Face Lace

Face Lace is the creation of Phyllis Cohen and comprises of a range of intricately detailed face appliqué;  but I just couldn't think of better suited name for this feature.

The laces are made from vinyl with a hypoallergenic backing so that you can delicately place them around your eye area - who needs eye shadow!

The stick on Face Lace made it's debut at the FW12 Corrie Nielsen show, providing a gorgeous extension of the plaid fabric to the face and perfectly reflecting the collection's reference to Scottish Clans, Victoriana and a touch of the equestrian. 

What's more these lace sensations are now available to buy!

I have recently discovered the Phyllis Cohen range in Harvey Nichols where the appliqués are available as singles from £15.95 and packs from £45.95.

They're ideal for the artistically ambitious, in the post-Gaga era, looking to add a touch of unique flair to an evening look.

Dare to be a little braver now and you will prove your fashion forwardness before the look inevitably becomes as commonly seen as the false eyelash.

We can already see the opulent eye-work reaching the media through music videos - so hurry!

Frames from Pink's 'Blow Me (One last kiss)' music video

A further way to incorporate the lace look into your eye make-up are lace lashes, providing a more subtle approach to the bold look.

PAPERSELF provides a commercial platform for this innovative exploration of lace as contemporary eye-wear. Launched in 2009 by London based designer Chunwei Liao, Paperself unites artists, designers and manufacturers from East to West.

Their eyelashes, pictured below, are inspired by nineteenth century French silk bobbin lace, held in the collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

BOURJOIS-

"Lace and catwalk inspired, Miss Couture lashes for elegance and high-end glamour. Created in collaboration with Paperself, the world's leading paper-art brand for lashes. Uniquely fashionable, chic and stylish in design, they are the ultimate fashion accessory to be bang on trend this season"

LACE EYEBROWS!

FABRIC APPLIQUÉ 

Getting Gothic

For AW12, designers embraced the dark arts after seasons of bright colours and glaring prints. The focus was on wine-stained lips, paled out complexions and Snow-White-dark tresses.

www.style.com

The inspiration:

You could say Christina Ricci introduced the goth look to the mainstream in 1991's remake of The Addams Family; with her middle-parted dark pigtails and ghostly complexion, she became the poster child for pouty angst.
But it was perhaps Brandon Lee's starring turn in the film version of The Crow that truly brought goth beauty to the big screen. Lee donned stringy black centre parted strands and graphic black-on-white make up as the undead vigilante spawned from the 80's comic book series of the same name.
Then there was The Craft, in which a group of young Hollywood hotties gave underworld worship a new kind of sex appeal. Fairuza Balk's pencil-thin brows, matte berry lip, kohl-stained eyes and multiple piercings epitomise 90's goth.

www.style.com

Thanks to the release of David Fincher's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, goth is experiencing a third wave. Make up artist, Pat McGrath, created a threatening and otherworldly appearance via shadowed eyes and bleached brows. The look would also inform the bulk of McGrath's backstage repertoire at the AW shows. 

www.moviefanatic.com

McGrath established the look that would define the season backstage at Gucci. "Dark romance" is how she described the models' peroxided brows and deep berry lips. The innovative use of the light brows prevents the period look traditionally created from a red lip and full, dark brow. This is an opinion that a number of other high-profile make up artists bought into.

www.style.com

McGrath's "lip noir" bloodstained pouts were ever changing;

#1 : A slick of high-shine gloss created a lacquered effect at Viktor & Rolf and Yves Saint Laurent

www.style.com

#2 : Application of ebony, grey and brown pigments to lips at other shows made for an entirely different, more gothic narrative. To compliment Tomas Maier's moody Bottega Veneta collection, she used an eyeliner rather than lip liner, to rim lips before layering them with burgundy pigments - creating a black cherry finish

www.style.com

Lisa Butler, make up artist backstage at Emilio Pucci, advised that nothing good can come from reviving goth make up in a literal way,

"Don't start wearing black lipstick; it's very unflattering" Butler

She instead advised that black lip balm can be surprisingly becoming,

www.style.com

To recreate this look at home, blend MAC Lipmix in Black with its clear Lip Conditioner, Butler compared the custom tint to the "1980s Shiseido lipsticks that were very weak in pigment but gave a little bit of darkness".

www.style.com

Lucia Pieroni - a minimalist make up artist with maximal appeal

"I'm obsessed with lips at the moment", Lucia Pieroni told style.com backstage at Rochas.
For the AW show she administered velvety red pouts after engineering a few of the most impressive mouths of the SS collections earlier in the year, from fluoro pink at Giles to a glossy wine at Jonathan Saunders to an electric cerise at Missoni. The precise applications were tailored and tweaked just so for individual models,

"When you're doing someone's make up, it's about what brings out their features, what makes them look more beautiful" Pieroni

Pieroni, who is approaching 25 years in the industry has been adapting her technique to suit different faces since she picked up a make up brush on a whim in the 1980's. Pieroni grew up as a fine artist and still thinks of herself as one,

"I don't love make up that much but I love creating" Pieroni  

Her unique approach to beauty, which favours understatement over theatrics, keeps the innovative make up star in demand with the fashion crowd of Hollywood.

www.style.com

What you will need:

Shiseido Lacquer Rouge in Nocturne/RD607

Inspired by Japanese laquerware, one coat infuses intense colour and deep lustre

Shiseido Perfect Rouge in Mystery/RD613

A new formula that provides true intense colour with all day hydration - blending effortlessly for a luxurious finish

Shiseido Smoothing Eyeliner Pencil in Black/BK901

True intense colour, long-lasting and smudge proof, this eyeliner glides on smoothly and softly and the sponge tip applicator enables easy blending

Dolce & Gabbana Ultra Shine Lipgloss in Aqua

Sensual and tempting, this lip gloss imparts a lacquered effect for the lips. The professional brush ensures perfect application.

Stiletto Nails

A nail frenzy has started to emerge on the hands of our beloved pop stars. The first to get her claws out was the fearless Lady Gaga, who curved her "paws" in front of masses of photographers to show off a more threatening trend of nail.

Lady Gaga, www.cheapchicobsession.com

Next came internet sensation turned world mega star, Lana Del Ray, artfully placing her talons to the public eye on various Vogue editorials and covers.

Lana Del Ray, http://www.fashionologie.com

The fashion-forward stars were quickly followed by the likes of Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Beyonce and Brits stars Adele, Jessie J and Rita Ora.

Rihanna, www.article.wn.com

Adele, www.lolaglitter.com

Razor sharp, long and feminine, the trend has now taken off on the internet, especially across various social media channels like Tumblr and Instagram, which allow users to post multiple pictures straight after their stiletto mani.

Stiletto Nails, www.tumblr.com

See Topshop's interpretation of the talon trend:

The Argan Appeal

ARGAN OIL is believed to be one of the rarest oils in the world. Originating from Morocco, the robust Argan Oil is extracted from the nuts of the Argan Tree, also known as 'The Tree of Life'. Due to deforestation these trees are now considerably reduced in numbers, hence the high price points of Argan based beauty products. By giving the Argan nuts an economic value it creates incentives for the Moroccan people to protect and replant the forest.

The Moroccan people have been using the oil for centuries but only recently has it come to the attention of cosmetic scientists. Research shows that the oil is packed with beautifying ingredients like vitamin E, phenols, carotenes and essential fatty acids (also known as the skin vitamin - Vitamin F, and just like other vitamins, the body is unable to produce its own Vitamin F).

HAIR
Argan Oil revives and strengthens hair, helping to repair the appearance of damage caused by the sun, heat, styling and colouring and gives hair a lustrous shine

SKIN
When applied to the skin, Argan Oil helps reduce the appearance of wrinkles by softening the skin and increasing elasticity, as well as repairing the appearance of damage caused by the sun, pollution, stress, smoking and environmental factors. By nourishing the skin, the oil is able to reverse the ageing process and provide a 100% natural skin food.

Argan Oil is also known as 'Liquid Gold' amongst celebrities and is extremely sought after as the latest must-have. Celebrities such as Eva Mendes, Taylor Swift and Salma Hayek swear by Argan Oil to provide their hair and skin with an immediate moisture infusion and superior hydration:

Eva Mendes

Taylor Swift

Salma Hayek

Some of the best Argan Oil products:

Kiehl's Superbly Restorative Argan Body Cleansing Oil-
A new edition to Kiel's argan collection (which includes the limited edition body lotion which raises money for Waterkeeper Alliance), the cleansing oil gently washes away summertime grime without stripping moisture from the skin.

Josie Maran Bronzing Argan Oil-
Eco-entrepeneur Josia Maran recently followed up her best-selling Argan Oil with the new bronzing version. Use it on parched skin to get a radiant, healthy glow.

Moroccanoil Treatment-
As the first company to offer professional argan products for hair, Moroccanoil is a favourite among celebrity hair stylists. the free-trade argan oil products make hair bouncy and shiny.

Aveda Green Science Firming Face Cream-
Aveda is always on the ball with using botanical ingredients to beautify the skin. This cream mixes argan oil with a cocktail of other skin-restoring peptides from natural sources to hydrate skin and smooth fine lines. Aveda also helps fund literacy programs for the all-female co-ops that supply the oil.

Ciaté in the spotlight

The latest news from Ciaté:

The Midas Touch

The golden fever of team GB winning a grand total of 29 gold medals can only be boosted with the emergence of this metallic beauty trend.

Fendi teamed gold foil with an accent of bold black liner for a show stopping look. The foil transfers on eyelids were reminiscent of Liz's to-the-browbone block of colour in her rendition of Cleopatra.

The spring catwalks suggested that beauty's biggest talents had returned to their fine art roots, bringing a DIY aesthetic to the season - it's time to get creative!

The idea behind Dashing Diva's "dripping with gold" foils at Cushnie et Ochs was to make it appear as though models had been "digging in gold", so nails techs applied foils a few millimetres above the actual nail line to stimulate imperfection.

The look was achieved through applying the gold foil directly to nail glue, smoothing with a cotton pad and pulling away the sheet to leave a gilded finish; finish with a top coat for longevity purposes.

The catwalk shows also saw models with hair slicked back and coated in a layer of gold foil.

Beauty has developed this trend to produce an almost liquid gold effect that coats the eyebrow and lid.

Pure @ Olympia

As I have now been assigned to cosmetic bags, on Monday 20th August 2012, I visited Pure with the soft accessories Buyer from my department, in order to gain an insight into how different Buyers operate at trade shows and what I should be looking for when selecting potential suppliers of cosmetic bags - as trends that appear in soft accessories are likely to cross over into my sector.

I helped to select prints and colours for fashion scarves, approached new suppliers with cosmetic bag opportunities and shadowed the Buyer as she met with her existing vendors.

A collage of a few of the brands that took my interest at Pure

And the Gold goes to...

So, with the Paralympics fast approaching, we are now half way through Great Britain's Olympics.

I look into how the sporting phenomenon has influenced the world of Beauty and Cosmetics.

In their 2012 advertising campaign, P&G pays tribute to mothers and the pivotal roles they play in the development of young athletes.

The  "Thank You Mom" concept created by Wieden+Kennedy Portland, has been running throughout the games, appearing in print, TV and social media.

The add was directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, shot on four continents and features local actors and athletes from each location - London, Rio de Janeiro, Los Angeles and Beijing. It focuses on one mother in each location raising a young athlete and all the work that goes with it.

P&G's advertising campaign for Pantene haircare, highlights the probles athletes face with keeping their hair looking healthy and lucious, making the issue relatable and the advert current, whilst the golden tones reflect the colour every athlete wants to see round their neck.

Following the theme of golden hues and the Olympics comes Baylis & Harding's body wash advertising campaign, featuring the words: "The winning formula - INDULGE and go for gold". 

Though the Olympics are all about the sporting events, you can't help but notice the big fashion and beauty moments too!

The female American gymnasts seemed to take a cue from the red carpet and tried the 'half-messy-half-sleek' do - but how did their tresses stay in place during all of those gravity-defying routines?

The female Russian gymnastics team decorated their slicked-back ponytails with a hefty dose of glitter and sported dramatic winged liner and shimmery eye shadow on their eyes.

The always-stylish Serena Williams added a golden scrunchie to her Saturday look. Will these ’90s hair accessories be making a come back?

Since it wouldn’t make much sense for swimmers to wear makeup, many female swimmers opted for serious designs on their digits instead. Rebecca Adlington of Great Britain paired her bronze medal with Union Jack nails. As it turns out, Minx Nails is on site at the Olympic Village, helping athletes get a little glam before their competitions.

Minx Nails are going for GOLD with the first collection, inspired by all things Olympic! Show your pride and extend your countries flag to your fashion loving fingertips! 

Zara Dampney of the Team GB beach volleyball team also displayed patriotic nail art, as she signalled to team mate Shauna Mullin during their defeat to Italy at Horse Guards parade. [Image from Metro]