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subscribe to beauty counter blog via RSSBlonder Is Better
January 31, 2012 5:15 pm
Daphne Groeneveld’s blond tresses have dipped between shades of gilded cornsilk and fair flaxen, but after spying her latest editorial, we’re definitively on team platinum. For the February issue of Vogue China, hairstylist Shon and makeup artist Sally Branka combined to give the Dutch catwalker a jarringly stunning beauty look, in which her gorgeous, middle-parted white gold strands are paired with a bleached brow and lids that have been rimmed in rose eye shadow. The effect is otherworldly, to be sure—although calling it “out of this world” is a better way to put it. Thoughts on Groeneveld’s ethereal transformation?
tags: Daphne Groeneveld, Hair
Mastering The Art Of Getting Crafty
January 12, 2012 5:28 pm
3-D makeup strikes again! After Pat McGrath crafted eyeliner out of hot pink paper and sequins backstage at Viktor & Rolf and Givenchy, respectively, it appears as though the act of putting shiny material to face is taking off. Australia’s Russh magazine already capitalized on the trend last month, and now it looks like Elle Denmark is making its own case for press-on makeup. For the glossy’s January issue, makeup artist Anne Staunsager etched a thick black cat-eye onto model Anne-Sofie List’s lids before adhering individual rhinestones along her upper lash line. A number of digital effects followed to give the crystals an almost animated sparkle. Inspired by the arts-and-crafts beauty movement’s latest turn, we’ve decided to make it official: We’ll be revisiting our “Seven Days of Purple Lipstick” experiment for NYFW this season, but instead of lipstick and liners, we’ll be test-running pieces of crystal, glitter, and maybe even rubberized plastic. Any suggestions as to what we should consider sticking onto our complexion are welcomed below.
tags: Givenchy, Makeup, Pat McGrath, Viktor & Rolf
Magdalena Paints it Pink—Lilac, And Mint Green
January 3, 2012 5:05 pm
We realize that today marks the first day back to work for most people following the holiday break, but it also marks the first real day of winter for New Yorkers struggling with the harsh reality of 16-degree temperatures. Here’s an additional bit of system-shocking news for you to process as you re-learn the art of piling on those beanies and scarves: The Spring beauty product onslaught is about to commence on counters, which means transitioning into pastels, while working through your wardrobe of drab winter knits, will become an equally necessary layering skill. Our senior fashion editor, Marina Larroude, provided us with a few sartorial tips of this nature in this week’s In The Mood For, and model Magdalena Frackowiak sets the beauty bar in the February issue of Vogue Japan, thanks to a fine face contouring and nail lacquering effort by makeup artist Yadim. If this doesn’t get you excited for ultra-pink blush, violet lip gloss and sea foam green polishes, we don’t know what will.
tags: Magdalena Frackowiak, Makeup, Nails
Raquel Gets Ready To Rock
December 21, 2011 4:42 pm
While platinum blond has been the big hair color story backstage for the past few seasons (catwalkers like Britt Maren, Abbey Lee Kershaw, Siri Tollerød, and Kasia Struss have all been tempted by the peroxide bottle), something dark was afoot for Spring. “[She] just looks tougher with the brown hair,” coiffing star Guido Palau said of Struss after he took her brunette at Balenciaga. “It’s a little more tomboyish,” he explained of the chocolaty shade, an opinion that is apparently shared by styling star Paul Hanlon. In this month’s issue of French Vogue, Hanlon gave a typically dirty-blonde Raquel Zimmermann the tough-chick treatment, sculpting wispy dark chestnut strands with a messy fringe to complement a rock-inspired editorial that seems to say, “Blondes may have more fun, but brunettes are not to be messed with.” What do you think of the Brazilian stunner’s bad-girl makeover?
tags: Hair, Paul Hanlon, Raquel Zimmermann, Vogue Paris
Pastels, Still In Power
December 19, 2011 3:00 pm
If you take a peruse through our new Year In Beauty feature, you’ll be reminded of the 2011 hair trend that just wouldn’t die: ombre hair streaks. The dip-dying technique has persisted long after we ever thought it would—on the runway, on the red carpet, and even in high-end glossies, which continue to propagate the coloring method on newsstands world wide. The latest streaking session comes courtesy of hairstylist Jean Luc Amarin in this month’s issue of Vogue Taiwan. Rather than go for full-on blocks of pastel lavenders, deep reds, and aquas, Amarin opted for sporadic bursts of color that vary in width and length so the rainbow accents are more of a surprise, rather than an in-your-face statement. Will the style will persist into 2012? All signs point to yes—make that yellow.
tags: Hair, Vogue Taiwan
Seeing Stars
December 14, 2011 4:37 pm
This past weekend, we ran into a fellow beauty enthusiast from Into the Gloss at a holiday party in Brooklyn, where she was taking the idea of holiday makeup to another level. “I only did them on the bottom,” she said, referring to the halved sequins she had centered and affixed below her lower lashline, à la Pat McGrath’s handiwork at Givenchy this season. A clever way to update more predictably impactful red lipsticks and glittering eye shadows, stick-on 3-D makeup can make for an exciting twist this time of year—and happens to be one of Spring’s biggest trends (if we could laser-cut hot pink paper cateye liner like McGrath did at Viktor & Rolf, we’d wear it all. the. time). The good folks at Russh Magazine seem to be on the same page. The latest issue of the Australian glossy features fresh-faced girls in a series of pared-down albeit powerful face-painting looks. Our favorite of the bunch includes metallic stars, rather than sequins, which have been adhered around the temple and across the forehead. Everyday wear? Obviously not. But taking a jaunt over to your local craft store to see what else you can potentially glue onto your face to properly make merry over the next few weeks is not a bad idea.
tags: Makeup, Pat McGrath, Russh Magazine
Lips And Tips, A Love Affair
December 12, 2011 1:45 pm
Nude nails made a comeback at the Fall shows and continued to dominate more outlandish, allout nail art experiments for Spring—with a few notable exceptions, that is. Missoni and McQueen got minxed and Sophy Robson etched individual hieroglyphics onto tips backstage at Topshop Unique, while Jin Soon christened the “slim silhouette” backstage at Prabal Gurung. But as the battle between neutral and next-level manicures raged on, we noticed another trend rearing its pretty polished head: matching lips and tips. Before Mary Quant started picking nail lacquers according to clothes rather than lipsticks in the 1960s (the British designer revolutionized more than just hem lines), it was all about corresponding pout and polish colors. Both Jason Wu and Donna Karan reprised the tradition with classic crimsons and deep burgundies at their shows in September—and makeup artist Maud Laceppe and manicurist Michina Koide have modernized it in the new issue of Numéro with an electric blue mouth and fingers lacquered in the same powdery shade. We’ve personally moved on from the-crazier-the-better varnishing acts, but we’re always plenty happy to give credit to creativity where credit is due. Would you do blue?
tags: Alexander McQueen, Donna Karan, Jason Wu, Jin Soon, Mary Quant, Michina Koide, Missoni, Numero, Prabal Gurung, Sophy Robson, Topshop Unique
Paradise, Found—In Polish
November 30, 2011 5:52 pm
If, like us, you are still trying to accept the fact that you will not be attending Art Basel Miami Beach in person this year (another time, saltwater pool at The Standard), these adorable palm tree nail decals in the latest issue of French Elle might help you get into the fun-in-the-sun spirit—no matter where you are. This is not the first time we’ve spotted the tropical prints reimagined in polish, of course; true nail art buffs will recall that Alexa Chung did in fact sport something similar at the Fall shows back in February. This latest design is just another way to fill your head with images of sand and surf as the sun sets across New York City at an astonishing 4:30 p.m. Mind over matter, dear readers.
tags: Alexa Chung, Elle France, Nails
Two Cat-Eyes Are Better Than One
November 23, 2011 12:58 pm
After poring over the Spring shows for the past few months, we’ve begun honing in on the beauty looks that we plan on breaking out next season. High on that list are cat-eyes, which, as we’ve learned after countless trial-and-error episodes in the privacy of our own home (and one unfortunate incident in our office bathroom), are easier said than done. Following more than a few epic fails with liquid liners in all manner of thickness and points, we’ve realized that unless you’re a professional, cream or gel liners applied with an angled brush may be the way to go for a perfect flicked-out stroke. But just as we were getting good at scrawling on a single line of black pigment directly on top of our upper lashes, we saw this. Two lines—in two different colors! For the latest issue of Canada’s Pulp magazine, makeup artist Hung Vanngo dips into Shiseido creative director of makeup Dick Page’s stash of Shimmering Cream Eye Colors, drawing a winged line in Angel, a silvery gray, on top of a lacquered line of Shiseido’s Accentuating Cream Eyeliner in Black. Paired with a red lip, the doubling-up effort is exquisite. And back to the drawing board we go.
tags: Hung Vanngo, Makeup, Pulp Magazine, Shiseido
A Case For Dip-Dyeing, Wrapped With A Bow
November 15, 2011 2:10 pm
Despite what the magazines may be telling you, pastel ombré hair highlights are played out. Streaks of pale pink, lavender, and mint green were cute for a while, we’ll admit, but now that the look has become trendy, we’re of the mind that dip-dyeing’s days are over. That is, we were of that mind until we saw this. Adding strands of color through the mid-lengths of your hair is the only way to achieve the rose-tinged “hair bow” Danilo crafted for the December issue of Flare. One of six holiday hairstyles whipped up by the celebrity stylist for the Canadian glossy, this one got to us. We’re suckers for haute hair art. What do you think of the rainbow-flecked updo?
