Hot off the heels of New York Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2015, the beauty world has been abuzz with all the trends as seen on the runway. I had been following the nail trends as they happened, but the beauty ones I made sure to check out after the week ended. It seemed like the biggest trend was keeping it simple. From nude nails to barely-there makeup (Marc Jacobs’ models didn’t wear any makeup), it’s all about keeping it simple. Less is more.
Although there were some drastic looks (hello, graphic liner), for the most part, recreating some of the looks from NYFW is pretty easy. For this month’s #NYCBeautyPro theme, us bloggers were tasked with creating a refined look of the season’s most wearable runway makeup trends. Since I found most of the shows’ looks were quite refined, this one was easy. I also noticed a trend of blue liner, so I wanted to incorporate that to add some edge to the entire look.
1. With NYC Sparkle Eye Dust in Golden Champagne, place this on the lid area. This stuff does have a bit of fall out, so do foundation last.
2. Using a fluffy crease brush, grab the bronze colour from the NYC HD Color Trio Eye Shadow in Blues Cafe and lightly dust this into your crease. We want to keep the look quite nude, so go light.
3. With a blue liner, like NYC Waterproof Eyeliner Pencil in Sky High, line your waterline, bringing it lightly on your lower lash. Coat your upper and lower lashes in mascara. I used NYC Big Bold Volume By the Lash mascara.
4. To finish up the look, grab the ice blue colour from the Blues Cafe palette and place in your inner corner to highlight.
For the nails, I used NYC In a New York Minute polish in Fashion Safari and then added some gold ombre to the tips to jazz it up. Unfortunately the colour I was wearing prior stained my nail beds, so it kind of killed the nail look for the post (beauty blogger problems). Regardless, this one is super simple to recreate, and best of all, NYC products are super affordable and pretty good quality, considering the price. I especially love the Champagne Sparkle Eye Dust, which I’ve been pretty much wearing non-stop since I got it.
What are some of your favourite trends from #NYFW?
Please note, I am part of New York Color’s #NYCBeautyPro program. All opinions are my own.
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It’s a Thursday afternoon and your co-worker runs into your office and informs you that you’re going out with her right after work for drinks cause her crush is going to be there. I don’t know about you, but I’ve definitely been in that situation. So what’s a girl to do when it’s 3 p.m. and your makeup is looking kind of worn? Well, I basically know by now to start keeping an emergency bag of makeup on me, because really, who wants to go out with cute guys and not look their best. Plus, you know, I’m always the girl that people run to when they need a good touching up. Usually, the response I get from people when I tell them that I only carry lipstick is, “what kind of beauty blogger are you!?”. Oops.
So this leads me to this post. Obviously, you want to keep your work stash of makeup quite small (aka not your whole collection), so a few staples are a must.
- Foundation – I like keeping something that is a light-to-medium coverage on me because most likely I’ll already be wearing foundation during the day, so when you layer this on top you don’t want it to be too thick. I really like CoverGirl’s Ready, Set Gorgeous foundation because of its sleek packaging and also really nice coverage.
- Concealer – Basically same as above. I often find I have fall out throughout the day, so keep a concealer on you for handy touchups and to freshen up those eyes. To keep it in the family, I carry CoverGirl’s Ready, Set Gorgeous concealer, which also has a super handy doe-foot applicator, so it makes it easy to apply and not a lot of mess.
- Eyeshadow palette – Keep a relatively small palette on you with a good assortment of colours. Although NYX’s Dream Catcher palette in Stormy Skies is a little bulky, it does have a good size mirror and a nice variety of shades, so no matter what you were wearing earlier in the day, you’ll have an abundance of colours to freshen up your look, or make it smokier, perfect for a night out.
- Blush – Throw one universal blush shade in your bag in case you need to perk up those cheeks. NARS Orgasm is a must as it suits pretty much any skin type (so it’s also great for sharing).
- Bronzer – Great for adding some faux-sun to your look in the summer and great for a contour touchup year round. I’ve been using Smashbox Suntan Matte bronzer, which I got in a Sephora 500-point perk years ago (this sample lasts forever). You can also double up and buy a small compact with a bronzer and blush duo, ELF makes a good dupe for NARS’ Orgasm and Laguna and it’s super affordable.
- Perfume – An after-work spray is a must. Any sample size will do, so hit up your favourite department store, or invest in a rollerball of your favourite fragrance.
- Lip gloss – Choose a lip gloss with a touch of colour to downsize. Ain’t no one got time (and space) for a pencil, lipstick, and gloss. I love Maybelline Color Elixir’s as they combine the power of a lipstick, gloss, and balm all in one. Always keep a nude or pink on you for touchups throughout the day.
- Lip balm – This one is a must, no one likes chapped lips. I like eos lip spheres cause they are so cute, smell great, and hydrate the lips instantly.
- Hand lotion – Especially with the colder months coming up, you always want to keep a moisturizer on you at all times. I really like eos hand lotions as, like their lip balms, are so sleek and provide instant moisture.
Now with all the makeup you are keeping on you, you have to have the right tools to apply it. Thankfully, lots of places carry handy brush sets, which often come in cute packages. Sephora has a couple sets out right now for fall that are perfect for travel, such as the Gold Den Brush Set (C$65), which includes four brushes: Powder (double it up as a blush brush), Angled Blush (I would use this as a contour), Allover Shadow, and Smudge. The four brushes, which feel luxurious and have an animal print handle (so cute!!!), come in a chic turquoise faux-leather pouch, perfect for travel.
If you wanted to go smaller and more bang for your buck, try the Sephora Creatures of Habit brush roll, which comes with five travel-sized brushes (these are smaller than the ones in the Gold Den set): Powder, Angled Blush, Crease, Shadow, and Angled Liner. They also feature a cute leopard-print handle and come in a handy brush roll. I couldn’t find this set online, however, there is a similar one with four brushes. Check your local store to see if you can track it down.
Finally, for the face, make sure you keep a good foundation brush on you as you want your complexion to look perfect. To fit the animal-print theme, try Sephora’s PRO Airbrush #55 (C$42.50) brush, which has that chic leopard print on the handle. The brush gives you an airbrush finish, which is essential as your face is often your first impression.
Whether it’s after-work drinks or a just-sprung-up lunch meeting, having some beauty essentials on you is key to going out with your best face forward.
What are your work (or even school) beauty bag essentials?
Please note, this post contains products sent by PR. All opinions are my own.
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We’ve all been there. You go to the drugstore or Sephora for a new foundation and the variety of shades to choose from is too overwhelming. Some companies simplify it by only providing a few shades, whereas others have close to 20 with a numerical system to determine “your perfect match”. Choosing the right shade of foundation can be tough, I mean, who hasn’t opened a freshly bought bottle only to find out that it’s either too dark or too light. Super frustrating.
Well, lucky for us ladies, Almay is simplifying the foundation shade process. Enter Smart Shade, a skin-tone matching foundation that makes it easy to find “the one”. With just three (yes, three!!) different shades to choose from (light, light/medium, and medium), the product adjusts to the natural tones and nuances of your skin with their tonemimic shade-sensing bead technology, which transforms on your skin to suit your skin tone. The product also contains SPF 15, giving you much-needed sun coverage. Pretty cool stuff.
I was a bit sceptical about this product at first, thinking it would be more like a BB or CC cream. I like squirting some on the back of my hand and then buffing it into my skin. The product at first is white with the black beads, however, once you start applying it to your skin, the colour transforms to suit your skin. It’s actually a pretty cool effect.
As for coverage, I wouldn’t say this is full coverage, however, I would place it in the medium range. It’s better than a BB cream, but still light enough for everyday wear. To me, this is definitely a daytime foundation.
Overall, I really like this foundation and think that it’s perfect for those who can’t seem to find their perfect shade. Plus, the 30 ml packaging makes this product perfect for travel. What more could you ask for?
Have you tried Almay’s Smart Shade Skintone Matching Makeup? What were your thoughts?
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1. With NYC Sparkle Eye Dust in Golden Champagne, place this on the lid area. This stuff does have a bit of fall out, so do foundation last.
