Black Eyeliner Is The Secret To Pulling Off Fall’s Vampy Lipsticks

I've always thought the beauty of makeup is that you get to be whoever the hell you want to be — for whatever amount of time you like. It all comes off, right? And, nothing communicates a different persona quite like a lip, which is why I'm so interested in trying out fall's exciting, jewel-toned colors.

I think people feel there aren't too many options for pulling off darker lips. They can also be a little intimidating, because it's a whole lot of look. But, I recently fell in love with an eggplant color from NARS, called Palais Royal. It's part of the brand's Satin Lip Pencil collection, so it has a sheer sort of texture. This can be great if you're just dipping your toes into the trend, but I was going for something deep and vampy — and I wanted this color to do it.

So, I mixed black eyeliner with a little bit of balm and applied that all over the mouth. Then, I filled it in with the eggplant shade. To get those ultra precise lines, you can dip an angled eyeliner brush into your lipstick and create a dramatic shape — just like you'd do with a cat-eye! A good rule of thumb is: The sharper the lines, the more opaque the color. (Otherwise, it can look a bit dated.)

If this is a bit too vamp for you, you could run a Q-tip over the edges for a blurred, wine-mouth sort of vibe: It would be a bit more romantic and stained. I kept everything else pretty bare — minimal concealing, one coat of mascara, and not much else. It's fun to let the mouth do the talking.

For more fall lipstick ideas, head over to Gloria's blog, SetDaze.