Hot or Not Beauty

Sydney declared its intention to be the 5th Fashion city of the world at the opening of last weeks Australian Fashion Week. So to keep abreast of the latest trends from this young and vibrant city, I’d like to look at what was hot at Fashion Week and how to create your own ‘Sydnefied’ look for the Spring/Summer 2008 season.

Starting with what was hot – a resounding theme was the smoky eyes and nude lips. I’m quite a fan of the nude lip look for a dramatic statement, but it requires patience and a bit of extra effort. The nude lip look walks a fine line between nude and painting your lips out of existence.
To create this look I would recommend that you start by exfoliating your lips, something that we often overlook. Be gentle with the more delicate skin of your lips when you do this. Then when you apply your foundation, include your lips as well as your face. This helps to tone down the colour in the lips prior to applying a nude lip color.

Once you have done this then depending on how dramatic a look you would like to achieve then you have several options. If you are keen to try really nude lips, then apply a lipstick that closely matches your complexion. Add a little peachy or rose toned lip gloss to the centre of the lip and you are ready to go!
If you want to try nude lips that are not quite so dramatic, particularly if you are keen to try this look for everyday wear, then there are other options. One option is to apply the foundation on you lips as described before, and then put a little soft peach or rosy shade of lip gloss over that. Another is to leave your lips nude and try a clear lip gloss.
Yet another option is to place a little of your usual lipstick in the centre of your bottom lip, squeeze your lips together and then apply a little lip gloss in clear, soft peach or rosy shades over the lipstick. Basically be guided by the amount of colour or lack of colour you want to have, then select an option that achieves the look you are after.

Finally you need to be sure that you select the right products. For the nude lip look I’ve found that some of the best nude shades around are available from Mac. I really like the Mac Slimshine Lipsticks, which are kind of like a halfway point between a lipstick and a lip gloss – and this also comes in several nude lip options. Best of all Mac offers great shades of lipsticks and lip glosses to complement all skin tones – which makes Mac a great place to shop if you’re looking for the perfect nude lipstick for your individual complexion.

With this year’s fall trendy being all smoky, alluring and mysterious, contour is back with a vengeance. Although it’s a technique that I prefer strictly for night-time when the lights are forgiving, however many people still wonder what products they should be wearing to create the illusion of more sculpted features. So here are a few guidelines:

Contouring creates false shades that help reshaping your face, so just because you have a darker shade of blush or a bronzer, it doesn’t mean that it’s suitable for contouring.

Here are the rules of thumb for contouring and then a few suggestions:

Whatever you purchase for contouring it has to be of a matte finish, whatever you purchase that has shimmer to it will defeat the purchase because it will attract the light and reflect it and it won’t look like a shadow at all. So blushes with shimmer, Mineralize Skinfinishes and the like are definitely a no-no, you might love them to pieces but it will defeat the purpose just by being there.

Bronzers are not a product to contour with in my opinion, reddish, orangish terracotta like pigments are not the color of any shadow on your face, so it will look too artificial and incredibly fake.

To me, the best type of product you can for contour is pressed powder in a darker shade than your own color, although some people use powder foundation I think that it gives too much coverage and if you want to be subtle, the pigment concentration can actually make your job harder.

You don’t need a contour brush and to layer the product on your face, you use the side of a blush brush pick up some powder, pat the excess away and softly smooth it on the areas that you want to contour. An advice be sure that the area that you’re going to contour has been dusted with loose powder so the pressed powder won’t smudge and end up making you look dirty.

To highlight you need a powder or highlighting product that is lighter than your skin tone and this one can have shimmer and sparkle, however if you have problems with enlarged pores, the shimmer can enhance them and end up making you look worse, so if you don’t want too much attention brought on to the areas you want to highlight, so in that case stick to a lighter shade of pressed powder and fear enlarged pores no more.

If you have a light to medium skin tone, feel free to try “Make Up For Ever“’s Compact Modeler, the darker shade has a wee bit of gray pigment that helps to further create the illusion of shadow on your face.

For an example of this Fall’s polished flawless look, take a look at my post regarding Yves Saint-Laurent’s Fall Collection

MAC’s Holiday Brush Sets are out and in my opinion they’re a good option if you want to have decent brushes or want to try them out but don’t have the money to invest.

Now, of course the brushes won’t be the same quality as the regular size brushes, but you’re paying $50 for 4/5 brushes of reasonable quality and in my book that’s a great deal. I got them last year because I wanted short hand brushes for personal use during my travels and I have to say that I haven’t regretted my purchase.

This year’s theme is “Heirlooms” and they come in medium sized gold or silver cloth clutch bags (I personally don’t like them at all and preferred last year’s collection) that house the brushes.

I think the Face Set is definitely one to look forward to, although the quality isn’t the same as the regular edition brushes (who are partially handcrafted and the brushes in these sets are not) you get the 168 an angled contour brush, the 187 (the love-it-or-hate-it duo-fiber brush), the 190 who is fairly decent as a foundation brush and the 194 which is a simple concealer brush and all for a rather appealing price of $50.

I would definitely prefer the 129 instead of the 168 because the 129 is versatile enough to be used both as powder and blush brush, but three great brushes out of four remains a great deal. Speaking of the 129, the Basic Brush set is a great gift for a mother or a friend who wants to get into makeup but has no tools whatsoever.

MAC’s Beauty Powders enjoy a great deal of popularity, it’s one of those items that accompanies a Color Collection, whether it being a Beauty Icon or something like Barbie Loves MAC and used to highlight and give a soft glow as a multi-purpose pressed powder kind of thing.

Due to its incredible rave by MAC fanatics and makeup consumers everywhere, they decided to toy with the idea of changing the formula and turning into a loose powder product.

Designed to sculpt and highlight the face for a highly sophisticated contrast look. Some of the shades can be used as a soft blush, we all know the lingo and how it works, but the question is: “Does it work?”.

MAC’s shimmered iridescent powders always had a problem for me, they weren’t daily wearable. Silver Dusk is a gorgeous iridescent loose powder but upon application leaves your skin with a sort of artificial metallic glow to it which many women shy away from and that is my concern with MAC’s Beauty Powders in Loose form, can they subtle enough for day-to-day wear? The fact that all the powders have gold or copper shimmer makes me just wonder. I prefer a pearl-like shimmer because it can become a lot more natural and flattering even if it doesn’t have that “BANG” effect but it can translate into day and night wear.

I do welcome back Studio Lights with a passion, it’s incredibly wearable and it can be subdued and the light reflecting properties can help make your dark circle less noticeable rather than tons of coverage that can crease and make you look bad.

It’s one of those collections that can translate into limited edition items becoming permanent or will they continue to be limited in order to boost sales whenever they pop-up?

While this isn’t exactly news off the press, it’s something I couldn’t just let it pass by.

A very ornamental and shining collection I must confess that didn’t exactly peak my interest, the photographs are gorgeous it’s true, but while examining the products launched my reaction was “meh”, for lack of better wording.

If you haven’t figured out by now, I’m not “Uuuuuh, shiny!” kind of person, so all frost finishes whether on eyeshadow, lipstick, lip gloss in general don’t exactly catch my attention (at least not in a good way) and while they may be used for gorgeous and creative looks, I don’t see them as something I regular consumer needs in her or his makeup collection.

The mineral eyeshadows don’t do much for me, although they can be layered for a more intense look, none of the color selections catches my eyes and says “You need this.”, actually no, you don’t need most of them unless you’re highly into silver, golds and frosted finishes. If you are, then by all means splurge on this collection because it’s definitely up your alley. If you are like me, then you’ll like the pretty pictures but will wait for something less… golden.

The Fluidline in Uppity is interesting, but it’s not a wearable color for your everyday looks. I’m not imagining someone going out everyday with golden eyeliner on their top lids, but I’m pretty much a rather conservative look regarding eyeliners. It’s a matter of personal preference but apart from blue, black, grey, brown and white there aren’t that many colors that seduce me eyeliner wise, so although Uppity sounds interesting in concept it just doesn’t cut product wise for everyday use.

One could argument that a Holiday collection is just that, something for special occasions for that special look that you want to cause an impression. Sparkle oomph and all that, I actually prefer accenting details with little bits of extravaganza that can make all the difference, a good example is Guerlain’s Golden Lash Mascara Top Coat.

I’ll be reviewing the brush sets and offers for the season in the future.

This has to be one of the most talked about Kohl pencils out there. It’s smooth, creamy and comes in a wide variety of colors and finishes and I am bound to have at least one on me in my makeup bag and can whip up a look with just one of these and some creativity.

These are tested and meant for waterline use and here are my favorite colors:

“Smolder”, “Prunella”, “Teddy” and “Fascinating”, I like these Eye Kohls so much that I buy them all, even if I’m not pleased with the result because the color sometimes isn’t flattering (for me).

So, if you like a decent kohl for a decent price, this is your baby, Smolder is considered a staple in makeup. I wish MAC released some more colors.

Continuing our eyeliner discussion for this season in all it’s shape and sizes.

Pencil eyeshadow is one of those iconic makeup items that we see everywhere.

Compared to eyeshadow, pencils have a broad more intense line, have bigger staying powder are more pigmented and exist in various choices in their own formulations.

Personally I prefer softer eyeliner pencils, you can draw bolder striking lines and keeping them sharp or smudge them with a brush for a less defined and smokier look.

My personal favorites are Kohl liners, I like the creamy texture and also I’m a sucker for putting eyeliner on the waterline and they’re formulated and tested for waterline use. The only disadvantage concerning Kohl (also known as Kaja) liners is that most of them tend to migrate if you have oily eyelids and some of them give you the infamous panda or raccoon eyes (basically when sexy smudge becomes messy smudge and you have liner everywhere it’s not supposed to be) and if that happens, stick to a different type of formula and do yourself a big favor.

Here’s my view on my some of the pencils that are part of my regular use:

MAC Eye Kohl - Creamy, very pigmented and safe for waterline use, I have these in multiple colors.

MAC Technakohl - It sort of reminds me of Clinique’s Quickliner for Eyes, it’s less softer than the pencil formula but has bigger staying power and is safe for waterline use.

MAC Powerpoint - This pencil is waterproof, but I think it’s incredibly coarse and harsh on my lids, also although many people put it on their waterline, I’d rather not.

Chanel’s Le Crayon Kohl - Creamy (sometimes a bit too creamy), but it’s the blackest black eye pencil I have, also safe for Waterline use.

Clinique’s Quickliner for Eyes - It’s a staple and what I love about it is the built in smudger on the other side, the only disadvantage is that you can’t take it out too much because it doesn’t retract and you can’t sharpen it. Otherwise there’s always a Real Black one in my pouch.

Jean Paul Gaultier’s - I love the fact that it looks like a regular pen and that it comes with a a stick concealer, however the concealer shade isn’t universal, and I wish the black was more black and less blue.

Pencil eyeliners are great to carry around, a darker shade in your pouch can change your daytime look to night time in a second.

For a blast from the past, check some eyeliner ramblings here.

If there’s something I love is an exfoliating scrub. So I’ll try them all out, sometimes the consequences are dire. One more step into desperately having perfect skin even if celebrities‘ skin is not that perfect most of the time.

There was a time when I really wanted to like the MAC Skincare line, I liked the minimalistic look and packaging, didn’t think the prices were outrageous and I really wanted to give it a go. My last purchase was the Microfine Refinisher, I really wanted to like it, it just seemed perfect for me and my regular MAC Make Up Artist raved so much about it that I decided I would try it after all.

Now again this was one of those things that I really wanted to work, don’t ask me why because some of the things that go through my mind don’t necessarily have to make any sense at all.

So I brought it home and although after usage it did leave my skin feeling quite smooth and soft, so I thought to myself that I had found new favorite product. However, the following day tragedy occurred, my forehead became a road map with hard bumps and extremely uneven and rough and also seemed to react a lot more to any kind of makeup product I applied on top.

I have yet to learn that I shouldn’t buy things for their popularity and ask for samples whenever I’m going to try something new, it would certainly make my cosmetics hunt a lot more enjoyable and less expendable. It’s just another one of those products that lies in my “You want it, you got it” bag.

Relive my frustration with agressive skincare here.

Take a look at will be one of my suggestions that I will be throwing around, like mini-articles of stuff I use on a regular basis, regard as my staples or things that I definitely consider you should take a look at.

MAC Blot Powder Pressed has been my favourite pressed powder for 3 years now, I go back and forth and try other brands but ultimately this is one of those products that ALWAYS reaches the pan for me. It never broke me out either.

I consider it quite affordable and use it in Light, applying it with a powder brush and gently applying it all over my skin avoiding my eye area so it won’t dry it out or crease my concealer. It also has my favourite pressed powder puff of all time that you can buy a refill for at any MAC counter. If you’re like me and prone to oilies surrender yourself to MAC Blot Powder.

MAC released recently a new line of eyeshadows, so matte, they’re Matte².

Most people shiver at the thought of blending a matte eyeshadow, but quite honestly it has to be my favorite finish (as I’ve probably said this in the past) since it is incredibly versatile and adds always a touch of class or subdued beauty.

If you don’t have matte eyeshadows in your palettes, I would strongly advise getting two or three neutral shades depending on your skin tone, this way you’ll always be prepared for a more demanding job interview which will allow you to look incredibly polished but not over-the-hill “LOOK AT MY HIGH FROST WHITE EYESHADOW”, that with a nice satin or matte lipstick paired with a soft matte neutral (or a complimentary) blusher can make all the difference and make you stand out.

My favorites in this collection are “Poison Pen”, “Pen ‘N’ Pink”, “Handwritten”, “Fig. 1″, “Copperplate”, “Brown Script”, “Signed, Sealed”, “Graphology”, “Tete-A-Tint” and “Typographic”. Yes, that’s a lot but I love matte and most likely will buy them all, these shades also can create this season’s glamorous smoky look and the convenience of a matte eyeshadow is that if you want to sizzle it up, you can resort to a funky MAC Pigment for that extra shazam or Make Up For Ever’s beautiful Star Powders to completely transform your look.

Along with the eyeshadows you have a nice toned-down collection of Liquid Last Liners, but quite honestly I never liked this liquid liner formula and it’s always quite “meh” on my book.

This season glamorizes one of my personal makeup obsessions which is eyeliner, so I decided to focus a bit on it regarding the types available, techniques and best options available on the market.

Eyeliner helps to create a stylized look to your eye that can range from a subtle allure around the eye to a full-fledged graphic black in a winged/cat eye shape for the ultimate sexy look.

Here’s the type of formulas available and product recommendations for desired look:

Eyeliner with eyeshadow:

Eyeshadow - Eyeshadow allows to create an eyeliner effect (with the help of a flat, small eyeliner brush like Make Up For Ever’s #2S) and can create a line without making it too harsh or obvious which can be practical for everyday look or if you work at a more conservative place but like to define your eyes. There are no color limits and you have the advantage of coordinating it with whatever eyeshadow you are wearing without aditional purchase:

Pros - Soft undefined line that are only limited by your selection of eyeshadows

Cons - Is not as long wearing as other formulas, highly stylized graphic designs are harder or impossible to attain.

Recommendations - Definitely an eyeshadow whose formula is high on pigment, shimmery light colors will prove almost invisible, less resistance to sweat and oil throughout the day. Personally I prefer a matte finish, but you can chose iridescent or pearly finishes if you decide to line with eyeshadow. I recommend Shu Uemura, MAC, NARS and Make Up For Ever eyeshadows for this effect.

Next we’ll explore other types of formulas, so sit tight.

One of the things that made MAC incredibly popular were its lipsticks, Madonna’s Russian Red during her Blond Ambition Tour, so this Fall MAC introduces a new lipstick formula and finish in “Mattene”, a new type of semi-matte lipstick enriched with silicone, emolients allowing soft and smooth finish.

I for one am quite excited about it. Matte lipstick can be sometimes very unforgiving on lips that have lot of lines on ‘em, a semi-matte formula allows for a sophisticated look without a drying and flakey look. Definitely a more rich formula that impregnates the lips with pigment and moisture.

For some reason, one of my personal looks is a flawless made up face with a matte finish and rich defined lips without the moist look of gloss or a lacquered finish. It just strikes me as the ultimate luxury looking at a woman and appreciating powerful defined lips were it’s all about her lips.

Fourteen shades that go from neutral beige, pink, reds, orange and the deepest of violet. My favorites are 40’s Pink, Seriously Rich, Night Violet, Classic Dame, Power Suit, Rapturous, Tango and You Say Tomato.
This Fall season proves to be the ultimate in a sensual, slight decadent look and I’m all for it.

Last, but certainly not least, we’ll go over key items to take with us in order to always look fresh. Once, while looking for a friend’s cellphone at a party, I found 4 lipglosses, three eyeliners, two blushes, two mascaras, two pressed powder compacts and wondered where was the need to bring all this with her. Usually accessories like handbags for more formal situations are of limited size and therefore don’t allow you such freedom of choice.

So here’s what I think you should bring and what you definitely shouldn’t.

Bring it on
Pressed powder or blotting paper - One or the other, if you don’t like to feel as if you’re caking on powder, then opt for blotting paper, the pressed powder should preferably be in the shade of your loose powder or make sure that it doesn’t alter your complexion. I like MAC’s blotting paper, as well as their blot powder compacts.
Lipstick and/or lipgloss - With sipping, eating and so on and so forth, lipstick and gloss (specially gloss) wears off and should be reapplied. Remember to fill in your lips with your lipliner in case you use it, so you don’t distract yourself and end up with just an outline of your lips. I’m not issuing any recommendation, as you should stick to what you applied at home.
Concealer/highlighter in pen format - I prefer Yves Saint-Laurent’s Le Touche D’Éclat or La Prairie’s Light Fantastic Cellular Concealing - Brightening Eye Treatment. You can also opt for Diorskin’s Skinflash, but I’m not crazy about the texture. These allow to bring an instant highlight to a darkened area without disturbing your makeup and without caking it.
Multi-Purpose Stick - If your skin can handle it, or if you have an oil-free version of it, I’m biased towards the NARS Multiples.

Leave at home
Foundation - Leave it at home and don’t cake it on, you won’t look better, you’ll look heavy
Mascara - I don’t think mascara should be reapplied, it will cake on your lashes and make them heavy and icky.
Eyeshadow - If you prime it well and use good products, you won’t need to reapply your eyeshadow, so leave it behind.
Eyeliner - Same as eyeshadow, if it has enough staying power, no need to clutter your purse or handbag

When touching up, always remember that less is more, it’s not a matter of how much you apply, it’s how you apply.

After evening out and perfecting your complexion, you have created the canvas for the next stages of makeup application.

Before applying your eyeshadow, apply a primer (like Urban Decay’s Primer Potion) and after it’s completely dry, use a large brush and apply a neutral eyeshadow the color of your skin tone to ensure that whatever colors you use afterwards will not stain.

Favorite eyeshadows:

MAC - Eyeshadow
Chanel - Le Quatre Ombres de Chanel
Shu Uemura

There are no rules regarding whatever eye-makeup should be for these types of occasions. You should consider the time of day and what kind of outfit you will be wearing and leave the more heavy and dramatic looks for evening rather than daytime. However there are no set rules, if you want to wear smoky black and deep red lips by all means do so.

Prefer a more holding eyeliner like a gel eyeliner rather than pencil (if you prefer pencil, then opt for a waterproof one) to assure that it will hold throughout the day.

Bobbi Brown’s Gel Liner
MAC’s Fluidline
MAC’s Powerpoint
Guerlain’s Loose Eye Kohl
Make Up For Ever’s Aqua Cream Liner
Make Up For Ever’s Cake Liner

I prefer waterproof mascara for these occasions, even if you’re not emotional you never know when an unexpected tear might appear, so be ready and bullet-proof.

I recommend one of Helena Rubinstein’s mascaras, they’re my personal favorites and allow all type of desired effects, my Holy Grail is Lash Queen. For a mascara primer, use the Shiseido one without a doubt. If you’re more daring then opt for false lashes.

Do your eyebrows with a dark pigmented matte powder, using brow brush that has hard bristles making sure that you don’t overdue the application to avoid the eyebrows ending up too dark and artificial.

Only consider contouring if it’s an afternoon/evening wedding, contouring in the daytime looks extremely artificial and you’ll be drawing attention to areas that you would prefer to keep minimized. You can add a touch of bronzer to the areas where the sun naturally hits your face, but avoid orange pigmented ones or those with too much glitter.

Unless your skin is dry/normal (allowing the use of a cream blush), opt for pressed or loose powder blush, applying it with a light hand to ensure a careful and controlled application (invest in a good blush brush as well) and while a bit of shimmer is perfectly acceptable avoid colors with too much glittery look to them, a softer, more formal look is quite often preferred and photographs a lot better.

Where blushes are concerned, my preferences go to MAC, Chanel and NARS.

There are no definite rules where lips are concerned, try to keep lip-lining as natural as possible and fill in your lips with your liner so you won’t end up with lined lips and nothing else underneath, keep your liner as closest to your lipstick color as possible and usually a creamier lip liner is easier to apply and blend. To avoid harsh lines, blend the liner with your lip brush.

My favorites are Chanel’s Le Crayon Levres and MAC’s Cremestick liner.

Add a touch of gloss for a pouty lip or lay it on for a more lacquered vinyl-ish look with:

Lancome’s Juicy Tubes
MAC’s Tinted Lipglass
Chanel’s Glossimer
Yves Saint-Laurent’s Le Touche de Brilliance
Dior’s Gloss Show
NARS‘ Lip Lacquer

After looking your most gorgeous, the next article will focus on what to bring in your purse to always look your freshest.

Welcome back to part two of makeup for weddings (when I say weddings, it can apply to any sort of special event or cerimony that demands that you look your best and usually will have you photographed or videotaped for posterity), when we review the best type of makeup products to use.

First and foremost, a primer is mandatory! You want to ensure that your makeup holds all day long with the least bit of touching up necessary that will make you look always fabulous and prevent the “Oh dear, is it six AM already?” look.

Here’s a couple of options that (to me) have always been bullet proof:

Make Up For Ever’s Corrective Make Up Base - Available in several shades to correct skin discoloration/rosacea
Make Up For Ever’s All-Mat - Formulated for oily Skin and to ensure a matte look throughout the day.
Smashbox’s Photo Finish Foundation Primer - Also available in light, color corrector and anti-aging versions to suit your skin’s needs.
Laura Mercier’s Foundation Primer - Regular or Oil-Free

Blot the skin with a soft tissue to remove excess product (if needed) and follow with your usual makeup to even out the complexion. As always, regarding dark circle concealers opt for moisturizing formulas that avoid creasing and don’t enhance whatever lines you might have in that area like:

Estee Lauder’s Re-Nutriv Duo Concealer
Chanel’s Vitalumiere Creme Concealer
Dior’s Anticerne Perfecteur Concealer
Laura Mercier’s Secret Concealer

Where foundation is concerned, although we like to appear as natural as possible, more damaged skin (either sun damage or scarring) will require foundation with deeper coverage, also if you have oily skin avoid shimmery/dewy types of foundations, as the day progresses it will make you look greasy and that’s a definite no-no. Also, avoid shimmery powder and highlighters if you have uneven skin in terms of texture, the shimmer will atract light and make painfully obvious whatever you’re trying to conceal.

If it’s a afternoon/evening wedding, prefer matte or semi-matte foundation formulas so that the flash won’t reflect and wash out your complexion and avoid foundations with SPF, specially Titanium Dioxide. Opt for SPF in your primer or day cream.

Laura Mercier’s Tinted Moisturizer (sheer coverage with a fresh glowy finish) - For those who need sheer coverage and slight adjustment to their complexion, this is a consumer and artist favourite.
Make Up For Ever’s Face & Body Foundation (gel type, all skin types, dewy) - Sheer to Medium Coverage, water resistant and can be used on body
Make Up For Ever’s Lift Foundation (fluid, with powder for deeper in formula for deeper coverage, semi-matte) - Formulated for mature/dry skin with medium to full coverage.
Make Up For Ever’s Mat-Velvet + (Fluid, combination/oily skin) - Photographs gorgeously and medium to full.
Dior’s Diorskin Air Flash - (Spray Formula, matte finish) - Velvet finish with a lightweight formula

Use loose powder to set your foundation and to ensure a flawless application of other products that will follow, apply with a velvet puff for more coverage or a brush for a more natural finish.

MAC’s Loose Blot Powder - For oil-control and makeup hold, specially for combination/oily skin.
Make Up For Ever’s Super Matte Loose Powder - Impecable hold and extraordinary finish
Chanel’s Le Poudre Universel Libre - A gentle loose powder for more sensitive skin
Dior’s Diorskin Poudre Libre - Gentle loose powder completely oil-free

If your under-eye area has a lot of fine lines, avoid using loose powder in that area so you won’t accentuate them even further, also avoid heavy pigmented powders in that area it won’t darken the area that you’re trying to lighten.

Next follows the application of color products to the face…