FASHION Magazine

Every week our Beauty Fix columnist takes on your questions about makeup, skincare, hair and more. Have a beauty question we haven’t answered? Email us at beautyfix@fashionmagazine.com.

I have some dark spots and minor imperfections that I want to treat and cover up. How can I go about doing this?
Dark spots, hyperpigmentation, acne scars, dark circles, fine lines… everyone has something they’d like to diminish while hiding it! Thankfully, recent innovations have resulted in plenty of multitasking products that help treat and hide pigmentation problems. Take a look at Lancôme Teint Visionnaire Skin Correcting Makeup ($60, sephora.ca), which is a two-step makeup that involves a liquid skin-correcting foundation and a spot-correcting concealer in the lid. The foundation formula contains molecules that penetrate through multiple skin layers to correct wrinkles, pores, UV damage and acne marks. The concealer, which is colour-matched to the foundation, contains vitamin C to lighten dark spots while providing full coverage wherever you desire it. Bonus: you can toss the concealer portion of the bottle in your bag for touch-ups on the go!

See the red carpet looks up close »

Ukrainian Canadian supermodel Daria Werbowy made an appearance in her hometown at last night’s North American premiere of Lancôme’s Rôses By…20 Artists for a Rose at Toronto’s Frist Canadian Place. Featuring twenty well-known photographers from all over the world (ahem, Patrick Demarchelier), the exhibition celebrates Lancôme’s rose emblem as part of the Luminato arts festival. Wearing an all-white Céline pantsuit, Werbowy looked every bit the modern dandy. The Lancôme spokesperson paired her white attire with white pointed-toe heels and simple gold necklaces. Showing off her model features, the supermodel kept her face natural and styled her hair in a surfer-approved high braid.

See the photographs from the exhibits »

Femininity, freshness, passion… These are all words that cosmetics giant Lancôme uses to describe the rose, the ever-famous flower that has served as the company’s emblem throughout its almost 80 years of existence. This June, in celebration of their trademark blossom, Lancôme is hosting not one, but two simultaneous photography exhibits at different locations during Toronto’s Luminato festival.

Firstly, the exhibit Rôses By… 20 Artists for a Rose will be presented as a North American premiere during the Luminato festival at Toronto’s First Canadian Place. From Nick Knight to Patrick Demarchelier, Lancôme has given the green light to twenty famed international photographers to create their own personal interpretations, in colour or black and white, of the timeless rose emblem. Photographer Mark Segal chose an innocent white rose wrapped in a wreath of thorns for his interpretation, while Dusan Reljin portrayed a rose exploding out of a rich pink and orange colour palette. Of the final twenty works some are realistic, some are symbolic but all are not-to-be missed.

Every week our Beauty Fix columnist takes on your questions about makeup, skincare, hair and more. Have a beauty question we haven’t answered? Email us at beautyfix@fashionmagazine.com.

Self-tanner seems like a serious challenge for someone as fair as myself. What can I do to build up some believable colour on my body?
There are so many iterations of self-tanner out there—Sprays! Mousses! Creams!—yet it can definitely be a bit of a challenge to find a self-tanner that will work for fairer skintones. If you’re apprehensive about committing to a faux tan since you’re more translucent than not (blame winter—we all do), try a gradual sunless tanner, such as St. Tropez Tanning Essentials Everyday Gradual Tan for Body in “Light/Medium” ($38, sephora.com). Not only will this lotion moisturize your skin with aloe vera, but it will provide a slight golden tint to your skin that will develop over time with 70 per cent less of the tell-tale self-tanning smell than standard self-tanners—meaning you won’t mind slathering this on daily to build up a glow without any of the sun’s harm!

See the entire Lancôme Show by Alber Elbaz collection! »

Since hearing about the collaboration between Lanvin’s creative director, Alber Elbaz and leading French cosmetics house, Lancôme, in January, we’ve been batting our lashes prettily and patiently.

Launching at the end of June, the Lancôme Show by Alber Elbaz collection is finally coming to beauty counters—and our vanities. A true believer that luxury triggers joy, Alber Elbaz has created a limited collection that not only features Lancôme’s four worldwide best-selling mascaras and colourful Hypnôse eyeshadow palettes, there’s also a set of false eyelashes that come in a box designed by Elbaz himself.

See 3 new Lancôme Gloss in Love shades »

When you’re Emma Watson, a simple trip to the hair salon turns into headlines and blog posts the world over. “There was a time when people only ever wanted to ask about my haircut,” she says. “That was a big deal for a while. But increasingly now I’m getting asked about the work I’m doing, which is really nice because people are genuinely interested.” This is probably because Watson is genuinely interesting. The 22-year-old Oxford University English student who leapt to the world’s attention as Hogwarts’ brightest half-muggle, Hermione, has managed to graduate from the blockbuster Harry Potter series into a string of intriguing independent films, including The Perks of Being a Wallflower and this summer’s Sofia Coppola-directed The Bling Ring.

Although she says she’s not the “sort of person who likes posing,” Watson has also lent her intelligent gaze and elfin features to ad campaigns, first for Burberry and now for Lancôme. “I’ve wanted to work with her for many years, but I didn’t want somebody too young to be [the face of] the brand,” says Youcef Nabi, president of Lancôme International. “I don’t want people to feel that they need to put on makeup very early.” Once Watson matured beyond Potter, the matter was broached, and a connection became apparent between the English actress and the French beauty company.

Only two weeks after dressing Michelle Obama for the Inaugural Ball, Jason Wu has announced that he will be collaborating with Lancôme on a limited-edition cosmetics line. Wu joins Lanvin designer Alber Elbaz (who is also doing a makeup line with Lancôme) in an emerging trend of fashion designers partnering with cosmetic brands. While specific product details have not yet been released, Lancôme has indicated that the colourful cosmetics range will embody a modern elegance that is in line with Wu’s design aesthetic.

Fans of Jason Wu will know that this is not the designer’s first venture into colour cosmetics: He also did a successful nail polish set with CND two years ago. However, this collaboration is expected to include a more extensive line of products. On partnering with Lancôme in particular, Wu told WWD that he admires the quality of Lancôme’s products and noted that the brand has a reputation for celebrating individual beauty. “This is the embodiment of a truly modern, sexy and confident woman, much like the women I design for,” said Wu.

The results are in! You voted and we listened: From perfume and mascara to sunscreen and shampoo, we reveal the beauty products you voted top of the vanity in our 11th Annual Readers’ Choice Beauty Awards. This year more than 65 products make the cut across six categories, including nails, fragrance, makeup and hair. And as always, the Readers’ Choice Beauty Awards rewards products in a range of prices, allowing you to find favourite new products regardless of budget. Ready to see who made the cut? Pick a category below or read on to browse all the winners.

Right on the heels of the announcement that a Marc Jacobs makeup collection is coming, Lancôme revealed today that they have teamed with Lanvin creative director Alber Elbaz.

“Alber Elbaz is, without a doubt, one of the world’s most influential fashion designers. But beyond that, he is also the most talented” said Youcef S. Nabi, Lancôme president, via press release “ We are extremely proud and happy that, with us, he is set to channel his universe into the world of make-up for the very first time.”

Go inside Allison Williams’ bag! »

Girls is back. Girls is back! One of our most intense cultural obsessions returns with its Season 2 premiere on January 13, 2013 at 9pm on HBO Canada, and what better way to celebrate than with a look inside the beautiful bag of one of its beautiful stars, Allison Williams.

Our former cover girl was in Toronto last week to promote the new episodes as well as the release of season one on DVD and Blu-Ray (Its accompanying book of Lena Dunham’s tweets is epic, FYI) and graciously dumped the contents of her Jason Wu Daphne shoulder bag. While her stuff was being photographed, I super-fan quizzed her on the return of Booth Johnathan as well as what the next season looks like for character Marnie Michaels, who seemed to be floundering sans-boyfriend and roommate at the end of season one. “She’s having a rough go. She’s without the same comforts that she had in season one, so she’s very influx, and that is something that I know that I, and a lot of my friends can relate to,” she said. “When it rains, it really does seem to pour especially when you’re in your mid-twenties when you don’t have a lot of foundation already laid down it can just throw everything into upheaval at once—job, everything.”

With a recent marriage and baby behind her, change seems to be what Drew Barrymore is all about these days. Today rumours have surfaced that she’s reportedly working on a makeup line for Wal-Mart.

According to WWD, the actress—who has been a Cover Girl face since 2007—will end her contract with the brand in January in order to strike out on her own in the world of cosmetics. Sources say she has been working with Intercos, an Italian supplier for color cosmetics and makeup. It will be the first time Barrymore has gone into the realm of creating cosmetics and the forthcoming line will be exclusively sold at Wal-Mart.

When you ask most women which beauty product they couldn’t live without on desert island it usually comes down to either a great mascara or a favourite lip balm. The choices makes sense: a full, fluttery set of lashes brightens the eyes and draws attention away from under-eye circles or blemishes, and nothing’s worse than the thought of being trapped with chapped lips and not a single drop of lip balm in sight. Regardless of whether or not you’re facing exile to a desert island, you’ll certainly appreciate the tips in this week’s Beauty Fix.

Read on for the full fix! »