Liner Notes

Oh my my! I’ve had such a busy week! I can’t believe I missed the end of London Fashion Week and Milan Fashion Week (although it was only four days long this time around so that’s not too bad). On the plus side, I will have some beautiful new photos for my portfolio soon so that’s very exciting.

The last three days at LFW were all about good bases and focal points. Having studied art history obsessively for three years at uni I’m all about focal points. So when my fringe was short is was all about my brows, and now that my fringe is hovering over my eyes it’s all about my lips. I kind of get excited when looks are quite focused and a feature of the face is emphasised. I feel that it allows for more creativity in the choice of colours and designs. Although, if you ask me to be creative when I have ten minutes to get ready, good luck!

The following looks all have these focal points, which are actually really easy to do in ten minutes! As long as you’ve got the base right, you’re set! You really need to invest in a good foundation and to apply it thoroughly with either fingertips or a foundation brush. The most popular one I’ve seen on shoots and recommend to people is the Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation. It gives a good amount of coverage, has a gorgeous finish, and is perfect for the ever-popular dewy-look, although can easily be matted-down with a touch of powder. It’s not oily or drying, and is really gorgeous over a moisturised face.

Erdem had one of the simplest and prettiest looks at London Fashion Week. A flawless base, mascara and a touch of lipgloss perfectly matched the multi-coloured pansy prints, black lace and china-blue silks. Use a light pink lipgloss and check out this post for mascara hints. Don’t forget to curl those lashes!

To another focal point… lips! Here at the House of Holland and below at Paul Smith, models were given all different shades of lipstick and gloss. The purple above would be amazing with a cute dress on a balmy night. Skip lipstick and head straight to ‘Dirty Shame’ lipgloss by Nars. It’s not sticky, has enough pigment to create the above colour and has a wet-shine so would look super chic at a cocktail party by the beach or pool. The colour below would also be amazing by the pool or on the beach, although this time during the day whilst wearing a bright bikini or one-piece. I haven’t seen a baby blue although I know Shu Uemura make a medium blue in their Rouge Unlimited line which would be lots of fun to play with.

And finally, one of my favourite labels, Luella (below). Bases were perfect and eyes were played up with cream eyeshadows. I wouldn’t bother hunting around the major labels for such theatrical colours, but am going to head straight to Ben Nye. The Ben Nye ‘Cream Colors’ are amazing and are only ten to fifteen (Australian) dollars!! The creams are really well made, the pigment is strong and you can easily mix colours to get your desired shade. Once you’ve got your colour apply it with a brush for that perfect, rounded shape, and then set with a translucent powder. These ‘Cream Colors’ can be used on eyes, cheeks and lips so you could even make your own Paul Smith light blue (as above). You can find these products at most makeup schools.

Now, go and have some fun with those focal points!

xxxx

(all pics from www.style.com/fashionshows/ except House of Holland from www.independent.co.uk & Paul Smith from www.coutourture.com)