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laura mercier

September 15, 2012

The Best of Beauty: Spring 2013 Collections -Narciso Rodriguez, Jenny Packham, Betsey Johnson, Whitney Eve

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The Show: Narciso Rodriguez Spring 2013

The Beauty in a Nutshell: It was all about the no frills, extremely natural girl at Narciso. Deborah Lippmann used her Smooth Operator four-way buffer to shape, exfoliate, and buff nails, for a short, rounded, natural nail, finishing off with a dab of cuticle oil and working in some hand cream. Lippmann’s tips to getting down the art of buffing is to touch the nail only once with the fabric, and be conscious to not put any pressure on the tip. Dick Page for Shiseido used natural, neutral shades and worked brows by brushing them downward to find the natural line.

I asked Page how to know what kind of base layer worked best for each individual’s skin (foundation, powder, tinted moisturizer, BB Cream), and he said “if you can quickly apply it in a bathroom or on a plane and it looks perfect in those condition and lighting, then you know it’s for you!” Paul Hanlon worked the hair to a perfect simplicity, mastering a center-part, securing with a dash of By Byron Spirulina Hairspray.
The Show: Jenny Packham

The Beauty in a Nutshell: With the ladies of The Rat Pack as inspiration for the beauty, Gina Edwards for Essie created a gorgeous mani that is sooo easy to do at home; create a French manicure, then just layer one coat of shimmer on top! Edwards used Essie’s opaque white shade, “Waltz,” “Marshmallow” on the tips, and Luxe Effects Shimmer on top. Talia Shobrook for Laura Mercier used various shades of blue to create “jewel-like” eyes, mixing Laura Mercier Eye Pencil in Midnight Bleu, Kohl Eye Pencil in Black Turquoise, and Baked Eye Colour in Lagoon with five coats of mascara while making a soft coral lip with combining Creme Lip Colour in Tangerine and Lip Pencil in Baby Lips.

Jeanie Syfu for TRESemmé created my favorite hair look of the season by starting with Climate Control Mousse by creating a deep side part on the left side, back brushing, smoothing and sweeping the hair over the forehead to twist hair sections inward and finishing on the side with a sleek ponytail, flat ironing the ends.

The Show: Betsey Johnson Spring 2013

The Beauty in a Nuthsell: With the inspiration as Betsey herself, Aveda lead hairstylist Jon Reyman crimped, backcombed and tousled the models tresses, securing hair into place with Aveda’s Control Force Hairspray, a process that took upwards of 40 minutes per model. Meanwhile, Gina Edwards for Kiss/Broadway Nails matched the press-on nails to fiery red, glittered shade of the lips. She used a medium length nail, and recommends swiping some alcohol on the nailbeds to optimize decal sticking power when using artificial nails.

Gato for Maybelline created a hybrid look between a pin-up girl and a female superhero, using the Master Precise Liquid Ink Pen Eyeliner in Black to draw on the eyebrows, with “thousands of layers” of the Falsies Flared Mascara on the lashes, a combo of 24HR Color Tattoo in the lids, with Color Sensational Lip Color in Very Cherry on the lips with a layer or red glitter painted over top.

The Show: Whitney Eve Spring 2013

The Beauty in a Nutshell: Sunshine Outing for Zoya did both fingers and toes (in all blue), with the fingers rotating shades with stripes down the side. no top coat was used so that the stripe could dry without smearing, and the white polish was intended to match the white bobby pins intentionally styled and left in for the show.

Marc Mena for Garnier created a “polished tomboy” aesthetic by working in the Garnier Fructis Flexible Control Anti-Humidity HairSpray and the XXL Thickening Mousse for a smooth yet voluminous-enough folded ponytail look, using a small curling iron to zig-zag and actually kink the hair. He finished the look by wrapping and tying elastics for the folded up ponytail finish. Dominic Cruz for Kryolan worked with neutral tones, creating a dewy, fresh look with shades of taupe and smoke combined with full brows and finishing up with soft gloss on the lips.

-Julia DiNardo

December 19, 2011

These are a Few of My Favorite Things

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‘Tis the holiday season, and here’s a final roundup of some great indulgent holiday gifts and items that we’ve tested over here at FPD to give to others, and of course, to lavish upon yourself too!

Laura Mercier Foundation Primer, $30, comes in a universally flattering tint, makes a perfect, even-toned canvas to layer your foundation and makeup. Ifyou haven’t tried primer yet, start with this one; most likely you’ll never want to try another one!

European Wax Center Ingrown Hair Serum, $25. No one realllly wants to talk about ingrown hairs; they just magically want them to go away! Use this serum as a preventive measure in frequently shaved areas, and it’s also safe to use after a wax. It has glycolic acid to get rid of the bumps and remove the skin, as well as has moisturizers and antiseptic to remove bacteria and soothe the skin.

Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in Orchid Hush, is unlike any other blush I’ve EVER used! The gel texture is malleable, almost like a lipstick, and easily melts and smooths into the skin for a natural glow.  Although this is my favorite shade, there are nine others to choose from in this new long wear formulation. Available for $7.99, starting in January 2012.

Converse Chuck Taylor Winter Glitz Collection in Black, $59.95, was a recent giveaway at FPD, and I also got to keep a fabulous pair for myself! Pair with an lbd and some leg warmers, or let them live under the baby bells of your new flared jeans.

ShoeDazzle.com’s Signature Sole Collection in Chanelle, $39.95, is sure to add some oomph to that holiday party or special occasion you have to attend. A color like nude is very big right now, and will perfectly transition into the warmer months once you banish opaque tights and hosiery from your wardrobe daily rotation. FYI, all shoes at ShoeDazzle are $39.95; sign up for free to check our their sparkly holiday selections and to customize your footwear, jewelry, and accessory preferences at the site.

The Sears Wish Book Holiday Party that I attended this past week not only gifted me an amazing Keurig Single-Cup Home Brewing System (yay for Caribou Coffee cups!), but also introduced me to a bunch of other great holiday ideas for yourself, a family member, or friend. Peruse the catalog of items, which include thoughtful items that anyone can use such as a jewelry box, a Homedics Pedicure Foot Spa, a Nikon Coolpix Camera, and a Conair Infinity Spin Brush.

Orly Nail Polishes with a mini holiday French lace emory board from Sally Beauty are THE perfect holiday gift for friends, trust me on this (the pic of this trio of bottles is from my personal stash). The colors are shiny and rich, the bottles have an ergonomic, easy grip handle, and what an ingenious idea to include a mini nail file with every bottle?!? They are PERFECT for travel, and come in some great metallic, sparkly, and shimmery shades for holiday.