Category: trends

Spring make-up trends from Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar: Less is more

~ Emmie Reve ~ Leave a comment

There is no greater fashion authority than Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, at least that is what I feel.  These giants are the leaders of the industry and always know what will look high-fashion, and what will look pedestrian. Their knowledge includes hair and make-up.  However, I still get annoyed an any fashion authority because of how trends come in and out at a snap of the finger.  Or seeing trends that seem to mirror the things us girls were doing all along, but all of a sudden, it is accepted as stylish!  Read this spring’s Vogue and Bazaar articles and you will know exactly what I mean.

Trend 1: Bare faced, no make-up, fresh and clean.

This is a really really hard look to pull off!  That is why this trend is annoying.  Most girls are not blessed with perfect, glowy, dewy faces.  Believe it or not, this look actually takes work.  My suggestion to get this?  Use a heavy moisturizer, then thinly sponge on bb cream or foundation. Use face powder sparingly.  This is how I used to do my make-up for errands day or groceries.  Turns out it is now high fashion…who knew?  I think bare faced and no make-up looks best with clean flawless skin, and undone, unruly hair.

See how this look is done. It is unpolished in the face, so the hair has to match this to pull off this undone look.
See how this look is done. It is unpolished in the face, so the hair has to match this to pull off this undone look.

Trend 2: Air dried, slightly wavy hair bordering on bedhead…

This is a trend I’ve been rocking all along and feeling quite bad about its lazy look until now, that is.  Apparently, because Vogue and other sources say so, it is stylish now.  This look is one of my favourites in that it is effortless, and celebrates how hair looks naturally (aka kinda weird). No curling irons, hair spray or straighteners necessary.  My tips for getting this look?  After washing and conditioning hair, let it air dry until almost dry.  Then twist it up into one or several buns.  Let it dry some more.  Undo, and then blow dry the rest of the moisture out on low heat.  You should be left with barely there waves.  Finish with a moisturizing pomade on the midshaft and ends of hair.  Effortless and a bit messy.

See how the hair is a bit frizzy like it was air dried? Also there is a barely there wave. Super cool and effortless is the feeling.
See how the hair is a bit frizzy like it was air dried? Also there is a barely-there wave. Super cool and effortless is the goal.

Trend 3:  Liquid liner, thin and barely there

This one ties into trend 1 of having a minimal make-up look. What will spoil any “no make-up look” fast would be overly thick liquid lined eyes.  Even if you’re a natural beaut, the graphic nature of boldly lined eyes makes a make-up look stylized, planned and over done.  Get away with wearing bold liquid liner while still looking “au naturale” by thinly, and I mean thinly painting on the lines as close to the lashes as possible.  This way your eyes still pop, but it still looks as if you’re wearing little to no make-up.  A nice addition to this would be to skip lining the lower lid liner but to use a light to medium eye shadow to line the bottom lid softly instead!

I love the make-up on the top eyelid. So defined but delicate in the thinness of the black liner. Bottom liner is a bit harsh, though. Soften with barely there shadow.
I love the make-up on the top eyelid. So defined but delicate in the thinness of the black liner. Bottom liner is a bit harsh, though. Soften it by lining it with eye shadow instead.

 

In Summary:

Clean and fresh faced is in for this spring.  This is a hard look to rock, because too little make-up and a girl can end up looking slovenly, too much and the effect of being effortlessly pretty is gone.  What to do?  Take care of your skin, moisturize, and use your make-up sparingly.  This has been what I have been doing casually for a while now and it seems as if the fashion industry this spring is ironically jumping on this bandwagon of common sense.

This is my take on the spring trends. I try to keep it minimal with lighter eye shadows and soft thin eye definition. A nude lip pulls this all together.
This is my take on the spring trends. I try to keep it minimal with lighter eye shadows and soft thin eye definition. A nude lip pulls this all together.

Are circle lenses worth all the hype?

~ Emmie Reve ~ 3 Comments

So this trend has been happening for a long while now.  Circle lenses are contact lenses worn with or without a prescription.  They usually change the eye colour and iris size, and are mostly used for cosmetic reasons and cosplay. It’s another asian make-up trend that latched on here in North America, and the goal is to make your eyes appear more dolly-like, more cute and more interesting.  Wearers and makers of circle lenses claim many things…that they enhance the eyes, play up colour and intensity, and make the eyes look bigger and brighter, more gorgeous. But do they really do all those things?  I kind of doubt how enlarging the iris (the coloured ring around the pupil) can make eyes appear larger.  More like a doll’s eyes, yes, but nothing can really make the actual eye appear “bigger”, in my humble opinion.  I think the enlarging the eyes thing is just marketing talk.

An example of how cute the culture of circle lens packaging is!
An example of how cute the culture of circle lens packaging is!

I feel the only thing that these over-seas circle lenses can do is change eye colour.  The main obstacle when choosing a coloured lens is how to balance a noticeable change while wearing them and not having it look unnatural or fake on the eyes.  I can’t wear circle lenses that are big in diameter (determines the iris size), even though they are all the rage.  That is because my eyes are small and my eye surface area to lens ratio is too great for wearing large diameter lenses. They actually look too fake on me. This has been a major bummer for me because I have to use 14mm diameter and that is very minimal iris enlargement. I’ve just been basically changing colours of my eyes.  I’ve done blue, grey and purple lenses.  Recently, I decided to try red lenses!  I got them on sale from Pinky Paradise.  1 pair doesn’t cost that much ($20-25) and shipping is reasonable.  Just don’t get addicted to these lenses and feel the need to have every colour of the rainbow.  That will rack up quite a bill quickly.

This is my natural eye colour, with no lenses.
This is my natural eye colour, with no lenses.
With redish coloured lenses. Are my eyes more striking? Or are circle lenses useless?
With Venus brand red lenses. Are my eyes more striking? Or are circle lenses useless?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So what do you think?  Is the payoff for wearing circle lenses there?  or is it just better to be au naturale when it comes to the eyes?  We also need to think about how wearing contacts requires proper cleaning, care and storage, because maintaining eye health is a serious thing.  I got some unknown eye condition two years ago while using various circle lenses, and it took me months to heal.  I practiced good handling methods so til this day, I wonder if it was from frequent use of these lenses.  So in the end is it really worth all the hassle just for a subtle change in eye colour? I am still on the fence whether sporting circle lenses are as great as the trend makes them out to be or something I can go without…