Marie Claire » Beauty Tips

What’s Sexy Now

brynakaur — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 11:01:27 +0000

SIZZLING SCARLET

Yes ladies, it’s back – red lipstick with an undercurrent of eroticism hit with a bang at S/S13 Fashion Weeks, done in a lush, technicolour finish. Check the supercharged pouts at Jean Paul Gaultier, a catwalk staple reimagined through a modern lens – matte, super saturated and very, very red.

MADE FOR A gal who gets a kick out of leaving a roomful of necks craning in her direction

HOW TO The trick is in layering: apply a coat of lip liner, a velvety, sans gloss red lippie and mattify by dabbing on powder blusher.

THE KIT Addict Extreme Lipstick in Fireworks, RM98, Dior; Rouge Allure Velvet in La Fascinate, RM95, Chanel; Creme Smooth Lip Colour in Haute Red, Laura Mercier

X-RAY NUDE POLISH

When it comes to posh nails, nothing screams slinky, sensuous style like pale, nude lacquers, a shade that made the ‘ooh’ nail moment of the season. Nail maestros summoned a neutral palette in icy, milky or opaque fi nishes, frosted to a tee at Dolce & Gabbana, Marc Jacobs and Oscar de la Renta.

MADE FOR The ultra-femme vixen who knows that coiff ed, classy nails gets you everywhere

HOW TO Try a classic French manicure with a twist, two-toned with a matte-shiny combo – choose an almost-nude light pink for the entire nail and paint a matte white stripe over the tip.

THE KIT Nail Polish in Warwick Avenue, Nails Inc; Vernis in Crystal 205, RM72, Dior

OVER-THE-TOP THICK

Spring Fashion Weeks saw brows and lashes going for maximum voluptuousness, with ogle-worthy Twiggy-like brows coming back into fashion and chunky, fl utter-flirty lashes the obsession of the season – take a cue from Cara Delevingne’s lustful, full-on brow-and-lash prowess at Marc Jacobs.

MADE FOR A 60s-swinging babe who never shies away from a fake lash or twelve

HOW TO Beefy brows doth not equal unkempt unibrows, so shape but do not overpluck, and fi ll in. Lashes get multiple whips of volumising mascara.

THE KIT Faux Lash Mascara in Black, Laura Mercier; Natural Eyebrow Pencil in Ash Blond, Shiseido; Eyelash Curler & False Eyelashes in Smoky Layers, Shu Uemura

Beauty and The Bag

brynakaur — Wed, 29 May 2013 12:09:58 +0000

Butter Flutter
Manifesting Raf Simon’s “techno butterflies” at the Dior S/S13 show, Pat McGrath unleashed a swarm of models decked out in blingy, crystal-beaded eyes, chanelling the shapes and shdes of the collection’s butterfly-jewel-encrusted Lady Dior bag.

It’s In The Notes
When a couturier-perfumer’s singular revolution spawns both the handbag and fragrance to match (and not always in that order), behold the opportunity to truly enrapture yourself in the house’s iconic codes and indelible spirit: liberally douse yourself in the EDP on one wrist, sling the handbag on the other and carry it all off with a cool aplomb.

Lacquer-Post Nails
Nail polish goes haute couture: rock colours and textures adorning bags galore swung on the arms of models parading down the catwalks as a perfect finishing touch to that signature tote, or, if you can’t afford the fashion, at least ooze it from your fingers. Steep your nails in these nouveau, trés exquise polishes that channel the hottest Spring/Summer 2013 bags.

Beauty Tips

Marie Claire — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 09:35:07 +0000

Scents and The City
Take a stroll through the streets of Paris with a bouquet of French fragrances matched with their perfumer-couturiers and the Parisian crevices they are intricately linked to – evoke the true essence of the city with these olfactory memories.

Place VendÔme
Designed to resemble the geometrically-proportioned square where Coco Chanel resided for 37 years at a suite in the Ritz, the Chanel No. 5 flaçon and stopper were fashioned in a hexagonal, diamond-cut shape—envisioned by the couturier to discard meaningless ornamentation, sans fussiness or over-elaborate trimmings. Located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris to the north of the Tuileries Gardens and east of the Église de la Madeleine, Place Vendôme’s pedimented screens canted across its corners gave the square an octagonal aspect that played muse to the shape of the supremely iconic, phenomenal No. 5 bottle. The scent, concocted by Ernest Beaux to evoke the modern woman Mademoiselle Chanel epitomised, became an intervention in the history of perfume, the bottle itself morphing into an identifiable cultural relic in a coming together of architecture and haute couture; a fascinating piece of fashion history.

Rue Cambon
The most striking and original of the Les Exclusifs de Chanel collection, the 31 Rue Cambon fragrance captures the heart of Chanel: named after the apartment that Gabrielle kept as a couture workshop where she worked and entertained, the four floors recount the legend—the boutique, the haute couture salon, the private apartment and the design studio. Decked out with a bijoux chandelier that featured interlocking 5’s and C’s, and a mirrored spiral staircase that Coco had doused in Chanel No. 5, the unsurpassed decor smelled of opulence. A mirror panelled in Chinese lacquer mimics the shape of the Chanel No. 5 bottle and Place Vendôme (sited across the street from the apartment), intimately enveloping the entire world of Chanel in a historic nucleus of Chanel perfumes.

New Year, New Rules

Marie Claire — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 04:07:10 +0000

GET ROCKIN’
Bid adieu to last season’s dewy, luminous skin and painterly pastel highlights; this year, it’s all about a monochrome palette of matte, porcelain skin, the requisite grungy smoky eye and bleached out brows. Donatella and Pat McGrath ushered in the year of the cool, rock n’ roll girl at the Versace show, a modern, graphic update of last season’s doll-like softness.

GOTH OUT
Romantic goth lips have gobbled up last season’s mellow take on ombré choc lips, making this year the time to invoke the goth chick within you. McGrath was at it again, unleashing fully gothed-out models at Gucci sporting vampy bordeaux lips in deep, dark burgundy and intense plum, lacquered on and topped off with a hit of gloss for lusciously gleaming texture.

LINE ‘EM UP
Spring’s subtle cat eyes are off the menu as subversive slashes of liquid eyeliner in thick, chunky strokes ruled the runways this season. At Lanvin, McGrath decked out lids in wickedly lavish flicks that extended out toward the temples, so take a cue: layer it on thick and go for any stark shape you fancy.

SHADOW PLAY
Bright, vivid eye colours are huge for sending last season’s gold, silver and black eyeshadow packing. Smoky eye makeup went ‘pop’ and ran the gamut, from flamboyant blues, purples, oranges and greens to all four shades blended seamlessly at Roberto Cavalli. McGrath spoke of peacock-iridescence with pops of shimmering pigment, all smudged to perfection.

Get Your Glow On

Marie Claire — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 06:57:51 +0000

Never turn up at a New Year’s party looking shoddy and unkempt, a sure party pooper and confidence killer-arm yourself with our pre-party prep guide for easy steps and products to win for smooth limbs, coiffed brows and posh nails; pair that with some Valentino and you’ll look every inch the life of the party. Follow this eight basic guidelines to keep yourself looking good from head to toe and leave the crowd at awe.

Warhol – Apalooza

Marie Claire — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 16:00:57 +0000

“Everything has its beauty,” Andy Warhol once said. “But not everyone sees it.” At the height of the Sixties, the insight Warhol channelled into modern ideals and commercial representations of beauty, fragrance and everything in between made rollicking waves that just keep on coming—check runway makeup looks abound that pay homage to Warhol and his singular panache, perfume flacons that are a tribute to his legend, some emblazoned with his iconic, pulsing images that scream Pop Art, and entire makeup collections released in reverence to Warhol’s legacy, all designed to evoke the exciting, vivid world that Warhol and his contemporaries lived in. His 15 minutes of fame lasted a good 25 years, but are not up yet—for art critiques who love or loathe his work, what remains clear today is that Warhol was and is an über powerful cultural force to be reckoned with.

Best known as the Pop Art high priest du jour in his heyday in the Sixties, the ingénue’s iconic firepower lay in his pop art renditions of objects and people— Campbell’s soup cans and Brillo boxes, but penultimately his Superstars—a coterie of socialites, models, actresses, transvestites and street urchins that didn’t always measure up to Hollywood’s definition of pretty, but were all Warhol-fabulous. “If you can convince yourself that you look fabulous, you can save yourself the trouble of primping,” mused Warhol in reference to his clique of mascara-loving ‘it’ girls Nico and Edie Sedgwick, voluptuously full, tousled blonde ‘Baby’ Jane Holzer, wildcat Ultra Violet and Viva, all of which had a starring role in setting the new standard for pop-alicious beauty.

The Creme Of The Crop

Marie Claire — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 03:42:34 +0000

When the sky is the limit and you`ve got skin concerns to match, chances are you`ve had your eye on a superluxe crème but hesitated to ponder if it’s really worth the hefty price tag. Sensible reasoning dictates that the more you dish out, the more outstanding the results need to be: drugstore nail polish that chips within hours of wear doesn`t faze anyone, but nail polish that costs a pretty penny should withstand the elements and stay on sans cracking for at least a week. When it comes to skincare, fret not: there is an arsenal of über prestigious products in the market that are well worth the splurge and make a bang-for your- buck investment you’d never look back on. Laying to rest that ‘is expensive better?’ conundrum that plagues any gal traversing beauty halls in search of that miracle broth, we say not necessarily, but if it does work, it`s worth investing in no matter the cost. And if guilt starts creeping in on you pre-purchase, consider this: a solid serum or moisturiser will do more for you than any couture handbag ever could. The gist of it is that lending that exquisite dose of zsa zsa zsu to your skin doesn`t have to cost a bomb, but there is a time to splurge—here, we narrow it down and lay out our crop of tried and tested, proven to pack-a-serious-punch super performing skincare powerhouses at the top of our luxe lust list.

Fall Winter 2012 Trend Report

Marie Claire — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 07:18:29 +0000

1. WALK THE LINE

Eyeliner was given a wickedly graphic, ‘grunge punk couture’ spin this season, starting with Pat McGrath at Lanvin-meticulously drawing a pointed flick that extended out toward the temples, McGrath juxtaposed heavy black winged Cleopatra eyes against an utterly bare face, to Alber Elbaz`s delight: “He just loved the way the girls looked, like sketches-one perfect stoke on the eye,” the mighty maestro surmised. “It`s almost like an insignia.” Glam galore, ultra mod, effortlessly simple and bourgeois chic all at once-we really couldn`t ask for more.

2. CHEEK TO CHEEK

“It`s emulating the après-ski glow,” postulated Dick Page, referring to the “classic sportif” cheeks he adored on the models backstage at Michael Kors: “The way you`d get if you were cold, or hot, or excited.” Page added a chevron-shaped “bloody, wonky flush” by blending a deep crimson shade of lip lacquer from cheek to jawline for added lustre and a natural, flushed ruddiness, then set it to pop against lustrously iridescent skin in sublime haze of gold and white powder scattered along the upper lids and cheekbones.

3. THE WIND BLOWS

Paul Hanlon sent the girls at Vera Wang sweeping down the runway with tossed-about, windswept hair that stayed breezily afloat the entire time, sans wind tunnel. Hanlon characterised the look as having “a masculine, 1950s feel…very sporty, and athletic in a way”, plumping sopping wet tresses with a hefty dollop of mousse, blow-drying, brushing out and back-combing strands from nape to crown, scrunching through wax for hold and rolling the ends under for a ‘geisha roll’ effect.

4. SMOKE SIGNALS

The ubiquitous winter must-have gets a major update this season – a categorical standout were the sketched-lash smoky eyes at Jean Paul Gaultier, where Stephane Marais picked up on Gaultier`s Warhol superstar-esque, 70s reference, lining inner rims with black kohl pencil and using liquid liner to streak erratic strokes along the top and lower lash lines, jostled with his fingers for a destroyed smudged. Marais deemed the look as a ‘grunge-chich-slash-rock n` roll` version of the bleary-eyed girls at Studio 54, precisely what Jean Paul prescribed.

What I Love About Me

Marie Claire — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 16:00:19 +0000

Usher in a new kind of independence this month as we shake things up and rewrite all the rules on Asian beauty ideals—take a cue from these poised, stunning Malaysian chicas who are confident, real, and weren’t afraid to tell us what they love about their beauty. LOOK WHO WE FOUND…We camped out at Bangsar and ran into these strong, self-assured ladies who flashed big smiles for the camera and declared what makes them beautiful

In Living Colour

Marie Claire — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 16:00:26 +0000

HOLLY GOLIGHTLY: LIGHT SKIN

The utopian ideal of fair, alabaster skin is absolutely alluring, but dump the old mindset that fair equals porcelain, geisha-like makeup—it’s so passé! The matte, powdery look took a big exit this season, so think skin flooded with light reflecting pigments for a smouldering radiance, accented with shimmery earthy tints like peach, copper, tawny and beige for perking up fair skin.

1. FACE

Opt for blusher in soft peach or pink shades that won`t look too harsh on fair skin.

2. LIPS

Love blue-based reds that complement light skin, or go for super bright neons in coral or tangerine hues.

3. EYES

Nothing adds bounce and vitality to fine or limp hair like yeast, found in the most unlikely beauty beverage: beer! Mix half a cup of flat beer (shake the gas out), one teaspoon of light sunflower oil and a raw egg. Apply to just-shampooed, blow-dried damp hair, leave it in for 15 minutes, then rinse out with cold water.

SENORITA MARGARITA : Olive Skin

Makeup artists say that the medium-tan or olive skin set are the luckiest of all, able to pull off just about any shade—from the punchiest brights to the palest pastels—thanks to the warm undertones in your skin. That wonderful tan usually comes with its own lit-from-within luminosity, so never use heavy cover-up or chalky formulas that downplay your godgiven glow—sheer foundation with names like toffee, caramel and honey are perfect for that sans makeup look.

4. FACE

Stick to warm, not-too-pink blush for highlighting the face and liquid bronzer for dewy, contoured cheekbones.

5. LIPS

Garnet, bronze, brownish or plum reds worn matte or glossy work beautifully on olive skin, or go bare and sexy withnude lipstick or a slick of gloss.

6. EYES

Shimmery gold shadow looks absolutely sublime on glowing, tanned skin.

MISS BROWN TO YOU: Dark Skin

Deliciously brown skin tones can be warm (golden-toned, like Jennifer Hudson) or cool (blue-based, like Alek Wek); relish in the fact that either can take anything from ultra bright neons to the darkest hues seen on the models at S/S12. The ultimate faux pas and utter injustice to dark, chocolate-lush skin tones is using a way too-light shade of foundation, powder or concealer that leaves a sickly, gray cast, so always get your base makeup right and choose finishes that disappear into your skin.

7. FACE

Never stray from complexion-enhancing foundations that match your skin tone and blush in lustrous, luminous berry or mauve shades that blend seamlessly into the skin for healthy flushed cheeks.

8. LIPS

Don`t be afraid to experiment with brights and go for deep berry reds.

9. EYES

Go bold with deep purple or blue shades.