FASHION Magazine

Women in the beauty industry tell us about the products that send them back in time the most. Amanda Bell Pixi Beauty global colour ambassador “As a child in the ’70s, I used to watch old black-and-white films and flip through Vogue with my incredibly beautiful neighbour, a woman who bought clothes in Paris and […]

The post 13 Beauty Pros on the Products That Make Them the Most Nostalgic appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

With overseas brands forging their way onto our faces, and luxury beauty making a case for everything elegant, our wallets are usually left depleted and depressed. And while splurging on the occasional high-priced serum is warranted, we can’t help but wonder what would be of our wallets if we saved those funds for, oh we […]

The post In defence of choosing drugstore beauty brands over high-end names (sometimes) appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

It seems like the days of a three-step skincare routine and/or a vanity made up of just a handful of products are behind us, which can mean one thing: larger numbers on our credit card bills. With different products to cleanse, treat and moisturize (and tone and hydrate and…see what we mean?), and a long list […]

The post When to Save and When to Splurge on Beauty Products (According to Industry Insiders) appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

Usually when you picture a ‘downtown girl’ you imagine mussed hair, probably toped with a black toque and slept-in eyeliner that somehow only looks better as the day goes on. Kaelen Haworth’s eponymous line—known for its effortless-yet-edgy aesthetic—usually stays away from such a look, keeping her models fresh faced. But for Fall 2014, the Kaelen collection had a distinctly more feminine feel, which called for a beauty change up.

For hair, this meant a subtle updo that had DIY appeal. It should “look like she dragged [the hair] back herself,” said Pantene consulting stylist Justin German of the half-updo style. After prepping hair with Pantene Pro-V Volume Root Lifting Spray Gel and a soon-to-be-released dry shampoo from Pantene, German teased the top section slightly before pulling hair back into a ponytail, securing it in place with a couple of exposed bobby pins. Tightness was not the name of the game, as per the designer’s desire for ease and edge.

If Bellavance designers Nolan Bellavance and Ava Hama had told us that of-the-moment pop star Lorde was the beauty inspiration for their Fall 2014 show, we’d make no objections. At last night’s presentation at The ShOws, dark lipstick à la the New Zealand singer’s signature look was the biggest beauty statement. “She’s kind of this girl that’s breaking out from the mould—so instead of that classically beautiful like bare face, she’s gonna go strong, deep with a colour that you’re not naturally drawn to,” said Cover Girl makeup pro Veronica Chu of the deep-plum lipstick with a distinct brown undertone.

See photos from inside the CAFA Awards »

Toronto had its first-ever dose of fashion Oscars this past weekend, as the best in Canadian talent gathered for the inaugural Canadian Arts and Fashion Awards at the Fairmont Royal York. Aiming to shine a light on often politely under-appreciated homegrown talent, awards were given out to the best in design, styling, photography, modelling and to one person who stands in a category all by herself: Jeanne Beker. The television host/journo of 30+ years was awarded the CAFAs first Vanguard Award for well, everything.

Looking around the glittering ballroom, there was a real sense of “everyone who’s anyone is here,” which is quite the feat on a blustery night in the middle of winter. Topping that A-list was be model Coco Rocha, who stunned as no one else (in the room) could in a one-shouldered white gown by Dsquared while accepting the award for Model of the Year. Also in town, designing wonder boys Dean and Dan Caten, who scored the Best International Designer award. Taking a page out of the CFDA’s book, the CAFAs partnered with Swarovski to fund the Emerging Talent Award, which gave $10,000 and a mentorship by Joe Fresh founder Joe Mimran to Sarah Stevenson, the floral-happy designer who also won TFI New Labels last spring. With so much pegged on her impending success, it seems sure that her name will rise to the rank of fellow winner Jeremy Laing, who picked up the much-deserved award for Womenswear Designer of the Year.

See the party pictures »

On Wednesday night, Ossington Avenue boutique Jonathan + Olivia kicked of Toronto Fashion Week in high style with a party celebrating homegrown designers Jeremy Laing, Calla and Horses Atelier. Swapping digs for the night, the must-have den brought it’s cool kid friends to the revamped Storys Building, which now boasts a swanky bar set up. Fresh off The Shows, guests including stylists Cary Tauben, Corey Ng and crop cut queen Chanel Croker tripled the double C effect, while Bad Day Magazine editor Eva Michon and Jeremy Laing communications director Frank Griggs lent their tunes to the night in the DJ booth. Many guests wore black, because obviously.

Who has better style than those who help you look your best from day to day? In theory, no one should. Hairstylists have long since had their own thing going on and we sought out to prove it by quizzing five of Toronto’s most stylish on their tricks of the trade, favourite hair styles and keeping it together from day to day.

Sunday was certainly a big night for Carly Rae Jepsen—the Canadian pop singer won three of the four MMVA awards she was nominated for, performed on stage twice (opening the show with “Call Me Maybe” and later singing “Wild One” with Flo Rida) and did we mention she hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart this week? Needless to say, there’s no one who better deserved her multiple wardrobe and makeup changes throughout the show. To get to the bottom of the singer’s style, we spoke to Veronica Chu, who was Jepsen’s hairstylist and makeup artist at the award show.

Want to try Carly’s MMVA hair and makeup at home? Read on! »

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.