Backstage Beauty: Monique Lhuillier Spring/Summer 2012

Makeup

Val Garland, for MAC Cosmetics,created “fast, urban graphic liner” to fit with Monique Lhuillier’s athletic and graphic collection.  The skin’s dewey look was achieved by using MAC’s Face & Body Foundation (applied with a 187 Brush).  The face was slightly contoured under the cheekbone with Sand Brown and Malaysia Contour Creme.  Lips were kept natural with Lip Conditioner and the brows were groomed with Brow Gel.  The “double color liner” was created with Pro Black Creme Liner applied in a “very straight and aerodynamic way” followed by a thin line of Chromacake in Marine Ultra that was taken back into the crease in a straight line for a “sporty Nike let’s do it kind of a thing” vibe.  To recreate the look at home, Garland suggested using a black and a blue eye pencil.  Start off with the black, then have the black bleed into the blue liner.  Use a q-tip to clean up the lines.

Nails

Wanda Ruiz, for CND, created an “athletic and elegant” look for the nails using different colors on the hands and feet:

For Monique Lhuillier, Wanda Ruiz designed “Soy Milk” manicures on active, oval shaped nails using semi-sheer CND Colour in Cream Washed topped with CND Super Shiney Top Coat for a glossy finish. Pedicures were reminiscent of a cloudy night sky using custom blended blue (which can be duped at home using limited edition CND Violet Shimmer Effect layered on top of CND Colour in Midnight Sapphire). Sporty eveningwear pieces (ie: Anna Kournikova from gym to gala) in pops of cobalt, black and yellow were complemented by slicked back ponytails, and matching dreamy blue eyeliner and toes.

It was very cool to see how much the Violet Shimmer Effect transforms a color by adding a very pretty purple glow to the polish.

Hair

Odile Gilbert for Kérastase created a pony at the crown to show off the models’ shoulders in Lhuillier’s coktail dresses.  Hair was prepped with Kérastase’s Fiber Architect, which seals split ends and is coming out this fall, to both treat and style before blow drying and straightening with a flat iron.  The pony was secured tightly with a hook elastic then teased to create volume.  Double Force Hairspray was used to finish off the look.

View more of my behind the scenes pictures after the jump:

Musing of the Day: Aaliyah

Can’t believe it has been 10 years since Aaliyah‘s tragic death.  Today I was thinking about when I was in elementary school and started getting into MTV and music videos.  I remember the first Aaliyah video I ever saw.  It was “One in a Million” and from then on I was hooked.  Besides Aaliyah’s catchy music I was obsessed with her style.  I switched from parting my bangs down the middle to side-swept bangs.  And for someone who cannot get enough of skinny jeans these days it is funny to think that I begged my mom for a pair of baggy jeans.  I was terrified of asking my parents for anything when I was a kid so it was a pretty big deal.  She took me to a store called Cookies, which is in the Flatbush area of Brooklyn, and I went to the boys section to get the jeans I needed to emulate her look.  I was so excited to wear them to school!  Today I keep away from the jeans.  However, I am still rockin’ the side-swept bangs and developed an interest in her makeup (of course).  My favorite makeup is the purple smoky eye paired with red lips in her “We Need a Resolution” video.  Who says you can only play up one of your features at a time?  She definitely pulled it off.

Even though Aaliyah is no longer with us she is still living on through her music.  Many years later, I still stop and listen to it whenever her songs pop up on my iPod.

Did Aaliyah influence your style?  Share your story in a comment below.

-DRB

Wrap Up: Week 1 of 30-Day Challenge

I am only one week deep into my 30-day YouTube challenge, where I will attempt to post one video per day starting July 1st, and I am proud of myself for posting 6 videos in the first 10 days of the month.  I am not sure how the rest of the month will fare since I am going on vacation for a week starting on July 25^th to visit my family that lives near Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where there are no words for how many years it takes to load a single web page.  My sister assures me that it is still possible to have decent internet access, since she does not intend to spend a day without connectivity, through some shady arrangement that involves bringing in a wire through our bedroom window.

Let’s save the worrying for later and let’s recap what I have posted so far:

Makeup Haul: MAC Bloggers’ Obsessions Collection

My purchases from the collection created by beauty blogging heavy hitters.

Shoe Haul: Waren by Steven

I have worn these twice and the verdict is that these were great for wearing to a BBQ but not so great for commuting.

Beauty Obsessions: Top 10 MAC Lipsticks

My most used lipsticks from their permanent range of colors.  Bonus: my favorite limited edition color is Brave New Bronze from the Style Warrior collection.  It is a rosy nude that does not wash me out when I am at my pasty best and also works when I am tan.

Nail Tutorial: Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips

The nail polish strips make DIY manicures more convenient since you need zero dry time.

Hair Tutorial: Dry Shampoo

I emptied half of the can of dry shampoo on my scalp to make sure I got my money’s worth, just in case the spray nozzle stopped working before the next use.

Seventeen Ultimate Guide to Style Inspired Hair Tutorial

Seventeen sent me their new Ultimate Guide to Style book for review and I was inspired to do my ode to Gwen Stefani hair style that I used to rock in high school.  I can’t do a Gwen look without the obligatory red lip so I wore on Stila’s Long Wear Liquid Lip Color in Fiery, which has been a hit in the video’s comments.

Coming up this week:

I have a makeup tutorial on deck featuring a Mineralize Eye Shadow from MAC’s Semi Precious collection and would also like to share the handful of items purchased from the launch.

-DRB

Musing of the Day: Ombré Hair Color

Rachel Bilson

If you want to take highlights to the next level, ombré hair will take you there.  The trendy style involves coloring your hair so that it is darkest at your roots and fades out into a lighter color as you work your way towards the ends (having multiple tones throughout = extra credit).  The transition should be seamless (if all goes as planned) so it looks more intentional as opposed to looking like you missed a couple of trips to the salon to get your roots touched up.  In the end you should end up with a bohemian chic mane perfect for ushering in the warm months ahead.  It has been popping up on some of the most stylish celebs in the scene and needless to say, I need it in my life.

Tutorial: Add Colored Hair Extensions!

Haircut Dilemma

Katy Perry (and Perez Hilton)

I am thinking about chopping it off…my hair that is ha ha ha. I want to get what is referred to as a “collar bob,” similar to the cut Katy Perry (above) and Heidi Klum (below) are sporting. However I am having a difficult time deciding.

On one hand it will give me a more mature look. I’m going for that cutthroat executive look. My baby face does not say that at all lol. However, if I go short that means having to spend extra time on my hair each morning.

On the other hand my hair does not grow fast. If I hate it, I am stuck with the shorter hair. I don’t think I’ll hate it but I’m just concerned I’ll like my longer hair more. Short hair means no pony tails. I could still have one but it will look like the end of a broom, like a tiny bush sticking out of the scrunchie. Not cute. But no pony tails are good because wearing them constantly caused a lot of breakage.

Obviously this is ridiculous and not a real problem. I just don’t know what I want. I am so risk averse it is ridiculous. It is astounding that I was a finance major. You guys can relate right? Sometimes making drastic changes can be difficult. But I feel like new life chapter=new hair.

Heidi Klum

So what do you think? Should I stay or should I chop?

Glossy Kissez,

DRBrooklyn730

Katy Pic Source

Heidi Pic Source

Shutting it Down: Paulina Rubio @ Los Premios MTV 2009

Paulina Rubio

Paulina Rubio was shutting it down, like Rachel Zoe would say, on the Red Carpet of Los Premios MTV 2009. This look is perfection from the dress, accessories (check out her shoes in the picture below – sick!), to the hair and makeup. Congrats to Paulina for winning the award for Best Solo Artist.

Those are not your grandmother’s ankle boots. How cool are those heels?

Glossy Kissez,

DRBrooklyn730

Image Source

Shutting It Down: Rihanna at Paris Fashion Week

Rihanna @ Gareth Pugh

Rihanna shut it down during Paris Fashion week. She wore a slew of black outfits that were far from boring, occasionally skipping on a bra just to make sure ha ha ha. At Hussein Chalayan she changed it up with some grey and ended her week with some color at the Chanel show. Mariel Haenn, her stylist, is the mastermind behind her looks. Mylah Morales and Ursula Stephens hold it down on the makeup and hair front.

Check out her many looks during the week below:

I Colored My Hair

My failed attempt at showing what my hair looks like. Towards the end it looks more like what it looks like in person, but it looks even lighter than that.

Glossy Kissez,

DRBrooklyn730

Note: I am not changing my haircare regimen. I was using a deep conditioner (my UANS Intensive Reconstructor) once a week and will continue that routine. My hair was color treated before and is color treated now.

Trend: Partially Shaved Head

Singer Cassie

Recently Bad Boy records artist Cassie caused a stir on the internet when she released pictures of her half shaved head via Twitter. While people shaving half of their hair off is nothing new, I became concerned that this may become a trend in local neighborhoods when a few days later La La Vazquez (former MTV VJ/NBA star Carmelo Anthony’s wife) joined the club.

Former MTV VJ La La Vasquez

Vote in my poll and check out pictures of ladies that have been rockin’ the partial shave before Cassie and La La: