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.

What can I use to give my skin a velvety finish without excess coverage?
A very big trend in beauty for several seasons has been different finishes for skin, be it radiant and luminous, matte, velvety (like you’re after) or some gorgeous middle ground between two extremes. Matte or velvety skin does entail some element of high coverage, usually courtesy of a foundation. If you’re not in the market for full coverage foundation, then opt for a velvet-finish setting powder, such as Guerlain Les Voilettes ($66, at Guerlain boutiques). This compact contains a lightweight powder that offers extremely minimal coverage—though it will extend the wear of any base makeup, should you decide to wear any. And thanks to its velvet finish, it will also help keep oiliness under wraps so that you can continue to look naturally flawless.

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 fair skin and light eyes, which I would love to accentuate with makeup but I find that a lot of eyeliner shades look harsh. What colour would you recommend I use?
The last thing you want is a dash of much-too-dark liner that overwhelms the face. Softer variations of brown, charcoal and blue (think: taupe, slate blue or light-grey shades) can be very appealing options for anyone with fair features. Clarins Crayon Khôl in “Taupe” ($26, thebay.com) is bound to become a favourite due to its soft texture and built-in blending brush—meaning you can diffuse the colour as much or as little as you like, making it flexible for day and night use. Also consider adding a bit of iridescence or shimmer: makeup with light-reflective properties is excellent at brightening up appearances.

Given the bone-chilling temperatures of late, a reminder of what’s to come in spring is always welcome. At last night’s Greta Constantine Spring 2014 presentation the beauty look had warmer weather in mind—but with a slight après-ski twist. Models had glistening skin and wet hair, designed to look like they had just stepped out of a steamy hot tub.

The man behind the hair was, believe it or not, one half of the Greta design duo: Stephen Wong. After completely drenching models’ hair with water he applied a handful of Redken Guts 10 Volume Spray Foam ($17, at salons) to the roots and raked it through to ends. This step was repeated twice to give hair a very product-heavy, flattened appearance. To further emphasis the slick, wet look, Wong applied a quarter-size of Redken Diamond Oil Shatterproof Shine Intense hair oil ($40, at salons) directly to the roots. He then brushed hair back and pinned the sides flat to the head. A heavy coat of Redken 23 Forceful Super Strength Finishing Spray ($17, at salons) kept everything in place. Before the show began, Wong removed the clips from the sides of the hair and gave it another spritz to complete the fresh-out-of-water look.

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 want to overhaul my beauty bag with a new set of makeup brushes. What should I look for in terms of brushes that will help create a natural look and finish?
Cosmetics are so effective in enhancing your features and brushes are an excellent way of using and manipulating different products to further boost what you already have. Go beyond traditional brushes and try something new with M.A.C’s Masterclass Brush Collection (from $30, maccosmetics.com). These brushes—which, admittedly, look like a cross between a hairbrush and a toothbrush—may be intimidating at first, but are a game changer once you get them in your hands! The super-soft synthetic bristles are tightly packed to achieve a very smooth finish when applying cream products. They’re also fantastic for packing on powder pigment (with a heavier hand and buffing motion) or diffusing colour for the softest, most natural finish (by using a gentle, sweeping motion). And thanks to the ergonomic handles, these brushes are extremely user-friendly for anyone, from makeup novice to makeup maven.

See our haunted beauty picks »

Wraiths and spectres of all kinds haunted the fall runways. At Altuzarra, eyes were rimmed with “spooky” grey shadow and an ominous reddish blur; models wore a “ghostly” pallor and eerily shining eyes at Mary Katrantzou; Gareth Pugh’s soot-washed damsels looked as if they’d just entered the netherworld through a burning house; and nails were scrawled with “redrum” at The Blonds, a nod to The Shining.

See the entire M.A.C holiday collection for 2013 »

Makeup lovers rejoice! It’s that time of year again and M.A.C Cosmetics is offering not one, but three new limited-edition holiday collections.
 
The first M.A.C holiday collection for 2013, Divine Night, includes lip, eye and nail colours in rich, iridescent pigments that range from velvety gold to plum and burgundy. The five-shade quad compact sports a limited-edition U-shaped design separating one bold shade from the other. Available now, this collection is about to become the newest addition to your evening out.
 
The Stroke of Midnight collection, available October 24, features colour-coordinated palettes for lips and eyes, ranging from pale-nude to deep-violet. The highlight of this M.A.C holiday collection are the face palettes, which contain shadows, liner, lipsticks and face powder for a full dusk to dawn makeup look. If it’s tools you’re into, look for the brush kits in Mineralize (for skin perfecting), Essentials (covering the basics), and Smoky Eye (for advanced smoky eye application).

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.

Every time I try to apply mascara on my lower lashes, I make a mess of my undereye area with accidental smudges from the wand. Should I be using a different technique?
More like a different wand, actually! While your favourite mascara may be an absolute miracle worker for top lashes, its large wand can make it an absolute nightmares for bottom lashes. Maybelline Volum’Express Falsies Big Eyes Mascara ($11, well.ca) is likely to be your go-to mascara if coating your lower lashes is an absolute must, as it’s a double-ended mascara with two wands: one wand is slightly larger for optimal volume for the top lashes and the other is a mega-skinny wand for precise mascara application for the lower lashes. This allows you to get right to the lash roots without hitting the skin, meaning you can maximize each and every little lash for ultimate impact.

See our product picks for getting Taylor Swift’s red lip »

Red has been the colour of the year for Taylor Swift. Her latest album, Red, has been wildly successful, her global tour of the same name has sold out at every stop and the single, “Red” was a catchy summer hit. But then there’s the other red in Swift’s life: her signature red lip. The shade practically defines her pop star identity and not since Tragic Kingdom-era Gwen Stefani has a lip colour inspired a generation of beauty junkies.

Whether she’s singing her heartbreak anthems, posing on the red carpet or flipping her hair back and fourth, her lipstick never seems to budge. What’s her secret? To get Taylor Swift’s flawless red lip look, we spoke with M.A.C Cosmetics senior artist Melissa Gibson. She gave us the inside scoop on how to get the perfect, long-lasting red lip. From preventing your lips from drying out to choosing the right colour, here’s how to get Taylor Swift’s look.

It terms of “collaborations we’ve been dreaming of” M.A.C Cosmetics’ just-announced partnership with Proenza Schouler certainly sits at the top of the list. While little information is available—and the launch date is a whole season away—the cool-girl campaign imagery is enough to get our imaginations running.

But let’s talk details before we start speculating. Proenza Schouler has had a longstanding backstage beauty partnership with the brand, with makeup artist Diane Kendal keying many of their all-natural looks. “Beauty has always played a huge role in what we do on the runway and M.A.C has been one of our biggest supporters,” said Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez via press release. “We wanted to create something that the Proenza Schouler woman could relate to off the runway, and the M.A.C brand is so deeply rooted in fashion that we knew they would understand our vision.”

If the recent runways are any indication, the fixation with rich, outré lip colours isn’t fading anytime soon. From metallic purple (Fendi) to fluoro-pink (Christian Dior) to burning red (Marni), makeup artists have ignited a newfound appreciation for highly individualized hues. Yet for certain style and beauty influencers, a bold swipe of colour across the lips is a defining feature that separates them from the pack. More than a spritz of perfume or a faithful handbag, lipstick conveys the nuances of their personality, making them instantly recognizable. Here, we asked our favourite lipstick devotees to bare all when it comes to their shades and brands of choice, how they discovered their prized hues and their expert application tricks.

HANNAH BRONFMAN | MIA MORETTI | POPPY KING | LINDA RODIN | KATE YOUNG | JEN BRILL

See the Spring 2014 beauty photos from Jason Wu, Prabal Gurung and Alexander Wang »

Backstage at Jason Wu on Friday, I spotted it from across the room: bright, metallic sparkle all over the models’ eyelids. Diane Kendal for Lancôme created a dramatic but refined eye look for Wu inspired by Marlene Dietrich. “We wanted the eye to reflect light,” said Kendal. “To give it that feeling of summer.” The base was a caramel-y brown shade (Lancôme Color Design Eye Brightening All-in-One 5 Pan Shadow & Liner Palette in “Bronze Amour”); then she used a damp brush, dipped it in fine glitter, and applied it to the centre of the eye. The effect was completely luminous. And the rest of the face was bare…a trend that would continue backstage at the weekend’s other Spring 2014 shows as well.

New bristle technology and ergonomically designed brushes are changing the way we put on makeup. Time to toss those sponge-tip applicators.

There’s a plastic skull at the offices of British makeup brand Illamasqua. It’s neither paperweight nor homage to Alexander McQueen: It belongs to David Horne, the director of product development, who studies the model cranium when he’s designing makeup brushes to help him determine what shapes fit best with the bone structure of the face. “That’s where I start,” he says. “I think, ‘Where is this brush going to go?’” Most recently, Horne used the anatomy class teaching aid while developing the Blush Up Brush ($50, thebay.com), focusing on the spot “where the mandible connects with the zygomatic.” The result: densely packed bristles arranged in an oval shape that deposit and blend pigment better than the traditional lollipop silhouette, he says, because they fit in the natural groove below the cheekbone. “If you change the tools, you change the application by default.”