Saturday 6 February 2010

I can't argue with Chanel. (In the mood for change part two - beauty.)

When it comes to fashion, I am firmly on the side of minimalism and simplicity; something classic with an edge, maybe a statement piece here and there but nothing too flashy. So when it came down to deciding on which beauty trends I would pick up on for Spring/Summer, I stuck to my guns.


I love couture makeup as much as the next girl, but let's face it; in the real world who can pull it off without looking a) crazy and b) like a drag queen? Noone. So for 2010 I've decided to go for a much simpler, fresher look, but definitely still a very put-together one - I still like it to look like I've made a bit of an effort obviously.

I don't like to wear any foundation as I have sensitive and fairly blemish-free skin so I find it more of a hassle than a help. Instead I prefer just a light touch of either a cheek tint for a rosy flushed look (I prefer Benefit's Benetint, £22), or for something more flirty a hint of pink blush (Barry M, £4.50). I find that this brings a bit of colour to the cheeks whilst still keeping that overall natural look.
For the eyes I also want to retain a more natural, minimal look, so I will just use the lightest touch of eyeliner and mascara for a bit of a boost.
So far it might sound a bit dull so that's where the statement comes in to save the look from being too boring. From the catwalks this season I seem to have picked up on two seperate trends; either super-thick or bleached invisi-brows. Personally I'm loving playing around with big defined eyebrows by filling my pathetic, barely-there blondies in with a dark brown pencil fairly generously, thus allowing a much much fuller and more defined brow. Honestly even my mother said I look like a completely different person, it's crazy how much of an impact such a small easy thing to do can have on your look. I'm obsessed with my eyebrow pencil now (Rimmel, £3.99). And because it is just making your pre-existing eyebrows more defined, it's still kind of in keeping with a natural look - you don't look too made up.

Backstage at Chloe's Spring/Summer 2010 Ready-to-Wear show



Backstage at Alexander Wang's Spring/Summer 2010 Ready-to-Wear show

Not looking too made up is fine and all, better than the other way around obviously, but it can seem a little unmemorable. To really add a statement I've been trying to wear lipstick more often - wear hot pink lipstick in the daytime and people really take notice. It really brightens up a whole look and it's so simple but it really makes you look like you've made so much more of an effort, even if you're just wearing leggings and a teeshirt. Chanel has declared 2010 to be the year of lipstick, so who am I to argue? Personally I prefer matte lipsticks as I think they just look more classic and they're much more practical to wear in the daytime. To really stand out I've been trying Barry M's 'Lip Paints' (£4.25) which offer a more unusual colour palette - I'm quite attached to my luminous pink one, and having been inspired by the orange lacquered lips of Prada's Spring/Summer show, I also picked up a nice orange for a bit of a twist.


Shocking Pink, Barry M.

Orange, Barry M.

Backstage at Prada's Spring/Summer 2010 Ready-to-Wear show

Obviously there's always the classic red. I'm in love with the romance and styling of the 1940's, when women always wore that orange-red lipstick all day long (or so I like to think). After much searching, I found that Rimmel do a lovely shade, aptly named 'Retro', for just £4.50.


Retro, Rimmel.

However, sometimes I do find myself in a less daring mood and the thought of overstated lips for daytime seems a bit daunting. To still maintain a well-rounded look but really stick to the natural vibe, I'll opt for a nude or really pale pink lipstick (again I find Rimmel to have some decent ones, 'Pink Blush' and ' Pink Nude'), or I might even use my 'Benetint' to just give my lips a slight hint of colour.

Pink Blush, Rimmel.

I must confess, if it doesn't already seem abundantly obvious; I am not really one for makeup. If you read my earlier blog 'In the mood for change' you'll know I'm relatively new to this, but I feel like for Spring/Summer 2010 a more put-together look is in order and so I'm trying to make a bit more of an effort without overdoing it, hopefully it works.

More soon.


Backstage photos from Style.com

1 comment:

  1. lara you look great!!
    love the blog your an excellent writer
    much better than me
    :)

    ReplyDelete