Posts Tagged ‘Beauty’

Holiday Gift Ideas Inspired by Fashion Week 2010

Tuesday, November 16th, 2010

Source: Flickr User paulstarpics

When you’re searching for the perfect holiday gift to give your favorite beauty maven, staying up-to-date on the latest trends is essential. After all, you don’t want the shame of handing over last season’s lipstick shade, do you? Talk about a fashion faux pas! To help you suss out the 2011 runway trends, here’s a look at three of the looks sure to be seen come spring.

Visions of Sugarplum
From soft lavender to electric violet, purple makeup dominated the runways during fashion week 2010. Whether it was worn on the lips, cheeks, or eyes, shades of purple added a fresh burst of color to the new looks of fashion icons like Jason Wu and Monique Lhuillier.

If plum doesn’t do it for you, why not try 2011′s must-have metallic? Glimmering gold donned the eyes, lips, and even eyelashes at the Fashion Week shows of Donna Karan, Anna Sui, and Rodarte. Shimmering shades of gold are perfect for the holidays, and will give your spring look a burst of sunny radiance.

Perfect Pair Gift Idea: CARGO’s Color Palette in London offers shades of champagne-gold and deep eggplant, as well as complimentary shades of mocha and greenish-brown. Pair it with a silky black liquid eyeliner for an eye-enhancing gift that can’t be beat!

Hairy Situations
The side part is back and better than ever. Shows by Badgley Mischka, Carolina Herrera, Diane Von Furstenberg, Marc by Marc, and Michael Kors were walked by models sporting deep, exaggerated side parts in hairstyles that ranged from straight and sleek to full of body. This season’s messy hair trend goes along perfectly with the side parts spotted during Fashion Week, making a dynamic styling duo that’s both stylish and easy to achieve.

Perfect Pair Gift Idea: Mason Pearson’s Styling Comb coupled with a texturizing paste like Jonathan Product’s Dirt is an excellent holiday gift idea for your favorite stylist-in-training. The pomade will create a perfectly messy texture while the comb helps to separate, texturize, and shape a flawless side part.

Read My Lips
Vibrant coral to neon orange lips, like the looks seen at L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival 2010, are sweeping the fashion and beauty world as the “it” look for 2011. Bright, impossible-to-ignore lip shades look especially fabulous when worn to accompany this season’s 1970s fashion trend.

Perfect Pair Gift Idea: 3 Custom Color’s Light Brights lipstick in Area Sheer is a sexily sheer shade of electric tangerine. Formulated with a silky, lip balm-like texture, Light Brights is a great way to ease into 2011′s neon lip trend without feeling too over-the-top. Pair it with a fabulous purse mirror, like Paul and Joe Beaute’s Beauty Mirror, for simple and stylish on-the-go application.

Backstage Secrets: Behind the Scenes with Koh Gen Do

Tuesday, September 28th, 2010

Your best accessory is your makeup; it also happens to be the best accessory for your other accessories. We discovered this fact at accessories designer Monique Péan’s collection presentation September 14 during NY Fashion Week, where celeb makeup artist Daniel Martin let us in on his secret for achieving the luminous sun-kissed glow he created as a perfect backdrop for the show’s jewelry pieces. His secret weapon also happens to be one of Japan’s best kept secrets: Koh Gen Do Cosmetics, an integrated skin care and makeup line that uses plant extracts and other natural ingredients derived from Japanese and Chinese herbs so you glow with radiant beauty.

“The texture, tone and luminosity of the skin must perfectly compliment and frame the jewelry,” Daniel said. “But the makeup look also depicts the designer’s muse and helps bring her to life.” Monique’s inspiration this time happened to be from her recent trip to French Polynesia. Here’s how Daniel used this to create a fresh and modern look:

To sculpt the face and create dimension, Daniel used Koh Gen Do’s Fresh Face Caramel Bronze to highlight areas the sun might not normally affect. The powder soothes and smoothes your skin with a long-lasting, and natural shade. He added a subtle shading in sand to the eyes to add depth but not sheen in order to balance the models’ hairstyles. Finally, to top off the look, Daniel chose a nude lip and applied Koh Gen Do Maifanshi Juicy Beige Lip Gloss to the center for a full and healthily moisturized pout. To try out these expert tips and tricks yourself, pick up some Koh Gen Do products on their site or at Barneys!

Bad Never Looked So Good

Tuesday, September 21st, 2010

Sure, the princes are charming and the princesses are beautiful, but everyone’s favorite Disney fairytales wouldn’t be nearly as much fun without their venomous villains, which is why we’re so stoked for M·A·C and Disney’s collaboration, featuring four separate mini-collections celebrating the dark side in all of us. The products, which range from eyeshadows and lipstick to powders and nail lacquers, are inspired by the three most infamous of Disney’s Dark Ladies—Cruella de Vil, Snow White’s Evil Queen and Sleeping Beauty’s  Maleficent—and the newest frosty foe to be welcomed into Disney’s vault of villains, the dastardly Dr. Facilier. So come Thursday, September 30, be sure to pick up MAC Venomous Villains at the counter or online and you’re guaranteed to be the fairest one of all.

Get the Look

Thursday, September 16th, 2010

Everyone’s hyped about the latest trends in fashion, but what about in makeup? Well, combine both and you get the latest trends in makeup straight from the runway with BECCA Cosmetics’ futuristic, 60s retro and goth looks at up-and-coming designer Karolina Zmarlak’s Spring 2011 show. BECCA Cosmetics National Makeup Artist Jo Levy made the models’ eyes pop with her balance of smoky, shimmery and neutral makeup. Here’s her how-to:

Base:

To even out the skin, Jo applied Mattifying Primer and blended Compact Concealer, Stick Foundation and Fine Loose Finishing Powder for more coverage.

Eyes:

To achieve a bold smoky eye, sweep Eye Colour in Velour from the inner corner of the eye into the brow and to the center part of the eye. Add definition with a half moon shaped line along the crease of the eye. To brighten the lower top lid, use Eye Colour in Chantilly and finish with Ultimate Mascara in Black on the top lashes only to add some drama to the futuristic look.

Brows:

Instead of a traditional curve, change it up by extending the brows straight out on the ends and fill them in with Brow Powder in Ash for more strength and angles.

Face:

Add dimension to the rest of your face by applying, depending on your complexion, Pressed Bronzing Powder in Lambada or Fine Loose Finishing Powder in Clove from your temples to underneath the apples of your cheeks. For extra glow, apply Bird of Paradise Gloss to the high part of your cheeks, the edge of your top outer brow and the top center of your lips.

Lips:

Finally, dab Compact Concealer on your lips for a neutral look.

Body:

It’s not all about your face. Spread some Shimmering Skin Perfector in Pearl mixed with a moisturizer over your body for a luminous appearance all over.

So there you have it! Get ready for a night out by mixing it up with a hot new look that will definitely turn a few heads!

FemmeScience at the Front of Preventive Care

Monday, September 6th, 2010

by Shannon Farrell

Today skincare has taken a new direction. In fact, it should go by the name preventive care, not skincare. FemmeScience is following suit by creating a skincare line that works to prevent aging before it happens. The best time to start anti-aging and use advanced skin care products is as soon as possible, creating younger and better looking skin for a longer amount of time. Take a look at FemmeScience’s newest products that provide the young and chic women of today that classic glow that will last for years to come.

Face Cleanser

This natural face cleanser works to hydrate the skin as women fight dry skin every day. Dry skin is accompanied by tightness, itchiness and flakiness. This face cleanser eliminates all of these problems, providing the face with hydration that is in no way oily. The cleanser does not have a strict application; put it on as many times a day as you wish. To apply, moisten your face with warm water before setting the creamy like substance onto your face in a circular motion as it starts to foam. Keep the cleanser on for at most two minutes before rinsing. After using a few days, I found my skin much healthier – more vibrant and with less acne.

Body Cream

Every woman, even young women, should be applying body cream every day to ensure moisture levels and suppleness. Providing the skin with vitamins A, C, and E, this cream is made out of ingredients including shea butter and green tea, making it a very natural product. For best results, apply the body cream to your entire body both in the morning and evening. I found the cream to absorb quickly and create an even tone and natural glow.

Age Control

Prevent wrinkles, dullness, and age spots with FemmeScience’s age control face, neck, and chest lotion. Apply every morning and evening to provide the skin with moisture, firmness, and revitalized tone and texture. The product is so quick and easy to apply and I saw results right away. My cheeks were firmer and even smoother. Made out of Alpha Lipoic Acid, Green Tea, Turmeric, Hyaluronic Acid, and Vitamin E, this lotion is also a natural product.

Night Cream

The night cream was my favorite product, as I saw results the very next morning. As a night cream, it should be applied right before bed in order for the cream to hydrate, nourish and produce cell turnover. Immediately when waking I found my facial skin was much smoother and vibrant. This night cream also provides the skin with vitamins A, C, and E and restores moisture balance without clogging pores.

Gold-Hearted Goddess: Josie Maran

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

Josie with Center of Hope Patients

Recently, there’s nothing Josie Maran touches which doesn’t seem inspired by her heart of gold. Now the eco-friendly super model, (that’s right, her insides rival her out for beauty) has launched her natural volume argan oil GOGO mascara. GOGO  stands for “get one, give one,” and when you buy one of Josie’s new mascaras, one goes to a woman who is either living with cancer or who has survived it.

Last week, Josie hosted an event at LA’s City of Hope where she gave patients “confidence building healthy makeovers” using Josie Maran products. What Josie seems to understand is going through cancer drains a person through a lot of things- things so big-  health, wealth, career, that the loss of self-esteem often gets laid to the wayside.

Of course, treatment for cancer is also incredibly fiscally draining– so getting  a free beauty product when your finances are going to everything but is sort of genius, as well as incredibly thoughtful.

After the first 5,000 purchases, $1 from the sale of each GOGO mascara will be donated to City of Hope’s Women’s Cancers Program for a minimum donation $25,000. The GOGO campaign runs August 2010 thru August 2012.

Buy one today– make yourself beautiful inside and out by helping a woman out there who could use a beauty boost as well.

Mix ‘n Match

Thursday, August 5th, 2010

by Shannon Farrell

It may be August, and summer may feel almost over, but there’s no need to pull out the browns and dark red nails for autumn just yet. Summer colors and trends still reign, so dash some pink on the toes, and a little bit of silver on the fingers. And going bold in late summer doesn’t have to be just about neon pinks and lime greens. Just choosing to mix and match colors can be enough to make your mark.

Pretty Edgy

Here’s how we mix and matched some of summer’s best colors.

Rock the Boat with Essie Summer 2010

Demure Vixen

Although all six colors from the collection can easily be mixed and matched, my favorites are Pretty Edgy, a girly soft green with a touch of shine and Demure Vixen, a light mauve with a surprisingly striking appeal to it. The match gives that vibrant glow that your skin gleans from a day at the beach. I prefer the green on my fingers and the mauve on the toes for the bolder mix and match. The green on the fingers gives that extra snap, being visible all day, while the mauve adds some subtlety. FYI: If you rock a gold bathing suit, it’s an absolute must.

Go Glam with Duri Spring/Summer 2010

Tabloid Rumors

Fashion Police

Although it’s not what you’d expect- gray ruled this summer. It’s a change from the traditional bright colors of summer and it has the added bonus of matching almost any nail color. Tabloid Rumors from Duri is your classic gray with a little bit of a sparkle glaze. Mix it up with Duri’s Fashion Police, a bright sky blue with a shimmering gloss, and you have the perfect match for a formal night out. The colors are simple but vibrant, yet won’t take away from your new sequin dress or snakeskin clutch.

Paint the City Red, wait…Orange with Hong Kong Collection by OPI

A Good Man-darin is Hard to Find

Dim Sum Plum

Pairing A Good Man-darin is Hard to Find, a classic vibrant orange with Dim Sum Plum, a shade of psychedelic purple creates a bold bending of the rules. Who said orange can’t match anything?

P.S. Want to take the trend even further? A new style I just came across is matching one of your fingernails with your toes. Take a look at Vanessa Hudgens’ look at the San Diego Comic-Con. When you find two colors that mix and match perfectly, why not take this extra step? It’s still summer- live a little.

Check out the robin's egg blue and gold glitter pairing on her nails

And the same gold glitter on her toes...so cute!

Fashion and Beauty Trends from the Twilight Eclipse Premiere

Friday, June 25th, 2010

Late yesterday afternoon I headed downtown to L.A. Live for the Twilight Saga: Eclipse premiere. While I didn’t wear earplugs, I easily could’ve and still heard the screaming fans, but then I couldn’t have interviewed Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Ron Artest very easily. That’s right, the Laker was there (as were non-Twilighters Alex Rodriguez, Evan Lysacek and Sarah’s favorite Greyson Chance).

Aside from chatting with the actors and actresses, I wanted to see the fashion and the beauty–because you don’t get a carpet (this one was black rather than red) full of such pretty young things this often! Here were the major fashion and beauty trends from the Eclipse black carpet:

SHORT. And I mean short. Elizabeth Reaser’s Zuhair Murad dress barely fell below her toosh. Kristen Stewart also went short in one-sleeve Elie Saab (and looked fantastic). Model Marissa Miller showed some leg in a custom-made Anna Sui dress, and it was all about short Marchesa for Julia Jones, Nikki Reed and Anna Kendrick.

BEST DRESSED It was a toss up between Julia Jones (in Marchesa) and Bryce Dallas Howard (in Dior). Julia said, “I chose the dress for the color and the cut. It’s like wearing art.” And Bryce explained her choice, “It’s summer and I wanted to wear something that was like lemonade.”

LIPS Bryce also made a statement with her bright fuchsia lips that looked amazing with her pale skin and red hair and made her eyes pop that much more. Jennie Garth went for a bold orange-y red lip. But the rest were very neutral: Nikki Reed wore a soft pink, Anna Kendrick, Lilly Collins, Ashley Greene and AnnaLynne McCord all went with nude lips.

BLACK Between the Kardashians all in black, Elizabeth Reaser, Christian Serratos (who plays Angela) in one-of-a-kind Dolce & Gabbana, it was black on the black carpet. Who wasn’t in black? Robert Pattinson, who said he wanted to mix it up by wearing a rust colored suit.

PLATFORMS Everyone was in closed-toe platforms, usually in the form of Christian Louboutins. Kristen Stewart told me hers were killing her and she wasn’t sure how long she could make it in them.

FAUX PAS. My two “what were they thinking” awards go to Evan Lysacek, who wore WAY too much bling for one man (watch, diamond ring, lapel, necklace) and Jennifer Love Hewitt, who wore rainbow-colored strands in her hair. J-Love: you are 31 years old. Enough.

See the images here.

Elizabeth Arden and Catherine Zeta-Jones at the Tony Awards!

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010

At last Sunday’s Tony Awards, Catherine Zeta-Jones looked exactly as a Best Leading Actress in a Musical should: truly show-stopping. It’s no surprise, since she had all that’s needed for a stunning red carpet look: a beautiful Versace gown and makeup done by celebrity makeup artist Mary Phillips.

Mary’s makeup of choice? Elizabeth Arden products, of course! After  all, Catherine is the beauty brand’s leading spokesperson.

To create that smoky eye effect, Mary applied Elizabeth Arden Color Intrigue Eyeshadow Duo in Black Currant and Color Intrigue Eyeshadow Duo in Peacock from lid to brow. Then, for a pink glow on Catherine’s cheeks, Mary used Ceramide Cream Blush in Pink.

As Catherine finished her thank you speech, all eyes were on her lips, which looked soft and natural, thanks to her Ceramide Plump Perfect Lipstick in Perfect Blossom. And to top off the look with a dramatic touch, Mary coated Catherine’s lashes with Double Density Maximum Volume Mascara in Black.

Those other nominees didn’t stand a chance!

Kate Bosworth in CHANEL Beauté

Monday, June 14th, 2010

by Jessica Chang

As a surfer in Blue Crush (I know, flashback to ‘02), Kate Bosworth had the perfect, sun-kissed glow all of us ladies wish for, especially in the summer months. But that look isn’t just created by movie magic. Here’s how CHANEL celebrity makeup artist Kate Lee gave Ms. Bosworth that same radiance at the season premiere of True Blood last Tuesday.

“The base was minimal, Kate was tanned and so I prepped the skin with CHANEL Hydramax + Active Serum to make sure she was very hydrated, and a tiny wisp of CHANEL Vitalumiere Fluid Makeup was enough to bring the skin tone to match the chest and body,” said Kate Lee. “Across the bridge of the nose, top of the cheek bones, and around the hairline, I used CHANEL Soleil Tan de Chanel in Terre Ambre to bring the focus to the center of the face.”

And for a truly eye-catching red carpet photo? “On the lids I used matte peach shadow to pop the colors of Kate’s amazing eyes,” Lee said. “We decided to give a gentle nod to the 60′s influenced hair by drawing a very thin sharp black line next to the lashes with CHANEL Automatic Liquid Eyeliner in Noir, extending out past the end of the lash line to open the outer corners of the eye. Lashes were coated twice with CHANEL Inimitable Intense Mascara in Noir (available in September), and bottom lashes were left naked. To open the eye further, I swept the new nude CHANEL Intense Eye Pencil in Clair (available in July) inside the lower eyelid. I worked to elongate and define the brows with a liquid brow pen by Anastasia.”

To complete the look, Lee used CHANEL Rouge Coco Lip Colour in Secret for Bosworth’s lips and CHANEL Powder Blush in Rose Temptation, out in July, on her cheeks.

So go on and invest in some of those CHANEL beauty products to recreate Kate’s leading lady look!