FASHION Magazine

I had only one directive for my hairstylist as I slipped into her chair and sized up my piece-y, shoulder-length mane. “Cut it really blunt,” I told her. She paused, surprised, with her scissors in mid-air above my head. “Like a blunt bob?” she asked. I took it she hadn’t heard that request in a […]

The post Why Blunt Cuts Are Making a Comeback this Spring appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

Got a woman in your life who’s particularly difficult to shop for? Don’t fret—we’ve got you covered from literally every angle. From the yogi (a cute mat!) to the skincare fanatic (face masks, duh), we’ve hand-selected 28 of the best gifts of the season. If the lady you’re shopping for has hopped on the rose […]

The post 28 Super Stylish Holiday Gifts for Women appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

View today’s contest It’s hot, it’s sunny, and your summer’s about to get even sweeter. That’s right, we’re giving you the chance to win twelve fabulous summer prizes with our 12 Days of Summer Giveaways contest. You’re totally welcome. Here’s how it works: we have twelve unreal prizes and starting Monday, June 20th, we will […]

The post 12 Days of Summer Giveaways: Check out what you can win in our annual contest appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

On Friday, FASHION hosted its second Fashion Week Awards, crowning the best and brightest stars of World MasterCard Fashion Week in Toronto. After a successful first run last season, the event tripled in size, going from an intimate cocktail party to a downright throw down. Over 1,000 partygoers hit the financial district’s storied Design Exchange […]

The post FASHION Magazine Toronto Fashion Week Fall 2015 Awards: 45 pictures from inside the event appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

You know how in old movies, women would decline dates by saying that they’re staying in to wash their hair? Call it old fashioned, but there’s no denying that the whole shampoo-condition-blow-dry-style routine takes up a hung chunk of time. Well, get some of that time back with Redken’s Pillow Proof Blow Dry Express Primer […]

The post Afternoon delight: Cut down on your blow dry time with this magic primer potion appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

See the Joe Fresh Fall 2014 backstage beauty gallery »

We may be itching for spring weather to arrive, but there’s nothing like a superb Fall 2014 show to make us—dare we say it?—want to embrace the cold just a little bit longer. At Joe Fresh, the beauty was just as pitch-perfect as the winter-ready collection. Maybelline New York lead makeup artist Grace Lee said that Joe Mimran wanted “the girls to look like they’ve been out wandering in the nasty polar vortex,” and, well, we’ll happily spend some more time outside if we can look as perfectly flushed as these models.

See the Pink Tartan Fall 2014 backstage beauty gallery »

Weathering an ice storm doesn’t always look as pretty as it did on the Pink Tartan runway last night. Makeup artist Grace Lee gave the models a slight windburn flush on the cheeks using Maybelline Master Glaze in “Pink Fever,” icy highlights with snow-white Color Tattoo in “Too Cool” mixed with Baby Lips, and a glow of bronzer all over the face for a touch of winter sun. Skin was evened out with Baby Skin primer and given a matte finish with Fit Me foundation. Designer Kim Newport-Mimran referenced Veruschka bundled up against the snow in furs, from a classic Richard Avedon Vogue shoot, so the eyes were given a slight ’60s look with fake upper lashes and a sweep of warm brown gel liner blended out in the crease of the eye. Brows were filled in with pencil and brushed upwards, so they looked full and perfectly groomed. Lee further “contoured” the eyes using kohl pencils—in cream along the waterline to make eyes appear wider, and in warm brown underneath the lashline. Lashings of Pumped Up mascara completed the look.

See the Beaufille Fall 2014 backstage beauty photos »

If you describe the beauty look of a ’90s chola girl—that is, dark-lined lips and pencil-thin brows—it doesn’t exactly match up with what’s on-trend for 2014. Right now, the bushier the brow the better, and lip statements are more ombré than tattooed on. But with girl gangs as the official inspiration for Beaufille’s Fall 2014 look, Maybelline New York lead makeup artist, Grace Lee, couldn’t help but reference chola style in the makeup. “Really, when I think of girl gangs I think of cholas. I’m gonna say it: We are going chola chic.”

Lee started the look by blocking out models’ brows with Maybelline New York Instant Age Rewind Dark Spot Concealer + Treatment—“ we don’t want them to look alien-like!”—and then focused on contouring around the eyes. Chola chic is, as it turns out, a very monochromatic look. Maybelline New York SuperStay 14HR Lipstick in “Beige for Good” was applied with a soft bristle brush to the crease and under the eye, the formula providing a dewy finish worthy of any cream eyeshadow. Cheeks were also dabbed with the lipstick, and then contoured with a second colour, Maybelline New York FaceStudio Master Glaze Blush Stick in “Warm Nude.”

The eyes, hair and nails have been making most of the beauty statements so far on the Fall 2014 runways at New York Fashion Week. Here are our favourite looks and the top beauty trends so far:

Russet lipstick as eyeshadow at Helmut Lang
Helmut Lang’s textured, masculine collection was complemented with a simple, pared down face punctuated by a soft wash of lustrous burgundy on the eye. “It’s very minimal and clean but with a hint of punk,” said lead artist Hannah Murray, who painted Nars lipstick in “Deborah Audacious” (coming this fall) onto the eye and pressed “Heat” bronzing powder over it to set. She skipped eyeliner, mascara and brow colour, and kept the under-eye area clean to avoid a “pink-eye” effect.

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.

See all the backstage beauty photos from Sid Neigum Spring 2014 »

The beauty look for Sid Neigum Spring 2014 was all about simplicity. “We’re playing on creating a makeup [look] with just foundation,” explained Grace Lee, lead makeup artist for Maybelline New York. Lee matched each model’s skin tone using Maybelline Fit Me Shine-Free Foundation ($11, well.ca), which she accented by contouring beneath the cheekbones using the same product, but in the darkest shade, “Coconut.” Eyebrows were brushed upwards with Maybelline Great Lash Clear Mascara ($8, well.ca) and eyelids were left bare. The only part of the face that Lee wanted to look visibly made up were the lips, which Lee coated with Maybelline Color Elixer in “Nude Illusion” ($9, available November 2013 at drugstores). To prevent lips from appearing too glossy, Lee dabbed excess product from lips using her fingers, leaving only a subtle trace behind.

As for the hair at Sid Neigum, gone was the futuristic, structural look of last season. For Spring 2014, international Redken artist Jorge Joao created “day two, lived-in hair,” with a natural, slightly disheveled curl.

See all the backstage beauty photos from Beaufille Spring 2014 »

For the Beaufille Spring 2014 show, Toronto designers Chloé and Parris Gordon wanted the models to look like “rich grunge girls” with a slight throwback to the ’90s. “I love these girls because they really stick to their branding and their image,” said Grace Lee, lead makeup artist for Maybelline New York. The chocolate shaded smoky eyes were the focus of the look: Lee lined models’ eyes on the top and bottom using Maybelline Eye Studio Master Smoky Longwearing Shadow-Pencil in “Scorching Brown” ($9, well.ca) and then smudged the colour to create a rough, undone look. For a glossy sheen on eyelids and the top of cheekbones, Lee lightly applied Maybelline Baby Lips ($4, well.ca). Meanwhile, models’ actual lips were covered with the shiny but non-sticky Maybelline Color Elixer gloss in “Caramel Infused” ($9, at drugstores November 2013)—which Lee proclaimed “the product of the season.”