All Babes are Wolves

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Bare Face Cheek

I love a blusher! I remember doing a fish-face and dousing my cheeks in a thick layer of my mum's heavy powder blushers in the 80s, resulting in looking like Cher. The ritual of taking the plump powder brush and clicking open a shiny Estee Lauder compact made me feel very grown up! These days there are so many blush options, and I use them all.

Tints
Benefit's Benetint is a must-have in my makeup kit, a raspberry stain that works well on lips and cheeks that is my every day staple for a fresh natural look. It comes in a bottle with a small brush and all you need is a tiny dab, but blend it fast, as it will stain cheeks. It gives you that 'pinched-cheek' natural flush. The tints now also come in Posie (a lolly pink), Lolli (an orchid pink) and Cha Cha (a mango coral). The Balm's Stainiac is another favourite which comes in a handy tube with a cotton bud type applicator.

Powders
My faves are Benefit and Bourjois (which I need to buy from the UK). I like a slightly coral infused pink so Benefit's Coralista is perfect, and comes in a super cute cube box with brush. Dandelion by Benefit is another great shade, a pretty pale pink. For more of a colour pop, try Benefit's Bella Bamba, a watermelon pink infused with gold that provides a 3D effect. It works well on a tanned olivey skin. Bourjois Little Round Pot Blusher Powders are another of my faves. They also come with a brush and have a great range of colours in 12 pretty shades, so plenty to choose from.

Cream
Creams give you a really great natural look and blend well. I can't go past NARS - The Multiple in Orgasm - a gorgeous peachy-pink with a subtle iridescent golden glow. The stick has the most beautiful creamy texture that just sinks into the skin. The Multiple now comes in 14 shades & can be used on lips, eyes or body. I also love Palm Beach, a rich goldy bronze.

Where to blush
My friend makeup, stylist & photographer Owen Allison recommends to apply blusher high on the apple of the cheek, as it has an anti-gravity effect. "Avoid blush on the hollow of the cheek, as this leaves the face looking exhausted." On the apple (the high, rounded bony part) of the cheek is definitely the most flattering. Keep it high!

Blush on the run
If I'm caught short and need a pick me up but don't have blusher on me, I'll just blend some lipstick to my cheeks. Great if you've been at work & decide to go out but have a pasty washed out face! I find I never seem to have a blush on me. I generally keep a concealer, lipstick, chapstick & black eyeliner in my bag, which usually cover most beauty emergencies!

Fixing shattered powder blush
Ever dropped your fave blush or eyeshadow on the bathroom floor and watched it smash into a million pieces? There is a solution! Pour the powder into a small plastic bag (like a freezer bag) and press down to make a loose powder. Then carefully pour it back into it's container. Grab some rubbing alcohol/surgical spirit from the chemist and add a few drops at a time to the powder mixing with a cotton bud until it is damp, but not watery. Press it firmly back into the container and let dry. The alcohol will evaporate out and leave you with a nice firm compact again!

Bare Face Cheek by louloublue

NARS The Multiple - Orgasm

Benefit Benetint

Benefit Coralista

Benefit Dandelion

Nars The Multiple - Orgasm

TheBalm Stainiac

Bourjois blush

NARS The Multiple - Orgasm

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Victoria Beckham in an English Country Garden

Victoria Beckham wearing Max Mara fisherman sweater,
Hunter Wellington boots and custom made Stephen Jones hat.

I love all things VB, as readers of my Blog well know. I absolutely adore this shoot by Patrick Demarchelier for British Vogue, August 2014. VB may be part based in LA, but she'll always be a cool Brit girl. Despite her usual glossy uptown girl chic, this quintessentially country England themed editorial somehow suits her down to the ground. The cover with Digby the Cavalier King Charles has got some of flack, but I love it. A tongue in cheek nod to English country-style. Obviously it appealed to VB's humour. "I’m never afraid to try something different when I’m working with the best people." she says.

Styled by Lucinda Chambers, the designer is seen getting stuck into the gardening whilst the rain falls on the rhododendrons. "We want to try and do something that I haven't really seen her do before," explains Chambers. "It's about making Victoria feel like it's possible to be a different character."

Editor Alexandra Shulman introduces the August 2014 issue: "This month's cover story began its life at a lunch I had with Victoria Beckham, way back at the end of last year. She was talking about the prospect of both turning 40 and opening her first store (on London's Dover Street), and when I suggested that we might do a different kind of fashion shoot to those that we have seen previously, she was keen to explore the idea. Hence the glamorous, funny, theatrical Victoria pictured by Patrick Demarchelier, shown embracing her inner, welly-wearing self as if she were a latter-day Vita Sackville-West and playing the lady of the manor with gusto ("Victoria's Era"). To accompany the shoot, Victoria let Vogue's Emily Sheffield shadow her in her real life over a week in London (including a Barry's Bootcamp class replacing her usual personal trainer). A story emerges of a woman who is now not only a good sport but a devoted mother of four, a successful and utterly driven fashion designer, a canny businesswoman - and she gets to be married to David Beckham. Not a bad place to be at 40, or frankly any age."

Victoria's Era by Patrick Demarchelier, styled by Lucinda Chambers

Friday, April 4, 2014

Kate back on Top

Kate Moss is back with a new collection for Topshop! "The first collection was seven years ago so I've grown up a lot and I learned a lot the first time around. This collection is a bit more sophisticated, everything in the collection is something that I would definitely wear and I can't wait to get my hands on it."

Nick Grimshaw on Kate:

Charlotte Tilbury on Kate:

From the video of Kate her inspirations look to be boho, 60's designers Ossie Clark & Biba, 70's style prints & 70's glam. Kate loves 70's style hot-pants & jumpsuits. She owns an original Biba playsuit given to her by Anita Pallenberg & recently wore David Bowie's custom-made Ziggy Stardust jumpsuit to the Brit Awards to collect an award for David. "It's important to have some inspiration or a reference point when you're dressing….I really love the late 1960s and 1970s, around the time of the Rolling Stones. I don't channel it in everything I wear, but it does seem to feed through most outfits. The late part of the 1960s was an exciting time, with lots of changes in the fashion industry. It's important to have some inspiration or a reference point when you're dressing. It's important to accessorise and I always turn to the scarves, hats and sunglasses in my wardrobe. But wearing too many accessories at once can look very bad." from The Telegraph.

Kate in Ossie Clark at her wedding rehearsal

This dress is based on this famous vintage lemon yellow dress Kate wore in 2003
(her debut Topshop collection also featured a similar copy of the dress).

Kate and Biba designer Barbara Hulanicki

Kate as Ziggy Stardust by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, Paris Vogue December 2011

Kate in Ziggy Stardust's 70s hot-pants jumpsuit at the Brits 2014

Pieces from the collection below feature florals, prints and feminine little dresses, but still that rock chick sensibility. There is also a heavy 70s vibe with sexy Maxi looks, shiny metallics and plenty of fringing.

Kate graces the cover of the latest British Vogue in one of her designs, and Freja Erichsen models another look inside.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Suited & Booted at the Oscars 2014

Kourtney Kardashian in Saint Laurent

I love Saint Laurent and Hedi Slimane, so it was great to see so many incarnations of his amazing suits at the Oscars - and all the women wearing tuxedos and suits! I love a tux (check out my previous post on tuxes and Le Smoking here and sexy jacket looks here). Academy Awards host Ellen wore three divine versions of Saint Laurent's classic Le Smoking jacket.

Ellen in Saint Laurent suits

Pharrel rocked an awsome shorts look from Lanvin but I was more taken with his partner Helen Lasichanh's striking look in a white Lanvin jacket, pussy bow and black pants.

this is not a new look for the couple, with Helen often suited & booted when sje joins Pharrell on the on the red carpet. Here's a previous matching suity & shorts look at CFDA Awards, 2012.

Helen Lasichanh and Pharrell

At the post-Oscars parties, newly minted 'out' actress Ellen Page decided to go androgynous in a Saint Laurent suit, and fashion forward Kourtney Kardashian looked fabulous in her more feminine Saint Laurent suit. Both looked amazing. I also love Zoe Kravitz in a Balenciaga jacket.