For this post we teamed up with the always adorable Eleni from Convey the Moment to showcase how to style a bright, unusual lip color without looking like you should be in a Lady Gaga video.

No matter what your personal style, lipstick is a cheap fun and easy way to update your wardrobe for Spring, and we each wanted to show how to style a unique color like Up the Amp by MAC without feeling like it overwhelms your outfit.

I’ve never been much of lipstick person. I always wear crazy prints, loud colors, and lots of jewelry so adding on funky lip color is the last thing on my to-do list. When Katey and Eleni concocted this idea to write a post where we all wear bright lipstick and chose to use PURPLE of all colors, I had a mini freak out. Katey of course gave me this lecture about how “you have the perfect complexion for it because of the yellow undertones in your skin.” Basically a bunch of stuff I don’t pay attention to or care about – but I decided if I was going to go for it, I might as well go all in. Enter my monochromatic purple outfit. It works because it’s eccentric, but still laid back enough to tone down the brightness of the lipstick. Since I live in Austin, it’s completely normal for me to casually wear a floral crown around town. If only I owned purple shoes I’d have been set.

Blondes have it rough. Unless you are perfectly spray tanned 24/7 (try the Victoria Secret self tanner on your face if need be, trust me) bright colors can be difficult to work with. This is because a tan goddess like Kristin or Eleni swipes on Up The Amp and it looks like they were born with berry-crushed lips. We swipe it on and it looks like I made out with a bottle of wine. The trick is to not wear blush and keep a white base in your outfit. The white in your outfit (or in my case 47-pound-necklace) highlights your lip color and brightens your face. This little trick can let almost any bright lip work on you, except Nars Heat Wave. Unless one of your parentals is of some fabulous nationality that gave you Italian coloring with blonde hair don’t wear it. You would regret it more than a first marriage ending.

Make sure you head over to Convey the Moment to see how Eleni styled this fun makeup look.