Wedding Guest Beauty

For the final installment of wedding beauty looks inspired by Fashion Week Fall 2010 RTW, I’m showing you two ideas for a wedding guest. They aren’t meant to be worn together however, they are just both pretty ideas to vamp up your makeup.

First is Chanel Iman’s red pout at Dsquared2 (which showed at Milan Fashion Week).

Now Chanel is rocking both intense smoky eyes and a fierce red lip in this photo, but for the purposes of this post, ignore the eyes and focus on the lips. What I like the most about this look, is the crispness of her lipstick lines: there is definitely lip liner at work here.

To get this look, outline lips in Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Dragon Girl ($24, sephora.com), outlining your lips with pencil first, prevents the lipstick from smudging or running which is super important when your lip color is bold red. Then color in your entire lips using the pencil, which prevents you from having harsh colored lines on the edges of your lips, provides a good basis for the lipstick you will apply on top of it and if the lipstick wears off, you’ll still have color below.

When you are finished coloring your lips in with the pencil, apply red lipstick over it. Try Dolce and Gabbana Classic Cream Lipstick in Fire ($30, saksfifthavenue.com), I am obsessed with their lipsticks and I promise that you’ll love them.

The second look that I think would be cute for a wedding guest is the dramatic, gorgeous eyes at Lanvin.

I think the gold shadow is what really makes this look special. To get it smudge Laura Mercier Eye Shadow in Gold Dust ($22, sephora.com) into your upper lids and along the inner corners of your eyes. Then apply a fine line of black shadow below your eyes. Try Dior Ultra-Smoothing High Impact Eyeshadow in Flash Black ($28, sephora.com) which has great shimmer. To get the thick lashes you could try black mascara (my favorite is Dior) or you could really up the ante with falsies. Try Laura Mercier Faux Lashes ($18, sephora.com) which look very natural.

Ok, that’s all I got. What do you think of the suggestions?

all images from style.com

Bridal Beauty: NYFW edition

For a year and a half I worked in beauty at women’s magazines. During that time I drowned in lipstick, mascara, and pomade and I loved every minute of it! One of the things that I miss the most about beauty is gushing over the runway looks and having it count as work. Of course beauty is still my favorite part of Fashion Week, so I put together a bridal look based on some of my favorite fall 2010 hair and makeup looks.

First up is peach blush shown at Michael Kors.

I love how sweet and subtle this look is. It should be applied sparingly so that the bride looks less as though she is wearing peach blush and more like she has a pretty flush. Sweep the blush along your cheekbones for a more pronounced look.

Nars Orgasm Blush ($26, sephora.com), which has shimmery undertones, is the gold standard of peach blush. I am also a fan of Benefit Coralista ($28, sephora.com) and Chanel Blush Duo Tweed Effect in Tweed Coral ($45, neimanmarcus.com)


The second look that I loved was big, beautiful doe-eyes seen at 3.1 Phillip Lim.

I am typically a fan of lots of black eyeliner but for a bridal look, I like the idea of something softer and more timeless. This look is also extremely easy in terms of application.

You’ll need lots of mascara. I am a huge mascara girl so there are tons of brands that I love. My two favorites (for the moment anyway) are Amazing Cosmetics Mascara in Black ($22, sephora.com) and Dior DiorShow Iconic Mascara in Noir ($27, sephora.com). If you have straight lashes, you should curl them before applying the mascara. Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler ($19, sephora.com) is the best. If you have naturally curled eyelashes, like mine, then you can skip this step, the mascara will be dramatic enough.

Also apply a pencil eyeliner from the middle of the eye to the edge. I like Stila Kajal Eye Liner in Smokey Quartz ($18, sephora.com). This will give you a gentler, more workable look that is easier to smudge ever-so-slightly than a liquid or gel liner.

Finally since both of these makeup looks are so subtle, my pick for bridal hair is big and dramatic. I am in love with the retro, curly gorgeousness seen at Oscar de la Renta.

You’ll need volumizer, a curling iron (or old-school hot rollers) and lots of hairspray to achieve this look. Apply John Frieda Luxurious Volume Lavish Root Booster ($6, at all major drugstores and drugstore.com) to the roots of wet hair. When hair is dry, curl it using a curling iron. My favorite iron is the T3 Twirl ($119, sephora.com); it creates big, bouncy curls. Lastly you’ll want a flexible hold hairspray to keep the curl in tact while giving you movement. Try Nexxus Comb Thru Hairspray ($10, at walmart.com).

There you have it! A pretty, undone, romantic bridal beauty look.

What do you think? Do you like these trends? Do you use any of these products?

P.S. Is it just me or does that photo of Karlie Kloss (and her big curls) remind you of Olivia Newton-John’s Grease makeover? I think it’s the leather jacket that’s cinching it for me!

all images from style.com