Make Up Beauty Tips

Could there BE a better giveaway to announce the arrival of Spring? Me thinks not.  Just look at this prize giveaway, with spring's hot shades and patterns brimming from every which way you look.  I am drooling at the thought of winning.  And though I considered not sharing as the less of you who enter, the better my own chances of winning, I just couldn't keep it in.

So here are the deets.  The winner will receive a custom, one-of-a-kind Tibi Peony & Python dress AND all pieces from the Bobbi Brown makeup collection including the eyeshadow palette, beauty case, blush, lipgloss, eyeliner and brushes. Sweet!



You can learn more about the Tibi Peony & Python collection here and Bobbi Brown's gorgeous Peony & Python collection here.  Enjoy!

Jeffrey Jah, co-owner of New York nightclub The Double Seven, hosted a party for fashion magazine Muse Thursday, March 3rd at the Royal Monceau Hotel in the City of Lights. The nightclub aficionado organized the celebration in honor of Muse magazine's editor Fabio Covi and hair stylist Luigi Murenu to celebrate their 25th issue.


Fashion's top runway top models were all in attendance including Isabeli Fontana, Natasha Poly and Joan Smalls. We hear runway star Rie Rasmussen and a fetching of other catwalkers created quite the commotion when they began an impromptu photo shoot (sans tops) at the front door of the party. Kanye West’s muse, Italian fashionista Anna Dello Russo’s got quite the shock when she stopped by to kick off Paris Fashion Week.

Me? I just like the glitz and photos. Ha.

Euphoria. The inspiration behind Monique Lhuillier's Spring 2011 Collection.

Feminine evening gowns. It's what Monique Lhuillier does best.  What surprises me about this season's collection is the choice of color palette, a departure from what we've come to expect for her.  Nude, white, gold ... yes, very familiar ... poppy red? Really? Ok ... we're willing to take a look. Let it sink in a little bit.  Ummm .... sure, I suppose this could be interesting. In fact, the more I study the collection with its pops of soft seafoam-y teal contrasted with the warmth of the golden red, the more appealing it becomes. 

"Welcome to the Garden of Eden," greets Lhuillier, gesturing around the hotel suite. "We have the angelic side, and the naughty side."

Slender metallics, draped silk sheaths and flamboyant ballgowns — poufed and appliquéd chiffons with plenty of fanfare like bustled, petaled or trumpet skirts. Your choice, ladies.



Lead makeup artist Val Garland for MAC created glowing faces that complimented the elegant feel of the line. The eye was for facial focal point here, using black gel eyeliner for a “sleek Fifties” winged feel. “It’s a bit of a cat eye,” said Garland. “It's a 1950's Audrey Hepburn look with an aerodynamic beautiful eye liner.  Very haute couture and red carpet, slightly debutant with gilded lilacs on the eye lid, liner and a delicate soft pink glossed lip.”

Proving you don't have to match your makeup colors to your clothing, Garland used MAC eye shadows in Digit and Vellum layered onto the lids, Crystal through the crease of the lids and a layer of Idol (one of my fave MAC shadows) applied wet on the top.  Woodwinked was dabbed on the inner corners of the lids for golden highlighting. Eyebrows were slightly extended to frame the face. MAC Face and Body foundation was applied as a base with Bamboo Cream Colour Base blended onto the cheeks and Shell Cream Colour Base to highlight the cheekbones. Garland’s “soft look” for lips was achieved by patting on MAC Viva Glam Gaga Lipglass, a pigmented matte baby pink lip gloss.

Rudi Lewis, lead hairstylist for Bumble and Bumble described the look he created at Monique Lhuillier’s Spring 2011 show as “magical but modern.” Before beginning the updo, Lewis added Spray de Mode to blow-dried hair. He pulled hair up into a “sculpted high ponytail.” A section of hair on the top of the head was left out of the updo and given a softer texture. He then tucked hair up in a roll, using only one long piece of elastic to create the refined look. “This is reminiscent of an Irving Penn woman,” said Lewis. “It’s Fifties without being too retro.” Lewis added that models were styled to look “expensive” and polished. “It’s not about trends,” he said.

When asked to name the inspiration for her Spring 2011 collection in one word, Erin Fetherston responded, "Aphrodisiac;" this photo (below) was submitted as an inpiring element ... just envision the travels this diva must have experienced.

"I like the idea of this woman who travels far and wide, and collects these treasures to add to her wardrobe," Erin Fetherston said before her Spring show.

With that inspiration, Fetherston opened Spring 2011 show with two safari jackets. "Birds of Paradise," the name of the collection, showcased one-shouldered cocktail dresses, peplum jackets and other pieces in florals and patterns. Somewhat neutral shades of ivory, a muted warm green and peachy orange enhanced the color palette. Nowhere in this collection will one find the berry, plum or jewel tones of Fall 2010 trending.


Fetherston's penchant for feminine charm shows through this season, the clothes almost demure, pretty silk wrap dresses in soft geometric prints and chic jackets with fronts draped to look like bows, flowy silhouettes. The pop of pumpkin orange lipstick courtesy of MAC enhances the simplicity of the designs in a marked way.


source: wwd, MAC, the cut, erin fetherston, youtube (aol)

MAC Cosmetics rethinks decision to launch the controversially marketed Rodarte x MAC collection and withdraws.  MAC made the announcement via their facebook page with this little note:

This decision will not impact M·A·C 's commitment to donate all of its projected profits from the collection to benefit the women and girls of Juarez.

Out of respect for the people of Mexico, the women and girls of Juarez and their families, as well as our M·A·C Mexican staff and colleagues, M·A·C has made the decision not to ship the M·A·C Rodarte limited edition makeup collection. This decision will have no impact on M·A·C's commitment to donate all of its projected global profits from this collection to local and international groups that work to improve the lives of the women and girls of Juarez. We are currently conducting due diligence to ensure we donate to organizations with a proven record of directly supporting the women and girls of Juarez.

M·A·C and Rodarte are deeply and sincerely sorry and we apologize to everyone we offended. We have listened very closely to the feedback of concerned global citizens. We are doing our very best to right this wrong. The essence of M·A·C is to give back and care for the community and Rodarte is committed to using creativity for positive social change. We are grateful for the opportunity to use what we have learned to raise awareness on this important issue.


No word on whether Rodarte will follow suit with their fashion collection.  One finds most often art makes no apologies, but we shall see. For more commentary on this controversy, I'd encourage you to check out my beauty blogging buddy Pink Sith's article on the issue.  She outlined some well thought out points on the matter.

Loving Alexander Wang's Spring 2011 collection, well - some of it! Feminine, breezy, light and airy, and the color palette ... fresh and clean, just beautiful. The "construction" theme went a little overboard for my amateurish taste.  The rose gold metallic splashes here and there on some of the designs just didn't do it for me, and the color blotches gone haywire seemed a bit - overdone (can I say that?) ... but hey, I'm a minimalist purist with conservative style in its simplest form, so forgive me.

“I wanted to explore a purity and honesty,” said Wang, preshow. “As you can see, there’s not one hint of black.”

So far this NYFW we're seeing designers are returning to the feeling of light-ness, and what a welcome relief. Wang certainly appreciates this idea in his new collection, though it gets skewed with a few of the "color gone paint-ball" designs and sloppiness of some of the exaggerated pieces for the sake of his construction motif.

The collection includes overalls and wide-leg carpenter pants, denim jackets accented with copper paint. His flyaway silk trench had utilitarian crisscross straps at the back. The foil details throughout? Apparently a reference to duct tape (see image at top). His models came accessorized with swipes of white paint in their hair to add to the overall "under construction" vibe. 

In the continuation of last year's deconstruction theme, he showed layering and ultra-relaxed silhouettes. As reported by WWD, Wang also introduced his first-ever in-house prints — childlike scribbles and doodles done by his staff and interns on a 5-foot-by-5-foot sheet of paper in the studio and reproduced on fabrics in washed-out hues. “There are inside jokes [written] that even I don’t know,” he said.

source/images: WWD, Style.com

CHANEL Fall 2010 Haute Couture is all about a new proportion, a modern comfortable femininity.  An exquisite collection, designer Karl Lagerfeld summons 1920's flappers with a mix of 1960's modern flair - a blending of gorgeous beading, sequins, lace (the big trend for Fall), fur and feathers on short dresses (there's not a single long dress in the collection) created to enhance the gentle softness of a woman's silhouette.


Lagerfeld says he wanted something differnt for this collection, a cleaning up so to speak.  No long sleeves, no long dresses, and tired of the movie star red carpet glamour and flouncy Belle Epoque styling he wanted simple elegance.  He created with moving around in mind, like "in the roaring twenties," he says, finally "(I) liked the idea of comfort."


The craftsmanship and sophistication of the designs conjure elements of Metiers d'Art and the Houses of Lesage, Lemarie, Massaro and Montex.  The embroidery and detailing of the collection is absolutely sensuous. One just cannot single out a favorite here, it's just too painful.  The short dresses are balanced by the volume of the sleeves, masterfully created boleros, the chunky bracelets and the sumptuous boots.


Symbolism abounds throughout the collection: the lion (Coco Chanel was a Leo), the sunflower, sunburst, the shining sun, a sign of strength and renewal.  The color palette appropriately autumn with chocolate browns, bronze, taupe, beige blended with midnight blues, cherry reds, cream, white, eggplant and black.



The beauty look for this collection was nothing short of genius as well.  Who better than to perfect the red lip than Chanel.  Peter Philips, Global Creative Director of Chanel Makeup, gave us the most delicious crimson red lip seen in ages. Using deep red lips and simple, nude makeup, the models were given a modern elegance. Here's the scoop on what Philips used to create this look:


"For the show, Karl Lagerfeld wanted to give a new dimension to Haute Couture makeup. He wanted contemporary hairstyles and makeup and a new sophistication: an everyday, easy to wear look. When Karl showed me his sketches, I realized that all the silhouettes had a touch of red on the mouth. The first suit he showed me was a deep magnificent red which I loved. The tone was given... The mouth and nails were going to be red! The idea was to take two classic makeup elements, a red lipstick and nail polish, and to create a contrast by emphasizing them in an ultra-modern fashion on a nude face." (Teen Vogue)

To create the look: Chanel Rouge Coco Hydrating Creme Lip Color in Rivoli, Chanel Les Ombres Quadra Eye Shadow in Enigma and Chanel Le Vernis Nail Color in Rouge Fatal (launching in October 2010).

 
Chanel Fall/Winter 2010 Haute Couture shines bright.  The fashions are absolutely divine, the makeup simple yet gorgeous and new trends have been inspired with the chunky bracelets, quilted ankle boots, hair regrowth (did ya see those roots on the catwalk - yeah, that's apparently the next big thing too - whew), crimson lips, and lace (don't forget the lace - gonna be huge next season).  Many have noted this as Lagerfeld's best collection, a sentiment which he apparently loathes.  Why?

Lagerfeld believes, "Fashion is about going ahead, not about memory. When people want to be liked for what they did, they should stop."

So has all the creative genius that went into the Chanel Fall 2010 Haute Couture collection left him blank of ideas for the moment?

"No," quips Sir Karl, "I will be ready by tomorrow morning."

For more information on this equisitely sumptuous collection as well as backstage commentary, video and more with Karl Lagerfeld, visit Chanel.com.



images/photos: Chanel, Makeup and Beauty Blog (Chanel Quad in Enigma), Lacquer Bourdoir (Rouge Fatal), Style