Beauty Squared Round-Up - October 5, 2014

Hello and Happy Sunday! It's time for our weekly round-up of interesting links from all over the web, all related to beauty. Let's get started!

• The beauty brands are gearing up for the holiday season and well, chances are that a lot of the gift sets will sell out before we even get to December. One of these is the Benefit Cheeky Sweet Spot O' Blushes which Temptalia has a sneak peek preview of up right now.
  
• Some makeup organization tips and ideas here, if you're in need of them (aren't we all?).
  
• Vintage beauty tips using cucumber, rose water and petroleum jelly, among others.
  
• I saw this post on fashionable New Yorkers age 60 and up, and it reminded me of the three ladies I photographed at the Met Museum in NYC a few years ago (click here to see).
  
• Small Canadian makeup brand Pandora's Box has been fighting Pandora Jewelry over the name Pandora and has made their battle public in the hopes that it will help fight corporate bullying. Have a watch and share?
  
• MUA Kristen Arnett talks about the 10 things she does to make models runway-ready. There's some great information in this. Think it's just a bit of powder and lipgloss on those 20 year olds? Think again.
  
• A video from MAC showing some of the looks they were a part of for the Spring/Summer 2015 NY Fashion Week this year. Yet-to-be-released products and gorgeous looks to look forward to!

My Make-up with Marilyn

I recently watched the Oscar nominated film "My Week with Marilyn", and then came across this excellent and incredibly thorough tutorial on Marilyn Munroe's iconic makeup look from UK makeup artist Lisa Eldridge.

Marilyn Munroe

Actress Michelle Williams transforming into Marilyn for "My Week with Marilyn".

Lisa Eldridge's Marilyn Munroe - Iconic Make-up Look

Not only is this tutorial well produced and shot, all the techniques are excellently demonstrated and explained by Eldridge. Eldridge has obviously done her research into the specifics of how Marilyn's look was constructed, and reveals many of the interesting tricks used to produce Marilyn's signature style. I was surprised to learn that Marilyn's make-up artist, Whitey Snyder, created the illusion of extremely full lashes in part by drawing in a false cast shadow on her lower eye line. Other, less theatrical tricks revealed by Eldridge could be used in everyday make-up, such as highlighting around the nose to create the sense of broader cheekbones.

Another aspect of this video I appreciate is the historical and personal context Eldridge gives us about Marilyn. It is well narrated and interesting beyond the expert make-up application.

J

Tricks and Tips: YSL Fall/Winter 2009 Video

You  many be wondering why I'm writing a post on a video that is one year old. This video was recently brought to my attention by Cath, and although it is for an old collection (Fall/Winter 2009) it is completely worth watching for numerous tips and techniques that will make your game stronger in any season.

View this video here: http://vimeo.com/1201237

The artist in question is Val Garland, YSL's International Make-Up Artist whose excellent work can also be seen in Lady Gaga's Alejandro video. What impresses me so much about this video is the excellent technique Garland demonstrates while working on Canadian model Coco Rocha.

Here's a list of techniques and tricks to look out for in the video - many of you will know most of these already, but it's nice to see them in action in an editorial setting, where makeup needs to be both strong and perfect.

1. Blending and building up shadows to create softness, shape and depth.
2. Loose powder under the eye when building a smokey look.
3. Patting on eyeshadow to get density of colour.
4. Liquid liner to strengthen the eye shape for a smokey eye.
5. Foundation after heavy eyeshadow application.
6. Brow definition after eyeshadow application.
7. Using a small liner or eyeshadow brush to load on mascara.
8. Cheeks and lips last to balance out strong eye makeup.
9. Blend, blend, blend!

Of particular interest is the type of brushes Garland uses - to my eye they look to be all MAC!

Anybody else inspired by what they see?

J

MAC's Venomous Villains: Sneak Peek!

How exciting is this??? MAC released this teaser video entitled "Venomous Villains" confirming rumours of a collaboration with Disney. Watch it here: http://www.maccosmetics.com/vv_landing/index.tmpl

Coming in September 2010, MAC will release a collection inspired by some of Disney's most infamous, nasty females (hints of the villainesses are in the video). Think about it, Disney's female heroines tend to be fresh-faced beauties while the evil (often jealous) enemies clearly are wearing make-up and lots of it! 

See, none of these beauties appear to be wearing much make-up at all apart from Princess Jasmine's cat-eyeliner and perhaps a bit of lip colour. Those doe eyes, glowing skin and unblemished skin came naturally to these fictional ladies - remember the description of Snow White's beauty? " Lips red as the rose. Hair black as ebony. Skin white as snow." 

The villains on the other hand, they all kind of remind me of screen legend Joan Crawford, who's known almost better as a real-life villain thanks to the film Mommy Dearest (1981) and the book written by her adopted daughter Christina Crawford it was based on. Joan Crawford (who I was once told I look like) had dramatically beautiful, slightly exaggerated features - full, arched eyebrows, large, hooded eyes, high cheekbones and a wide mouth.

"No wire hangers!"

The Disney villain who most resembles Joan Crawford would be the narcissistic Evil Queen from Snow White. For her obsession with beauty (she wanted to eat Snow White's heart!), she's got to be one of the four Disney villainesses MAC is creating a collection around. The colours MAC might come out with for her are reds, whites, purples, pinks and blacks.

I'm thinking The Little Mermaid's Ursula has got to be another MAC inspiration with her grey, inky black and purple colours, crimson nails, blue eyeshadow and red, red lips. There will most likely be aquas, greens and blues to tie into Ursula's underwater world.

Cruella de Vil from 101 Dalmations was the first Disney villainess I thought of when I heard about this collaboration. Her obsession with fashion drives her want to skin puppies to make a coat and her crazy, aging fashionista persona is so very MAC, isn't it? Cruella's two-toned hair, blue eyeshadow, red lips and fondness for black white could be inspiration for MAC's collection. I'm also thinking orange, red and turquoise.

The dark fairy Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty is my last guess as to the 4th Disney villainess. Monstrously beautiful with her angular bone structure, grey-purple eyeshadow up to her eyebrows, yellow eyes and horned headwear, Maleficent can turn into a black and red dragon - plenty of colour ideas for MAC. I'm thinking of glittering blacks, greys and purples, gold, green and rose.

Some other possible Disney evil femme inspirations could be The Rescuer's Medusa:

Or Cinderella's stepmother and stepsisters:

Or the Queen of Hearts from Disney's Alice in Wonderland:

I know I'm very excited about this! Are you? These evil ladies are inspiring, don't you think? Which Disney villainesses do you think MAC is going to use?

C.

MAC Colourview S/S 10 Trends Video

I just saw this video posted on Temptalia and it really fired up my enthusiasm to get out the brushes and try some new, edgier looks. It's easy to forget MAC originated as a brand developed for (and by) professional make up artists, but when you watch a video like this it becomes clear that they are still very much sticking to their heritage.

The MAC PRO team are extremely talented, creative and forward thinking. A personal favourite of mine is Luc, who as well as being a great artist, looks like a French version of Gary Oldman!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4UyvLmNhCA

J.

MAC: The Look of Style Black Video

I don't know if any of our Canadian readers visit the US MAC website (http://www.maccosmetics.com/), but the site hosts a library of videos made by various members of MAC's pro artist team, which are curiosly NOT on the Canadian site. These videos showcase the amazing talent of their artists and are a great way to learn new techniques, tricks and get inspired!

In the latest video "The Look of Style Black Video with Nadine", MAC takes on the number one runway trend for fall: black lips. This video coincides with the release of Style Black - if you ever had your doubts (and who hasn't?) about the wearability of black lipstick, I urge you to check out the video. Not only will you glean new tricks to perfect your lip line, you will also see how the layering of products can really build colour and texture.

www.maccosmetics.com/makeup_artistry/video_styleblack.tmpl