Chanel Fall 2014 RTW

Hello! It finally feels like autumn has finally come so today I'll be sharing some beauty trends you should try this Autumn/Winter straight from Fashion Week!

Grey:

Valentino Fall 2014 RTW | Giorgio Armani Fall 2014 RTW

Grey was used in so many looks at Fashion Week, whether it was used as liner or eyeshadow all over the eye. Charcoal grey is actually a really nice colour to use because it can define your eyes and make your lashes look fuller and longer, without being as harsh as a black. It would also be a nice colour for a day to night look because it looks nice on most eye colours. 

Valentino used grey liner for definition and products like Revlon's Colorstay Eyeliner in Charcoal can be used to recreate this look. Just line your upper lash line with these products and apply mascara. If you want you can line your waterline with grey, but using a white or nude eyeliner will help open up your eyes and make them seem bigger. Great for a natural look for school or work.

Giorgio Armani used grey eye shadow all over the lid. Using a darker eye shadow, is great for a night look or if you want to subtly darken your eye look. Use something like Maybelline's Colour Tattoo in Audacious Asphalt, MAC's Knight Divine (shimmery silver grey with blue undertones), Scene (blue-grey with a slight sheen but no shimmer or glitter), Print (dark grey with semi matte finish), Silver Ring (mid toned grey with slight shimmer) or Copperplate (a matte grey-brown). Rimmel also does palettes like the Glam Eyes Quad in Smokey Noir or the Glam Eyes HD in Black Cab. Apply the grey eyeshadow over your eyelid and blend it out and if you want, smudge some under your lower lash line.  You can also  blend a matte brown for a more daytime look.  Remember to use a primer so it doesn't look muddy.

Dark lips:

Zimmermann Fall 2014 RTW | Rebecca Minkoff Fall 2014 RTW | Giorgio Armani Fall 2014 RTW

I love dark lips for the winter and I was so glad to see some vampy lips at Fashion Week. There are so many shades for vampy lips ranging from purples to more burgundy colours, so you're bound to find one for your skin tone.

Zimmermann used a lovely dark lipstick called CK's One Colour Pure Colour in Velvet (currently discontinued) which is a dark burgundy and quite 'Lorde-esque'. Rebecca Minkoff also used Stila's Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Amore which is a plum shade which is perfect for Autumn/Winter. Now, dark lipsticks may be daunting but start by trying something like Rimmel Kate Moss Matte in 107 (my personal favourite) or Revlon's Matte Balm Stain in Standout and slowly get more 'vampy' when you want to. Other colours for a lovely dark lip are MAC's Media, MAC's Darkside or Revlon Lipstick in Black Cherry (I haven't been able to find this colour recently and I'm hoping it isn't discontinued!). Remember with a dark lipstick to apply a lip liner first!

Again, if you are a bit scared of wearing a dark lip, try applying a darker lip colour and then blotting it off.

Giorgio Armani used their lipstick called Rouge Ecstacy Lipstick in 602 Night Viper. It's a beautiful purple/plum which was blotted off. Tibi used Bobbi Brown's Creamy Matte Lip Colour in Port (limited edition from 2009) which was blotted off but created a perfect Autumn lip. Try something like Korres' Lip Butter in Wild Rose or Revlon's Lip Butter in Red Velvet or just blot off a darker lipstick.

Contouring:

 Fendi Fall 2014 RTW | Versace Fall 2014 RTW | 3.1 Phillip Lim Fall 2014 RTW
Fashion Week featured heaps of heavy contouring and whilst obviously when you contour it doesn't have to be heavy, but adding some dimension is always good! 

Fendi and Versace used a taupe shade for contouring. This might seem strange but a taupe shade is actually more natural than a bronzer. Contouring is meant to create shadows, which a shimmery bronzer with more red/orange tones (just generalising here) cannot do. A taupe shade is perfect for creating shadows but keep in mind this is for those who are more pale. 

Products like NYX's blush in Taupe and Illamasqua's Cream Pigment in Hollow are great for contouring with taupe. 

3.1 Phillip Lim also used contouring however didn't use a taupe shade. Instead they used NARS' Nico blush ('natural glow' blush shade) + Zen blush (brown/tawny blush shade). This created a more glowy look on the cheeks, but was still contoured which looks great for the winter to add warmth. Which ever way you contour, the key is to create shadow! 

If you have darker skin a taupe shade will appear muddy so go for a matte bronzer with more grey tones and less orange tones like TheBalm's Bahama Mama Bronzer or as a general rule, use foundation that is 2 shades darker than your skin tone. 

Pop of colour:

Kenzo Fall 2014 RTW | Giles Fall 2014 RTW | Chloé Fall 2014 RTW

I feel like a having a pop of colour in Autum/Winter is very cliché, but this year Chanel (pictured as header) and Kenzo both sported pops of colour in the form of winged liner. Inglot Gel Liner and Face of Australia Budgeproof Gel Liner are great gel liners with some bright colours in their range. If you prefer liquid, Make Up For Ever and Urban Decay have some budgeproof liquid liners, however some are shimmery. You could also use a pencil liner to create winged liners if you want! 

Giles had their pop of colour on the waterline and used MAC'sChromographic Pencil in Hi-Def Cyan which is a PRO Product (you can still buy it though). Products to use for this look would be something like Maybelline's Colour Show liners or if you find bright pops of colour a bit daunting try Tarte's Amazonian Clay Waterproof Eyeliners which have some more neutral colours. If you don't want to invest into something expensive try Essence's Long Lasting Liners or Australis' 10hr Wear Pencil. Apply a neutral wash of colour over the lid. Giles actually used MAC's eyeshadow in Copperplate and Scene (greys I mentioned above).

Chloé had their pop of colour in the form of a wash of colour over the lid and used MAC's eyeshadow in Beautiful Iris which is a lovely lilac eyeshadow (with a great name too) and blended this out with a taupe shade. bh Cosmetics and Coastal Scents have massive palettes with pigmented shadows which would be great for this look. Remember to blend out with a taupe or brown shade!

Fresh face:

Dolce & Gabbana Fall 2014 RTW | Prabal Gurung Fall 2014 RTW | Stella McCartney Fall 2014 RTW
Now an over-riding look at Fashion Week had to be a natural, healthy looking face. So many brands had fresh and natural faces such as Dolce & Gabbana, Diane von Furstenberg, Prabal Gurung and Stella McCartney just to name a few! Definitely shop around for a blush that is natural and will help create that healthy flush in your cheeks all through Autumn and Winter. Brands like Tarte, NYX, elf, Milani and NARS do amazing blushes, so just shop around for the blush that matches your skin tone. To enhance your healthy glow, use a highlighter like TheBalm's Mary Lou-Manizer or Benefit's Watts Up. Natural face makeup is a must!

Nails:

Rebecca Minkoff Fall 2014 RTW Nails - Essie Midnight Cami and Bahama Mama

To me, Autumn/Winter nails usually consist of darker shades and this season it's no different. On the runway, darker purples were a trend as well as darker reds/plums. Burberry used one of their colours called Elderberry which will be available later this year, but it is a lovely plum colour. Other colours that would look great are Essie's Midnight Cami (a very deep navy with shimmer), Bahama Mama (berry plum) and After school Boy Blazer (very dark navy that looks almost black) or OPI's Linkin Park After Dark. Revlon's Vixen and Covergirl's Wine Stain nail polishes are also great colours. 

Neutrals are always a hit no matter what season. Some suggestions are Rimmel's Salon Pro Nail Polish in Oh, Mr Darcy (I saw this in Target the other day but it's not online) or Topshop's Threadbare (this is one of my favourite nail polishes). Maybelline also has a new collection called "Striped Nudes" with neutral nail polish shades. Now if you don't want to wear a dark colour, but still want a bit of colour try an ice blue like Essie's Find Me an Oasis.

Sorry for taking so long to publish a post; my laptop randomly shuts down and it's getting really annoying. What are your favourite A/W beauty trends? Comment below!  

(Images sourced from style.com,  fashionising.com, rebeccaminkoff.com and beautylish.com)

BIRTHDAY WISHLIST

It's my birthday in less than a week and I'm turning 17 on the 7th of April! Sadly, I have tests for the whole of that week so I decided to whip up a quick little birthday wish list (*procrastination*). Please keep in mind that I will most probably not receive any of these things but I can dream right? Here goes:

1. Nike Free 5.0+ in Black & White:  For the past year or so, I've been working out on and off. Blogilates is what I usually do and I've also done some jogging. I really wanted the bright Frees a while ago, but now I'm thinking the black and white Frees will be really nice. I'm hoping that new workout clothes will motivate me to workout more consistently!

2. Real Techniques brushes: This was on my birthday wish list last year, but I didn't get it so once again it's on my list again. I'm guessing that means that I really want these brushes! The Core Collection alone is a whopping $40 at Priceline , so I'll see if I can get them on iHerb. The specific brushes I want is the Core Collection, Expert Face brush and the Blush brush. The eye set brushes look too big for me on my small eyes and not really practical for me. Fingers crossed I might actually get this!

3. It by Alexa Chung: I love Alexa Chung! She is so beautiful and I love her style and when I heard that she was releasing a book, I wanted to get my hands on it. I tried really hard to win one, but unfortunately didn't win so onto the birthday wish list it goes! I've read an excerpt on Wattpad and it looks like a good read!

4. Diptyque Candle in Baies: Sadly, these candles are nearly $80 here in Australia, but they look so classy and minimalistic! I'm not exactly sure which one I want, but the thought of actually having one makes me so happy. I personally feel like Baies is one of the more popular Diptyque candles and I've heard that it has a fruity scent, so I would probably pick that one. They obviously are a luxury, but I'm not sure if I would spend $80 for a candle so fingers crossed I might get one for my birthday!

5. MAC Lipstick: I don't own any MAC so this would be my first MAC product and I think a good first product would be one of their infamous lipsticks or eye shadows. As it will be winter soon, I would really love a dark red/plum colour. Again, not too sure which colour I specifically want but I've been eyeing Media or Ruby Woo.

6. Naked  2 Palette:  I don't own a Naked Palette partly because of the big price tag that comes with it but I really want to get Naked 2! I personally don’t feel like the Naked Basics and Naked 3 Palette are for me. I'm still not sure whether I want Naked 1 or 2 but I have a Chi Chi Glamourous Eyes Palette in Nudes which supposedly is a dupe for Naked 1. The colours aren't as pigmented, but will do for now so Naked 2 palette for me!

And that’s it! It's quite a big list so I'm only really hoping to get 1 or 2 things from this list. What's on your wish list at the moment? Tell me in the comments down below!

I also wanted to mentioned that this will probably be the only post until next  Friday (11th April). I have quite a few tests and I'm my last year of school so they all count! I have heaps of posts planned and since it's the holidays after these tests, except heaps of posts soon! 

COMPLETE SUMMER FAVOURITES

Summer is out and Autumn is here (doesn't feel like it though.. I'm craving some colder weather), in Australia! Summer was amazing, filled with good times with friends and family (and not a lot of studying), as well as some new beauty, hair and skincare finds:


NUDE BY NATURE 8 PIECE BRUSH SET: This brush set is absolutely amazing! The kit has 7 brushes and 1 sharpener, which are all great quality. The brushes are all super soft although for me, the eye brushes (there's a shader brush for all over the lid and one for blending) are a tad too big for my small eyes. My favourite brush is the kabuki brush (as pictured). It's great for applying powder and even after owning it for over a year, it hasn't shed! This kit is definitely a steal at only $29.95!

PROTANE MOROCCAN ARGAN OIL: Now, this is the first Argan Oil that I've tried and I'm usually put off by the expensive price tag, but I found this gem in Aldi for only $9.95! I considered trying the Moroccanoil Original because of its popularity, but I looked at the ingredients and they are basically the same (Moroccanoil Original actually has more ingredients, mostly fragrances). The actual Argan Oil portion of both products are third on the ingredients list (meaning that it's the third dominant ingredient if that makes any sense), so why would I pay 4 times more?! Anyway, the Protane Moroccan Argan Oil is a great product, making my hair super smooth and doesn't weigh it down. My go-to hair style in summer was just to sleep in plaits for nice waves to avoid more heat. By applying this to towel-dried hair, plaiting it and then sleeping, my hair was shiny and without frizz the next day! Perfect for those who are lazy when it comes to hair like me!

ST. IVES BLEMISH CONTROL SCRUB: I have combination/oily skin, so I am quite prone to breakouts. This is the second bottle of this scrub I've purchased and I still love it! The granules are pretty coarse so you don't need heaps of this product, but still gives a thorough clean. It is quite abrasive, so I only use this 2-3 times a week at most. This also contains 2% of salicylic acid which is a chemical exfoliator that is great for acne and also has anti-inflammatory properties. The smell is quite nice too (especially for summer) and this scrub is inexpensive too! 

RIMMEL STAY MATTE PRESSED POWDER: After seeing Tanya Burr using this in countless videos, I had to get one for myself to see for myself. I have it in 'Translucent' and it's great! In the summer, I don't like a full face of foundation, so I would just keep it minimal by covering blemishes with concealer and this powder over it. It kept my skin looking even, not cakey and best of all.. matte! Many powders tend to wear off after a couple of hours, but I've found that this can keep my makeup in place for about 5 hours. It also doesn't leave a white cast on my face like other translucent powders have done. The packaging isn't the best, but the cheap price makes up for it!

FACE OF AUSTRALIA GLOSSY LIP CRAYON in 'RASPBERRY COULIS': Lip crayons and stains have become super popular recently. Face of Australia had a sheer lip crayon (I think in 2012), which I love and when I saw these new lip crayons I had to get one! These aren't the same as the sheer lip crayons though, they are a lot more pigmented (obviously) but still have a lovely consistency that is glossy, yet not sticky. They glide onto the lips nicely however they do slightly sink into the cracks of your lips. In the range, I have heard that some are more sheer than others, however I love Raspberry Coulis! It is a bright pink (for me), though more on wearable side. They don't tend to last for a long time sadly before it needs to be re-applied, only for an hour or 2 (at most) before it leaves a nice sheer layer of colour. It's so cheap though at $4.95 and Raspberry Coulis is the perfect summer pink!

FoA Lip Crayon in Raspberry Coulis

BOURJOIS COLOUR BOOST LIP CRAYON in ORANGE PUNCH: Can you see a trend here? I really love lip crayons. In the summer, they are so easy to apply and you don't have to worry about them 'melting' off. The Bourjois lip crayon is no exception! I have it in Orange Punch which is a rosy coral shade rather than a bright orange shade. It feels a bit stickier than the Face of Australia lip crayon, however it does have SPF 15 and lasts a lot longer; usually about 2-2.5 hours though it loses its gloss after about an hour. These lip crayons claim to be waterproof, which it is true but it does slightly wear off like most lip products would. It doesn't live to the 10 hour claim of hydration, but nevertheless they are great! 

Bourjois Lip Crayon in Orange Punch

MAYBELLINE MASTER PRECISE LINER in 'BLACKEST BLACK': Liquid liners are perfect in summer! This Maybelline Master Precise Liner lasts all day and has a super thin tip. It can create a perfect wing or just define your eye with a thin line near the base of your lashes. This liner however does slightly fade when it is a super hot day after a good 3 hours or so (I do have oily eyelids too). It has great pigmentation and my holy grail liquid liner.

LUSH TEA TREE WATER: This Lush toner is my absolute favourite, especially in the sweltering summer heat. On my makeup free days (which is quite frequent in the summer), my skin gets oily and shiny due to the heat, but this toner can control my oily skin. I find that this product is gentle and doesn't sting when applied to your skin and it is 100% alcohol free! Rather than zapping your zits away overnight, this product controls your oil over time and therefore prevents breakouts over time. It also clears up your skin so you aren't left with makeup or cleanser on your skin. It's in a spray bottle, so you can spray directly onto your face or use a cotton ball and apply to your face. 

LUCAS' PAPAW OINTMENT: I feel like this a staple product for all Australians and probably many around the world. It has so many uses including using it for dry skin, cuts and grazes but I use it for my chapped lips. It provides a nice gloss to the lips and nourishes them so nicely. It's nice to use this product in the summer when you don't want to add a layer of colour, but still want your lips to be moisturised and look glossy. It's so cheap and I can never leave the house without this product! 

MAYBELLINE COLOUR TATTOO in 'BARELY BRANDED': I think everyone either has or knows about this product and how amazing it is, so I'll keep this short. Barely Branded is a lovely champagne colour which can be applied as an eyeshadow base, or just as a wash of colour all over your lid (like I did all through the summer). It brightens the eye and lasts for a long time, which can compliment most skin colours! I have heard that this creases but I haven't had it crease on me! It has a good pigmentation, that can be applied more sheer or very heavily. 

MAYBELLINE COLOUR SHOW NAIL COLOUR in 'PORCELAIN PARTY': This summer, I tried white nail polish. You either love it or hate it, but I love it! In the summer it makes you look tanner and something about it makes me feel somewhat.. edgy. Anyway, a lot of white nail polishes aren't opaque but this one by Maybelline is very pigmented! It does need two coats and can be streaky sometimes (a coat of a good top coat fixes this) but I still love it. 

AUSTRALIS NAIL COLOUR in 'CITRUS': This Australis product definitely impressed me. The formula is perfect; not streaky, great pigmentation, quick drying, perfect peachy orange (not Citrus like the name suggests)! You can seal this polish with a top coat, but it's not a must. It is a lovely colour for the summer and spring, especially for beach days and stays on for about 2-3 days with a top coat.

'Porcelain Party' on the top, 'Citrus' on the bottom

That's all! Thank you for putting up with me and my first ever post! Hopefully you enjoyed and got some inspiration! What are your favourite summer products? Tell me below!
Have a lovely day!
Iris :)