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)

It looks like lilac is going to be big! Firstly at Cynthia Rowley and then the hair at Proenza Schouler, Nicole Farhi is adding to the trend. The eyes were first lined with black liner, followed by a purple wash taken up to the brows and then lashings of black mascara. The look was finished off with muted pink lipstick, so not to take away from the bold patterns of the clothes.

I can’t talk about London Fashion Week without mentioning Matthew Williamson’s return! Having not shown in London for the past ten years his collection this time around was much more sleek than the boho ways of yonder.

The makeup look was so subtle but absolutely gorgeous! One that I’ll definitely be wearing within the next few days. Simply take the colour away from your lips (by using a nude or beige lipstick) and basically mimic your eyeshape with a light brown eyeshadow applied with any regular brush. A good trick is to bring the point of the eyeshadow a little higher up than corners of your eyes as this livens up the face and makes it less smouldering-sexy. If you want that extra bit of shine on the lid like Abbey has, just apply an eyegloss (or even Paw Paw Ointment) on the lid.

And finally, one of the coolest makeup looks of the day was at Antonio Berardi. It’s a 60s/futuristic/cat-eye all in one! With nothing else but a gorgeously fresh (read: moisturiser, no powder) base the eyes are just so powerful! Once again I’m recommending MAC’s ‘Fluidline’ in Blacktrack (what would I do without this product!?!) with a small angled brush (MAC #236) or a very fine, petite brush (MAC #210) so you can really get creative. Take the time, have a bit of a play around and I promise you that you’ll be blown away by what you’re capable of!

‘Til tomorrow! xx

(Images 1 & 3 from londonfashionweek.co.uk/. Image 2 from nymag.com/fashion/)

My favourite makeup look of the day… WHAT A SURPRISE! Haha, those lashes are just awesome! I’ve just read here that the above label, PPQ, are collaborating with Shu Uemura and the lashes will be in store in February 2010. How exciting! To get the rest of this look, Nars ‘Desire’ is the perfect pink blush and any babydoll pink lipstick will do, lightly pressed onto the lips with a finger.

Here at Ashish it’s time to party! The only makeup look that could live up to such a vibrant, sequined frock is but of course, the red lip. And a very full one at that! So get out your sharpener, create a full lip shape with your trusty red pencil, and then apply a generous amount of MAC’s ‘Lady Danger’, a bright coral-red.

And I just had to include the look from my favourite collection of the day, at Mark Fast. The Canadian-born designer creates these beautiful, and very sexy, knitted dresses that are definitely worth checking out. The look to go with his varied palette was quite simple. A dusting of lilac eyeshadow in the inner Vs of the eyes and a directional brow (done with a sharp brow pencil or a powder and an angle brush). It’s really quick and easy to do, and is just that little bit different. Definitely something I’m going to try when next I go out!

xx

(images from http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/)

Excitingly, Australian label Sass & Bide showed their first collection in London at the 7.15pm slot!

The designs that did take my fancy were by Turkey-born Bora Asku. His outfits were very Romantic and quite mystical.

The messy hair and random plaits along with the earthy makeup suited this theme perfectly. The models’ brows were concealed, as were the lips, and bronzer was used liberally over the cheekbones and temples, and in the contours of the eyes. Quite a dramatic look for everyday, but the best thing to take from this is the white pencil on the ‘wets’ of the eye (the inner of the lower lashline). As you can see here it really opens up the eye and makes the whites whiter! The one I use is the Giorgio Armani ‘Smooth Silk Eye Pencil’ although you can use any to get this look.

Alrighty, see you tomorrow!

xx

(Image from http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/)