Makeup
Behind-the-Scenes Beauty
By Taylor Redden
We’re extremely grateful to the Bobbi Brown beauty country of Nordstroms in the Towson Town Shopping Center for providing the makeup for our ReDeux fashion story. Using products from their new 2012 Holiday Collection, Bobbi Brown makeup artist Maria M, gave our model, Kara, a party ready look with subtle but smokey eyes accentuated with pearlized eyeshadow that made them pop.
This seasons Holiday Collection features a shimmery line-up of limited edition palates and glosses, all of which we’d love to own (hint to the boyfriends). Shimmery eye shadows in frosted colors and high shine lip glosses are the focus for the brand this year to achieve pretty party looks for the holiday season. The color palate for this collection is appropriately romantic with sparkly plums, dusty mauve, sheer pinks, and creamy pearl colors that bring to mind the ‘The Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy’. We especially love the Powder Pearl Trio, seen above, for the brightening quality it gave to Kara’s eyes. It brightens because each shadow has pearl pigments to add gorgeous long wear intensity and it’s both crease-free and flake-proof.
Eyes: Black Pearl Eye Palate, $47.50 Alternated between applying a silvery mauve shade, Sandy Pearl Metallic Eye Shadow, on the of the lid and the more dramatic deep purple Plum Steel Metallic Shadow to achieve the smokey look.
Lips: Brightening Lip Gloss in Moonlight Pearl, $23.
See the fashion story “Stopping By…ReDeux” for Kara’s complete look.
Must-Have Nail Polishes for Winter
by Sophie Marion
December 7, 2011
1. Greige
“Greige” is a mix of grey and beige, first seen on the models walking in Paris Fashion Week last year. Greige has been seen on several celebrities lately, such as Jennifer Hudson and Lauren Conrad, and is an extremely popular color choice this winter season.
Essie Mink Muffs, Chanel Particuliere, OPI You Don’t Know Jacques!
2. Glittery Metallic
Wearing a glittery metallic polish is a must for holiday parties. Whether you try a silver or gold hue, your nails will always look festive.
Revlon Silver Dollar, China Glaze Passion
3. Winter Blues
Icy blues have been a popular choice this time of year, and will look especially great at a New Year’s celebration. Chanel’s Riva has been one of the most sought after polishes this winter season, so grab a bottle while you can.
Chanel Riva, Zoya Twila
4. Deep Plum
Don’t want to get rid of your favorite autumn nail colors? Plum was a very popular polish choice this fall, and it can easily transition into a winter look as long as you choose a darker hue of this classic color.
MAC Dark Angel, Essie Bahama Mama, Revlon Plum Night, NARS Tokaido
Naked Palette
By Lexie O’Connor
November 9, 2011
Urban Decay has created a worldwide phenomenon when it comes to their new “NAKED” palette. The palette is packed with twelve gorgeous neutral shades ranging from delicate champagnes to dark, gritty gunmetal. The shadows also range in their texture, with shimmer, frost, matte and stain all being included. This palette allows you to experiment with wearable daytime looks, summertime bronze hues, and sultry, smoky eyes. It has one of the best ranges of wearable shades and can be worn on pretty much every skin tone. The shadows come in a chocolaty velvet case, which is emblazoned with the word “NAKED” in gold foil lettering, along with one of Urban Decays bestselling shadow brushes and their famous primer potion. It’s also perfect for traveling. Once you see it for yourself, you’ll realize you can’t live without it.
When the palette was first released, it sold out so quickly that it became almost impossible to find. Now, however, it’s much easier to find at any makeup retailer that sells Urban Decay, including stores like Sephora and Ulta. The palette costs $48 dollars, which may seem costly for makeup, but for the amount of shadows you’re getting, along with the brush and primer potion, you’ll realize that you are actually getting an incredible deal.
Fall Makeup Trends
By Kaila Rooney
October 26, 2011
Another look that is fiercer than the natural look but it is still very
sophisticated: red-hot lipstick. This helps to really make the lips pop. Celebrities like Taylor Swift, Gwen Stefani and Christina Aguilera have perfected this classic look.
Nail Polish Trends Fall/Winter 2011
Priscilla Korompis
October 19, 2011
As Baltimore’s weather starts to slowly shift from summer to fall it’s time for our color palates to change as well; in particular the shades of your fingernails! With student budgets, nail polish can be a quick and cost effective way to shift gears into the fall and winter seasons. Summer has been all about the pretty pastels, corals, yellows, and beautiful sky blues, but fall’s new nail polish colors are more suited for the crisp weather to come. This fall, we are looking at a common theme of rich and deep shades of purple, blue, red, green, grey and brown.
It is time to put away the lilacs and lavenders and replace them with the mysterious shade of plum. Plum is a gorgeous color that is dark, but unlike black, is still feminine and fashionable. To add to the greatness of this color, Honk If You Love OPI from OPI’s Touring America Fall 2011 collection is inspired by our very own Baltimore, Maryland. 
(Left to Right: Zoya – Anja, Sally Hansen – Plum Luck, Essie – Carry On, OPI – Honk If You Love OPI)
We have had a couple of seasons now of vibrant sky blues, but now its time for darker and more intriguing shades of blue. Crème blues are popular this season ranging from blackened-navies to true blues, but shimmers are still going strong. However, the most unique blues are the dark luxurious teals.
(Left to Right: Sonia Kashuk – Taunting Teal, Dior – Tuxedo, Forever 21 – Navy Blue, Butter London – Bluey)
Season after season we see the same classic vivacious reds. This fall we are toning it down and taking the sultrier route with the elegant shade of wine. For most people, wine is associated with a classy four-course meal at a nice restaurant. You can easily embody that chic demeanor with luscious wine red nails.
(Left to Right: Models Own – Red Red Wine, Forever 21 – Currant, Essie – Bordeaux, Nails Inc. – St. Pancras)
My personal favorite this fall has to be all the earth tone greens. The ranges of greens are extensive, from dark conifer tree greens to multidimensional olive greens. What differentiates this season’s greens from the past is that these shades have prominent yellow and brown undertones; it’s like nature on your fingertips!
(Left to Right: Zoya – Yara, Butter London – Wallis, OPI – Uh Oh Roll Down The Window, Deborah Lippmann – Billionaire)
A common staple of previous season’s collection has been a purple and taupe grey shade, now more commonly known as “greige.” This fall we are back on track with lovely dove grey crèmes and gunmetal greys; all fabulous shades of true greys.
(Left to Right: Revlon – Silver Screen, OPI – French Quarter For Your Thoughts, Chanel – Graphite, Essie – Chinchilly)
Last but not least is the brave shade of brown. It isn’t a common nail polish choice, but it is definitely daring. Chocolate browns offer a nice break from the common pinky-nudes and flesh-toned neutrals.
(Left to Right: China Glaze – Midtown Magic, Rescue Beauty Lounge – Au Chocolat, Color Club – Rebel Spirit, Sonia Kashuk – Chocoholic)
What are your favorite nail polish shades for the fall/winter 2011 season? What shades are you planning on trying out?
Pretty Eye Makeup for Day and Night
BY: CHRISTA MARZAN
MARCH 2, 2011
Ladies, let’s face it. Between classes, activities, internships, and a social life, you want things to be relatively anxiety-free. I mean, the easier things are for you, the better, right? (And this is something you appreciate well after you graduate, also.)
We all know that outfits that can transition from day to night make your life more fun and less stressful. The same goes for makeup. There’s nothing more annoying than getting home after an entire day of class (or work), wiping off your makeup, and starting all over again before you head out for a night with the girls.
Luckily, I found some new eye shadow that will eliminate that middle step.Lancome’s new Color Design All-In-One 5 Shadow and Liner Palettes, which launched last week, are here to save the day. I was lucky enough to attend the event where the palette’s debuted and received one as a free gift.
The color I received was Jade Fever and at first, I was a little intimidated by the bright greens. Definitely not appropriate for the office. However, I started messing aroudn with the neutral colors (the all over base and the highlighter) and found this to be the perfect day look. The all over base is sheer and pretty while the highlighter is incredibly sparkly, which I love. Take the all over base and swipe over your eyelid. Then, swipe the highlighter over that to soften the sparkle. Add mascara and there’s your day look!
For a nighttime look, add more sparkle and eye liner (any color), and one more coat of mascara. Talk about convenience and ease!
(Photos courtesy of Lancôme)
2009-2011 by Rachel Sims. All articles and photographs on this blog are protected and any republishing of the posts in their entirety is prohibited without permission.
