Backstage at Balmain Spring Summer 2011

Just how fab is this??

Balmain showed some edgy, retro punk revival at the Spring Summer 2011 show. 
Breath of fresh air Christophe Decarnin has put the sizzle back into the house of Balmain, and his "couture punk" style has become a staple amongst the rich and titled euro-youth.

Although not for most of us, it was still exciting to see something a little different!

Courtesy of Style.com lets have a little look backstage at Balmain Spring Summer 2011
I love that they used the Sex Pistols My Way!
Also check out the fabulous hair guru Sam McKnight who I worked the London shows with all those years ago.

xo 

Makeup Fall 2010 Mesmerized Purple!

One thing I love to pieces about fall is that after all the dewy freshness of summer, makeup starts to show a hint of intrigue, a hint of drama.

YSL is bringing the drama this season with their Rock and Baroque collection

image courtesy of musings of a muse

 The usual camels, beiges, burnt oranges and chocolates have been replaced with purples,

image courtesy of musings of a muse

 Navy and tan to die for, and lilacs.

image courtesy of musings of a muse

image, musings of a muse

 The lip collection has some beautiful traditional shades, but by far the most exciting is Purple Mesmerize. 

When going for a deep dark shade of lipstick, avoid the dulling shades of brown and burgundy. These will weigh the face down and deaden skin tone. Choose instead a bold, deep grape such as Purple Mesmerize, that has plenty of blue undertone to it. This will make your teeth look super white, bring out the intensity in your eye color, and add a little black magic to your look!

Bronzer 101 SheKnowsTV

Summer is all but over, yet we're not quite ready to lose that lovely sun-kissed glow, so its time to break out the bronzer!
But not all bronzers are created equal, and the shade that is gorgeous on your friend can look hideous on you, so here's the girlfriend's guide to bronzing, as seen on She Knows TV.

1. Find your formulation. 
When all is said and done, gels and creams can be trickier to get even and smooth and to keep looking perfect all day, so go with a powder compact - its way easier!


2. Find your correct color.
If you have a pale skin you will look best in a bronzer with a rosey gold champagne undertone.
If you have a medium or olive complexion you will win with a golden copper undertone.
If you are a dark goddess look for something with a deeper red undertone.


A little shimmer can be beautiful, and really bring some light and life into the skin. Look for bronzers that have very small particles of shimmer. Basically if you can see and identify individual shimmer particles, they are too big, and your skin will look crazy shiny.


3. Application.
Don't try to color your face in with bronzer. Its need to hit your skin where the sun would. Across the forehead, the top of the cheek bone and bridge of the nose, and the chin. You can run a little along the jawline too.
Think of doing a number 3 across forehead, cheekbone, nose and chin.
If your collarbones are visable, dust them too.


Your application should be light enough that you can see freckles through it.


The bronzers I showed in the segment are actually from my makeup kit. 
Here is the 411 of what was on the table.


On Lisa I used Guerlain's amazing Terracotta Powder in shade 2.

Beyond brilliant, this product is the benchmark for all bronzers. Guerlain first introduced the Terracotta powders in 1984, and they were the first bronzers on the market. To this day they are the biggest selling bronzer, with one unit selling somewhere in the world every 25 seconds!!
I love these because they give the warmth and luminosity of a natural tan. They also are moisturizing, long wearing and oil controlling.


Cargo Cosmetics Bronzer in Medium

A staple in my kit and in my personal product arsenal. I love the subtle sun kissed glow it gives, slightly shimmery and sheer. This award winning bronzer avoids the overly yellow trap that many bronzers fall into. Totally gorgeous!


MakeUp Forever Bronzer

I am a huge advocate of Makeup Forever! Their products are amazing. On the table I showed their bronzer in shade #5, which has a lovely red undertone for my dark skinned girls. It comes in several shades, so no matter what your complexion is they have one for you.

Backstage at Gucci, Spring 2011

This post is a re-post from one of my favorites, BeautySnob.com

 

Backstage Beauty: Gucci Spring 2011

By Beauty Snob Sharon on September 27, 2010 6:00 AM Leave A Comment

Images from WWD

Givenchy makeup artist Dominique Lehongre recently said about the trends to come that one of the most important things we can expect is the red lip.

Less than a week later Frida Giannini sends out all of her models with glossy red lips on the Spring 2011 Gucci runway! I loved the mix of vampy (with the popping lips), and classic sophistication (with the slicked back hair), that the Gucci models had.

The girls' hair was braided into a side-part chignon and fastened with thin bronze leather hair bands that were created especially for the show to match the collection's handbags and shoes. Marc Jacobs may want frizz to be in, but I much prefer this put together look. Frugal buy, John Frieda's Frizz Ease Serum, was used to keep the hair in place.

Pat McGrath let the makeup team and the models looked flawless with their glossy red lips, luminous skin, and metallic bronze and taupe eye shades (covered by a hint of gloss). McGrath, who works with CoverGirl, similarly opted for some frugal finds. Among the products she used was CoverGirl's NatureLuxe Silk Foundation, which she said was key for creating the dewy look (this new product hits shelves January 2011). Though I prefer plum lip shades on myself, I can't wait to head to Sephora this weekend to find something to re-create McGrath's glossy eye look!

La Mer Eye Balm Intense

 I'm a huge fan of La Mer products, and have been for years, so I was intrigued to see this piece about their eye-cream on BeautySnob.com  so decided that today I would re-post it.

I too have tried samples of the eye cream, and have absolutely loved it. Let me know your thoughts on La Mer Eye Balm Intense

La Mer Eye Balm Intense 

from BeautySnob.com

Have you tried La Mer's new Eye Balm Intense yet? I just got a few small samples and think it's the best eye cream they've ever come out with (every time I think of La Mer eye cream I think of Kimora Lee talking about using La Mer face cream all over her body and the eye cream all over her face!). Like all La Mer products, this will address wrinkles but it also has a de-puffing ingredient that I'm most interested in (jump to read all the technical terms and ingredients that only rocket scientists can decipher). Basically, our eye area is prone to accumulation of fluids (mine are all puffy from traveling and very little sleep) and we need to treat the delicate eye area with this special ingredient to make it go away. Not sure what the long term effects are but there is a cool applicator wand that has a silver tip that feels very cooling and soothing when I use it. It's richer than the other Eye balm from La Mer so I'd use it very sparingly at first to avoid any build up (those annoying white bumps around the eyes!)
La Mer The Eye Balm Intense for $145

The Marine De-Puff Ferment™ (aka the stuff that will make your eyes less puffy)
At the core of The Marine De-Puff Ferment™ is an energy-rich Deep Sea Red Algae. Although it grows in the darkest depths of the sea, this algae's ability to thrive makes it particularly special. Forced to absorb light and photosynthesize in a unique way, The Deep Sea Red Algae is a rich energy source.
The Deep Sea Red Algae undergoes an extensive bio-fermentation process resulting in The Marine De-Puff Ferment™. Together with a rare tourmaline known for its piezoelectric properties, these ingredients are embedded in a Smart Sea Gel™ which expands and contracts to deliver ingredients deep into the skin's surface. Fatigued looking skin is re-energized. Reducing visible irritation around the eye area, in turn helps decrease visible puffiness.
The Lifting Ferment
The Lifting Ferment™, developed from a new combination of La Mer's Marine Peptide Ferment, Phyto Ferment, and Mineral Ferment, reinforces skin's natural support system, encouraging a firmer, more lifted look while it reactivates skin's clarity and brightness.
The Marine Peptide Ferment includes a powerful anti-age marine algae and peptide complex, The Phyto Ferment includes a combination of plant-derived ingredients and finally The Mineral Ferment uses a broad variety of essential minerals. Together they contribute to The Lifting Ferment's ability to strengthen the thin under-eye "architecture", helping skin boost its natural production of collagen and elastin to provide tremendous anti-aging benefits.
The Applicator (Love this super cool silver tipped applicator)
First debuted in 2007, La Mer has re-introduced the cooling silver-tipped applicator which helps stimulate micro-circulation, working in synergy with The Eye Balm Intense to help aid in de-puffing. The applicator is specifically designed to pick up the precise amount of product needed for each application.

Categories:

• Eye Cream

Dramatic Eyes, DVF Fall /Winter 2010

At Diane Von Furstenberg Makeup artist James Kaliardos created a dramatic and exciting look, inspired by the way a woman is ever changing, ever evolving "like a butterfly".
I'm not so taken with the butterfly part, but love the rest!

image by Imaxtree

He layered lids and undereyes with a black cream shadow, added shades of blue and green powder over the top, and gave the inner corners a little sparkle.This gave the eyes a multidimensional twist, making them look a little different from every angle.
Totally fabulous for a night out, when you really want to make a statement, really want to be noticed.
Gorgeous!

Take a look below at the behind the scenes action

See the full slideshow on modelinia.com

Super Sexy Fall 2010 Makeup

With fall already here in some parts of the country, and on its way in others, there's no time like right now to start looking at some of the big makeup looks for the new season.

At Brian Reyes Bobbi Brown makeup artist Wendy Rowe worked her magic creating a look that was clean, easy to duplicate and endearingly feminine.

The look is all about fresh looking skin, so you need to lose the heavy, matte or drying foundations, and move into something with a silicone base, such as Face Atelier Ultra Foundation, or Makeup Forever HD Foundation. The silicone bases will give the skin a healthy glow and an even toned radiance, as well as diminishing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.


Brows are making their presence known again, but are still not back to heavily arched, structured  punctuation.

Wendy created this eye with Bobbi Brown Shimmer Wash Eye Shadow in Eggplant. This shade is actually universally flattering to all skin tones, and really makes the individual eye color really stand out.

She gave a really earthy yet urban feel to the look by lining the undereye in pale blue with Long Wear Cream Shadow in Aqua.

Totally lovely!