Two things I am excited about now that it's 2007:
1. I can finally cut down on my white-out usage from having to rewrite 2006 on the date margin since I've been living in 2007 since the S/S '07 shows last fall, yes editors & fashion/beauty pr people are forever seasonally challenged...
2. New makeup trends! New beauty collections & products & hair styles, fragrances, ah, Spring Beauty Galore!
For Spring '07, the backstage makeup scene polarized to two extremes, quite fit to the asian makeup scene actually - Super earthy-bare natural without a hint of glossy lips vs. full on eye-makeup with MAC Lip Glass generation-like pout. Whether you are feeling a little more daring this year and swapping make up styles (full-on to bare, bare to accentuated eyes & lips) or you change your style by outfit, follow the below trends and look like you're fresh and hot-off-the runway.
Let's start with the bold, the brave and the beautiful:
Red Glossy Lips with a Coral Flip - from Anna Sui to Tuleh to Vivienne Westwood, bright red lips with a golden, warm coral touch, made luminous with a light layer of clear gloss was all over the S/S runways. Asian girls can totally pull this look off as long as they keep a few crucial must-do's in mind. Strong natural looking brows, light, minimal-looking eye make up with golden bronzy brown tones + black mascara to keep your eyes from fading too much. Lastly, keep to minimal blush to prevent looking like porcelin doll. Try Anna Sui Rouge M in #450 for a coral-tipped, bright red lip colour that looks flattering on asian skin. www.annasui-cosmetics.com www.annasui-cosmetics.com
Egyptian Heavy Metal - Holiday season is over but metallic shadows are back this spring with a sun-lit, mod goddess, twist. Backstage at Chanel (image) the models sported a mod-metallic high-voltage gold and silver highlighted lids, gold on the bottom, silver on top, with a less accentuated brow, barely touched lips and a matte, natural looking complexion with no flush that acted as a perfect backdrop for the intense eye make up. Key tips for the look:a) If you have oily skin, apply a mattifying toner or t-zone oil-block base to keep the rest of the face from shining, then dust on translucent powder to even out the skin. The only place you want shining for this look are your eyes!
b) Use a non-colour treatment lip balm (good ole' tub of Vaseline works just fine) for a natural, baby-soft pout instead of high sheen gloss or attention grabbing coloured lipstick. Keep the focus on one part of your face only.
c) Keep brows minimal. If you have thick prominent brows, try dusting the translucent powder from step a) on the brows as well, bringing optimum focus to the eyes and away from the forehead.
d) Try a bronzier, gold-brick tone and a platinum coloured silver for asian eyes. The rich gold tone accentuates the darker eye colour and the platinum will highlight the whites around the pupil making eyes pop. Coat lashes with a single layer of black mascara, and if you want to take it one step further, apply a very thin liquid line on the top lid only.
Try Chanel Lumiere D'Artifices ($75) to get the look in one irresistable palette. www.chanel.com
xox
