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Last night’s Lucian Matis show was an exhibition of super-bright embellishments worn atop sheer champagne bases but, if you ask us, the bona-fide delights were in the digits. Spotted on the runway was yet another certifiably insane—as in amazing—nail art design by Leeanne Colley from Tips Nail Bar, Toronto’s infamous cool zone for manicures. Before the show started, we snuck backstage to preview the custom almond-shaped nails decorated in a vibrant watercolour pattern. “We did a base of Revlon‘s “White on White” nail enamel, then CND‘s “Anchor Blue” and “Electric Orange” and Hard Candy‘s “Yellow and Splendid.” We dabbed a pin-sized amount of each colour onto the nail using a tiny brush, then dropped a smidgen of acetone on top to make it disperse and look transparent. Basically, we made all the colours run into each other,” Colley explained. Well, basically, Colley just inspired us to ornament our nails with similar show-stopping designs.

Though Jason Wu’s upcoming collection for Target will arrive too soon for a launch in Canadian stores (the collection is set for February 5th of next year), we’re obviously considering a cross-border shopping trip. There’s sure to be many thrills to make our trip worthwhile, and here are our imaginary top 5.

Our annual giveaway begins on Monday, September 12th! You’ll find lots of great prizes throughout our October issue, on newsstands September 6th.

Click here for a sneak peak at all the prizes now »

Click here to go to the contest »

I’m getting married in the fall and want my bridesmaids to have the look of a luxe mani, without spending money at the spa. How can we get the look at home via a pre-wedding primping party? While brights might be tempting, we recommend choosing a barely there pink or cream since they’re more forgiving […]

The post Afternoon beauty fix: Get the look of a luxe mani without spending money at the spa appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

Next up, we’re going inside the sizeable Michael Kors tote belonging to features editor, ex-Sydneysider and pleasantly accented Rani Sheen. Inside? A bike light, a curious-looking ball of balm and an eyelash curler. Naturally.

Let’s explore! »

With today’s temps at a record high, it seems like Mother Nature is sending a pretty clear message that summer is finally here! In turn, we’ve scouted over 40 of the season’s best products. From bright glosses to shimmering bronzers, we’ve got you covered!

Check out the best of summer beauty now! »

BRONZERS | HAIR | BODY | MAKEUP | HANDS & FEET | FRAGRANCE

By Lindsay MacAdam

The perfect accoutrement to a flawlessly feminine Spring collection, Jason Wu has translated his love of colour, texture and classicism into a stunning spring nail collection in collaboration with CND, his runway show nail partner of choice. Luckily for us, the custom collection, which incudes four polish shades and one textured finish, is now available for purchase by the nail-obsessed everywhere ($47, cnd.com).

“This hair is chaotic⎯it’s an organized mess,” said Paul Pereira, Schwarzkopf Essential Looks Stylist who enlisted OSiS Dust It mattifying powder and OSiS Freeze hairspray to achieve the big volume and tumbleweed-like textured updos that reminded us of the lopsided beehives at Vera Wang’s Spring 2011 show. The organized part revealed itself when the models turned around. “Lucian wanted the nape of the neck to show,” said Pereira, so he created a tight and tiny French braid that ran up the back of the head to meet the messy portion.

Topknots⎯the unofficial hairstyle of last summer⎯are alive and kickin’. It’s perched high on the head of the Pink Tartan lady for fall 2011 to be exact. “There’s lots of military pieces, so we wanted a hard/soft aspect to the woman,” explained L’Oreal Paris’ Lead Hair Artist Eric del Monaco. After spritzing hair with water, he made a high pony, split it into two sections and twisted one into a loop and wrapped the other one around the base. Creative director Veronica Chu called the style “organized chaos” saying it was “contained and controlled”. Surely the inescapable mist of Elnett that seemed to hang in a cloud over the area ensured that. Lead Makeup Artist Eddie Malter gave models a hard edge with a dramatic dark eye done in black shadow that extended out and was purposely done not to look “clean” and avoided mascara altogether. He used his backstage MVP product, Wear Infinite Eye Shadow in “Morning Light” to add highlights down the nose and on cheekbones and took down brows and lips with a bit of concealer. The final touch was gloss added to the lids right before the girls took to the runway.

If you’re as picky as I am when it comes to chipped manicures—and feel resistant to spending $25 on the regular for a fleeting few days of nail perfection—look no further. The new Shellac line from CND (which stands for Creative Nail Design; its founder, Jan Arnold, is a prolific creator of nail looks for runway shows) promises two weeks of no-chip polish, a big claim that was five years in the making in the research labs.