Nothing better on a grey November day (or December day, for that matter) than a great makeup look with a touch of berry. I love jewel tones for winter, and berries are among my favourite shades ever: So warm and glowing! Also, everybody can wear them, no matter skintone or colouring. Here’re my best berry beauty products for winter.

I don’t know about you, but right now I’m not ready yet to break out my festive golds and reds. I feel the berry colours a lot more. (Especially because we had one day of fall, and oops, then it was winter. Boo. I love fall!). So, not matter if you’re blonde and blue-eyed or dark with raven hair – I promise you, there’s a berry tone for you in my pick (heheh, see what I did there) of some favourite berry products!

 

Eyeshadow palette

Berry-toned eyeshadow palettes have been all the rage lately – look at the Anastasia Beverly Hill Modern Renaissance palette or Kylie’s and Huda’s palettes. But really, you don’t spend a major amount of money and time on acquiring one. Instead, have a look at Makeup Revolution New-trals vs Neutrals Palette.

Makeup Revolution New-Trals vs Neutrals palette review
Makeup Revolution New-Trals vs Neutrals palette. Gorgeous, right?

I got it for about 10€, the colour combination is gorgeous and the texture of the shadows exceptional. I purposefully swatched them without any primer and did just one swipe of the colours. And look at that intensity! Imagine what a primer and some layering will do to them. The formula is soft, but not so soft that you’ll have fallout all over your face. The glittery shades don’t drop their glitter on your cheeks, either. Instead they’re blendable, hold up the whole day without fading and are generally a joy to work with. Also, you can do a totally subdued, nude look with them or go all out with the coral and cranberry shades. Very versatile, and you should get it asap.

best berry toned eyeshadow palette
Swatches of the Makeup Revolution New-Trals vs Neutrals palette in the same order as they’re in the palette.

 

Lipstick

If you want to go in a more purple-berry direction (think blueberry) for lips, Guerlain’s La Petite Robe Noire Plum-Brella is your best bet. I wrote about it here and wasn’t convinced about the scent and coverage, but if you’re looking for a purple leaning berry that’s rather sheer, this is it.

best berry lipstick
MAC’s Lipfinity lipstick in Dionysus, Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire Plum-Brella and MAC Huggable Lipcolor in Rusty

I got MAC’s Liptensity lipstick in Dionysus recently, and don’t be fooled by its appearance in the tube and said tube’s colour – this is by no means brown, but a very deep wine colour. After trying it for a few times, I’ve to admit – Astrid was totally right to get a lighter colour. This ultra creamy formula plus older, not longer teenage lips is a great formula for feathering and bleeding. It’s also a bitch to apply and I can’t do full coverage without a liner and a lip brush. A lot of faffing around, I thought disappointedly – and applied it as a stain. And presto, beautiful result. It holds up for some hours, stays put, and if you want to, layer some gloss over it for a shiny result.

best berry lipsticks
Swatches of MAC Liptensity lipstick in Dionysus, Guerlain LPRN Plum-Brella and MAC Huggable in Rusty

MAC’s Huggable in Rusty is, in my opinion, absolutely superior in terms of applying, formula and result. Rusty is a deep, glossy red with a hint of brown that is totally easy to apply and fades to a wonderful stain. (Read all about it here.) My favourite of all three.

 

Blush

It’s not possible to write this kind of post and not include everybody’s favourite Nars winter blush, Sin. Sin is a mauve berry with a golden sheen. If you’re as pale as death as I’m right now, it’s incredibly easy to go overboard with it and end up with feverish reddish cheeks. Be careful, because this looks demure in the pan, but totally isn’t. Gorgeous texture, gorgeous colour – one of my top Nars blushes.

best berry blushes
Favourite winter blushes – clockwise from top Clinique berry pop, Nars Sin, and Chanel Accent

Yes, it’s totally unfair to add Chanel’s Joues Contraste in 84 Accent to the list, because it’s not really berry-coloured and was also limited edition. (I do believe though that Alezane is somehow similar and permanent.) It’s a nude, peachy mauve and I love to pair it with either a strong eye look or very deep lips. It looks great with a berry-toned look and I’ll shut up about it now.

best berry blushes
Blush swatches – f.l.t.r. Chanel Accent, Nars Sin, Clinique berry pop

But look, this one is perm, cheap and great! Clinique’s cheek pop in berry pop (03) is a cheerful deep pink that translates into a wonderful outdoorsy ‘I’m just coming in from the cold’ rosy flush. This one is equally great if you’re a blonde or a dark-haired beauty, light- or deep-skinned. It might seem hard-pressed and a bit stiff when you first use it, but make no mistake – this little bugger is seriously pigmented with a wonderful silky formula.

 

Nail Polish

best berry indie nail polishes for fall
My favourite fall and winter nail polishes, all with something ‘berry’ – Colors by Llarowe’s beautiful berry holo called The Journey Begins, Femme Fatale’s Ariel, and Dance Legend Deco Dance with its colour-shifting flakies.

Murky nail polish colours and me – otp. I love unusual, deep colours. My favourites this year so far is Ariel, Femme Fatale Cosmetics’ murky teal with berry-pink shimmer; Colors By Llarowe scattered berry holo The Journey Begins and Dance Legend Deco Dance (blue jelly base filled with colour-shifting flakies that shift from red to gold to green). Ariel from spring 2016 might be a bit tricky to get, but you can get everything else easily. (Have a look here for the best retailers for indie polishes.)

 

Skincare

The season of pampering, it has come. Nothing better than being enveloped by a cozy rich scent after a nice bath or hot shower. One of my top choices is Caudalie’s Huile Divine with its warm woody scent. I use it on slightly damp skin and the mixture of different oils (grape at the front, but there’s also hibiscus, sesame and argan oil) makes my skin extremely soft.

Now, fig isn’t exactly a berry (it’s berry-coloured?) and it’s also marketed as Italian Summer Fig. But excuse me, The Body Shop, you’ve gotten it dead wrong. This is not a summer scent but a warm, sumptuous, very sweet fig, and which is totally wrong for summer. This is for November days when you’re desperately longing for some sweetness and warmth. They got one thing right, though – this is a light body lotion that’s great for summer. In winter, you might need a bit more richness. I like it. Scratch that, I love that scent. Uplifting at its best.

 

So, here’re my berry favourites that cheer me up and generally tide me over until it’s Christmas and I break out all the gold and red and glitter. What about you? What’s your fave berry?