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2010 Spring Fashion Week

S/S ’10: More Fashion Week beauty don’ts

October 20th, 2009, 5:00 am | 5 comments

by Michelle

Back in September, at the end of New York Fashion Week, I posted a collection of rather unadvisable hair and makeup looks. Of course, none of it was THAT bad. (Okay, maybe Marc Jacobs’ clown faces, but that was it.) New York designers are generally pretty reasonable when it comes to beauty.

But those Europeans? CRAZY TOWN. When I was at ELLE, it was always a joy sifting through the fashion week images from Paris, London and Milan. These designers’ vision of crazy was truly breathtaking.

So. For the purpose of nothing except having a laugh today, please sit back, scroll on, and let the freak show begin! (Note: These images get progressively worse. Ha!) Keep reading »

First Look: Valentino Spring ’10

October 19th, 2009, 5:10 am | 1 comment

by Michelle

Valentino Spring 2010 Paris Fashion Week beauty, Chanel Iman at Valentino, Chanel Iman at Bottega Veneta, Gosh Cosmetics waterproof liner, Make Up For Ever waterproof liner

Fashion is fickle. I just wrote you a post about an ethereal, pale, light smoky eye, and now here we are with THIS (at Valentino). The polar opposite: all graphic lines and heavy, heavy black.

Just in case, you know, you wanted OPTIONS.

One reason I’m a fan of this look is because it works on people who lack creases in their eyelids. That would be me. And many, many Asian people. Oh, and the model Chanel Iman (this is from Bottega Veneta, but it gives you a good view of those lids):

chaneliman

Now, here she is with the graphic liner at Valentino:

valentino_spring2010beauty2

See? It gives the illusion of a crease because the liner (well, it’s mostly likely a combo of liner plus shadow) is extended up slightly higher on the lid. And notice how the colour is taken all the way from the inner corners.

All of this may not be important to you if you have normal eyelids, but for us crease-challenged people, it’s KEY. (Otherwise, we go through a daily caper known as The Case of the Missing Eyeshadow, which gets REAL old after a while, see?)

makeupforever_waterprooflinerTools you need: some INDUSTRIAL-strength black liner, and some black shadow over top to help it stay put. I hear, via Beautygeeks‘ Janine, that Make Up For Ever and Gosh have some impressive waterproof options these days.

Last thing: although Valentino Garavani retired in 2007 (Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli are now designing for the label), perhaps consider one more thing to get you all Valentino-esque. Go see the documentary (Valentino: The Last Emperor), which will not only give you a new appreciation for the grace and femininity of the clothing, but also make you laugh—A LOT—at the relationship between the man himself and his long-suffering business partner, Giancarlo Giammetti. It’s a must-see!

First Look: Giorgio Armani Spring ’10

October 19th, 2009, 5:00 am | 0 comments

by Michelle

Giorgio Armani Spring 2010 Milan Fashion Week beauty, Giorgio Armani eyeshadow, Cargo EyeLighter, new smoky eye makeup

If you hang around the beauty biz long enough, you start to recognize a fair bit of recycling of trends—especially in makeup. For example, I’m sure you recognize the perennial Return of the Red Lip story, which happens every year. Or that Matte Lipstick is Back (it never really catches on). And of course, The New Smoky Eye, which is what we see here.

New, it’s most definitely not—I’ve been seeing a version of this for years now—but I still think it’s pretty. Don’t you? The gist of it is that it’s all shimmery and light, as opposed to the typical heaviness (perfect example here) that we generally associate with smoky eyes.

armani_shadowHere’s what I think went down backstage:

  1. Dark circles got the boot with a generous application of concealer at the inner corners of the eyes. (More details here.)
  2. They swept a neutral beige all over the lids.
  3. On top of that, they layered a grey-brown (funnily enough, Giorgio Armani makes a FAB one) mostly at the outer corners, but also a teensy bit right under the inner part of the brows.
  4. cargoeyelighterLots and lots of white shadow dusted in the inner corners of the eyes and blended underneath. Cargo makes a great little dual-ended white shadow pencil that you could use here (one side is matte, the other, shimmery).
  5. Black liner applied ONLY at the outer edges of the eyes, and applied in the waterline (my favourite eyeliner effect.)
  6. Mascara and icy pink lip gloss, but ixnay to the lushbay (meaning, NO BLUSH).

The effect is sort of ethereal, no? I always, always love when people wear eye makeup like this. It’s a bit of work, yes, but it truly goes anywhere—day or night—without ever looking overdone.

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