of Artistic Hair & Makeup in South Tampa, to tell us how to make this hauntingly hard-to-wear trend work without looking like a "Rocky Horror" reject.

"There are different spectrums of the dark lip," Fernandez says. "There are dark berry, burgundy, wines, plums and blacks."

If you want to take a trip to the dark side, start with take baby steps. Less is more when it comes to dark colors. Start with one in the burgundy or plum family, and apply the color with a lip brush, not from the tube.

"It's too heavy" from the tube, Fernandez says. "You don't want a Crayola crayon look; you want a soft, stained look."

If you have Angelina Jolie lips, forgo the liner, or you could end up looking like a grouper fish. Make sure to blot your lips afterward and apply lots of lip gloss.

Thin-lipped women will have some trouble with this trend because dark colors make things look smaller, including lips.

If you want to give it a go, apply foundation and powder on your lips first. The lightness from the foundation and powder will make the lips look bigger, Fernandez says. Line your lips with a color close to your lipstick before applying the color.

If you do decide to go with a dark lip, make sure you go easy on all other make-up.

"The lips are bold enough," Fernandez says. "When you wear this, you are going to have a lot of attitude. You don't want a lot of other things going on on your face."

My advice: try it out closer to Halloween. That way, if it doesn't work, it'll look like you were purposely shooting for scary.

A Little Shopping Help

During these tough economic times, saving some money is on everyone's mind. And ladies, you know when it comes to cutting costs, beauty can be a real beast. You still want to look good without running up an ugly bill.

There are plenty of ways to save on your favorite products online.

For all you beauty lovers out there, ShopSmart magazine, from the publisher of Consumer Reports, has checked out more than two dozen beauty sites to find the best.

They screened out sites with bad Better Business Bureau records, no contact information, poor return policies or high shipping fees, and found the ones where items were bundled (Amazon's best cosmetic deals were in multipacks) and more. The results are revealed in the November 2008 issue of ShopSmart on newsstands now.

If It's Free, It's For Me ... And You

Tired of begging for beauty samples at the cosmetic counter? Or maybe you've purchased one too many high-end face creams only to find out that you don't like the product when you get home.

The Tampa-based Best in Beauty Web site has a new sampling program that gives consumers a way to try a variety of beauty products free of charge. That's right; I said free.

All you have to do is go to www.

bestinbeauty.com, and put in your name and ZIP code. The site will give you a coupon; print it out, and just take it to one of the three spas or salons closest to you (depending on your ZIP code) and pick up your free beauty booty.

If you like what you try, you can purchase it at the salon or spa where you picked it up. If you don't have a computer, call 1-800-218-5701 and the coupon will be mailed to you free of charge.

"This is a way to expose beauty enthusiasts to new products," says co-founder Tara Runkle. "These are high-quality products they may want to purchase. And it gives salons a way to introduce themselves to new clients."

Current samples include Goddessy Cream, an anti-wrinkle cream, Oxygenating Hair Repair Serum by HD and Self-Tanning Towelettes by Comododynes. New products are introduced to the Best in Beauty bags every quarter.