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The modern boho at Jill Stuart. Image courtesy of ImaxTree.com.

Raise a hand if summer equals festivals, flowing dresses, wavy hair and barely-there makeup to you. You just might be today’s modern boho (I am!). There’s something so carefree, easy and simple about this effortless look that is quintessentially summer to me. Think Kate Hudson in Almost Famous, Nicole Richie at Coachella and Alexa Chung at Glastonbury. But this season’s take is fresh, youthful and easy to do. With a little help from European makeup artist Sarah-Jane Froom from BareEscentuals and Toronto-based hair and makeup artist Tony Masciangelo, we recreate this summer ideal.

BOHO MAKEUP:

“The Boho Chic look should be effortless,” says Froom. “Keeping it simple and making your skin flawless is the main focus. It’s about being sun-kissed and pretty.” Opt for browns, greens, golds, slates and bronzes – anything that mimics the colours of the earth, and make sure you focus on that dewy, bronzed skin.

Froom’s step-by-step guide to a modern boho look:

1. Prep skin with a primer for an even complexion. Then buff bareMinerals SPF15 Foundation all over.

2. Buff bareMinerals READY Bronzer in The High Dive onto outside contours of the complexion and also down onto the décolleté. You can pop a little on the bridge of the nose too, where the sun would naturally kiss the skin.

3. Smooth a primer along your lids before applying earthy toned shadows. Try bareMinerals READY Eyeshadow in The Truth to the eyes – buff the palest shade (Serendipitous) under brow bone, the medium colour (Fate) from lash to crease, the dark colour (Apropos) above and below top and bottom lashes around lash line, and finally the shimmery bronze shade (Magnetism) to highlight inner corners of eyes. Follow with a deep brown liner along the lashes.

4. Add a pop of colour with bareMinerals READY Blush in The Aphrodisiac swept onto the apples of the cheeks.

5. For radiant, dewy skin, lightly buff bareMinerals Pure Radiance onto the high points of the cheekbones and over décolleté – this will give you a luminous sun-kissed glow. And top with bareMinerals Tinted Mineral Veil to hide the appearance of large pores and fine lines and to soak up excess oil to impart a beautiful finish.

6. Finish the look with a swish of mascara and natural gloss. Read the rest of this entry

Christopher Kane’s gorgeous spring blush. Image courtesy of ImaxTree.com.

If there’s one thing you cross off your spring beauty checklist, it should be a gorgeous flush. This season, cheeks should be rosy, fresh and youthful. The runways were filled with softly blushed cheeks at Christopher Kane, Mabile, and Giles Deacon, and dramatic takes at Anna Sui, Braganza and Philosophy. But before you sweep on that electric shade of hot pink, read on for our tips from M.A.C Senior Artist Caitlin Callahan, on blush dos and don’ts this season.

DO think natural
Picking a shade that will give you a true flush isn’t as hard as you think. “Clear (no brown) toned blushes in pinks, peaches, plums are to recreate a natural blush in the skin. Next time you blush, check out the colour that occurs naturally,” says Callahan. She also suggests choosing a cream rather than a powder, to create the most natural looking blush.

DO go bright
So, hot pink isn’t usually a shade in your beauty repertoire? Time to add it in. Those neon and fluorescent coloured blushes don’t dust on in the same saturation. I used to be wary of those startling vibrant hues, but now a bright pink cream blush is my go-to. Start light with just a hint of colour to the apples of your cheeks, and you’ll be surprised at how sheer it can be, and what a pop of colour will do for your skin tone.

Read the rest of this entry

The look at Denis Gagnon is perhaps one of the quickest hair and makeup looks we’ve seen come together at fashion week – yet it’s as stunning as the other looks.

Hair at Denis Gagnon. Image by Noah Lehava

For hair, Gagnon wanted it to have a slept-in look so he asked for no product be used, but Eric Del Monaco, Official Hair Stylish and Colourist for L’Oreal, snuck in using some Mineral Wax to rough up the hair and give it some texture. He then swept the hair to one side, took an elastic and loosely looped the ends into it. The effect is airy and easy, and messily chic.

Makeup at Denis Gagnon. Image by Noah Lehava

For makeup, a similarly simple look was created. Eddie Malter, Official Makeup Artist for L’Oreal, applied Visible Lift foundation to the skin and contoured a bit with a face powder slightly darker than skin tone. For eyes, he simply applied some eyeshadow in Morning Light to highlight beneath the brow and at the lash line., using Wear Infinite in 821 in the crease. The focus at Gagnon was the bold red lip, achieved with Colour Riche in Real Red Lipstick 301.

What do you think of this simple look? Leave your comments below!

With the VAWK collection inspired by architecture and insects, we knew to expect fun things when it came to the hair and makeup looks.

Image by George Pimentel Photography

For the face, Eddie Malter, Official Makeup Artist for L’Oreal Paris, started with Visible Lift Smooth Absolute foundation (applying some on the lips as well) for a dewy complexion. Brows were filled in to keep them thick and structured. On the eyes, Malter used Infallible eyeshadow in Time Resist White 001 on the middle of the lid along the lash line and on the bottom lash line, smudging it out. Then using the gold shadow from Wear Infinite Eyeshadow Quad 823 he applied to the middle of the lid and into the crease, followed by Wear Infinite Eyeshadow Quad 821 (only the bottom two brown shades of the palette) to the eye contour and in the crease. For the lashes, he opted for Voluminous mascara, focusing on the outer lashes, brushing up and out . The eye look was then completed with Lineur Intense in Carbon Black drawn on in a straight line to the other third of the lower lash line. To contour the face, a face powder in a shade darker was swept on and then the lips were completed by simply brushing on a bit of highlight using the eyeshadow in Time Resist White at the cupid’s bow. And for the runway, over-the-top insect-like lashes made of thin strips of paper were glued to the lash line.

(Tip: while this look, minus the paper lashes, can be worn by just about everyone, Malter suggests that if you have fine lines around the eyes, to use the white eyeshadow underneath the eye sparingly and to opt for more of a matte shade – an iridescent one will highlight your wrinkles). Read the rest of this entry

Backstage was awash in a sea of sexy Brigitte Bardot-inspired beauties before the Pink Tartan show last night – and there was much buzz over Andej Pejic presence (the male model walked the show and closed it walking hand in hand with Pink Tartan designer Kimberly Newport-Mimran).

Bedroom hair at Pink Tartan. Image by Noah Lehava

“Dirty, bedroom hair,” is how Eric Del Monaco, L’Oreal Paris Official Hair Artist and Colourist, describes the look. To get this hairstyle, he parted the hair in the centre and used a large barrel curling iron and worked on each section (three in the back in two panels, two on each side in two panels) at midshaft, wrapping the hair only in one twist around the barrel. Holding the twist in the curling iron for only 10 seconds, he also says that a light spritz of Elnett hairspray before curling each piece and then quickly applying the curling iron will give the best results (“If you wait too long, the product will evaporate and won’t hold the curl as well.”). After each section was curled, he had the models lean over to toss their hair down and then finger-brushed it out using some Studio Fix Architect Shine Wax he’d warmed in the palms of his hands. To complete the soft and messy hair look, with some more wax, he rubbed in circular motions at the roots of the hair. Read the rest of this entry

Healthy, shiny hair at Attitude by Jay Manuel. Image by Sam Santos

“Fresh, simple and beautiful,” says Eric Del Monaco of the hairstyle he created for Jay Manuel’s show. Hair was left with a natural part and using a large barrel curling iron, he made four long sections of curls in the back of the head, with two sections on each side of the head – starting the curl at about eye level. “It should look like the model’s been wearing a hat all dar that she’s pulled off,” he says. The look is inspired by the 70s, “but not as feathered and brushed out,” he says, noting that the curls were loosely finger brushed out and finished with a light spray of Elnett hairspry. Read the rest of this entry

Clean hair at Amanda Lew Kee. Image by Noah Lehava

Inspired by the designer’s “global citizen” (clothes includes prints of major cities including New York and Toronto), hair was kept clean and fresh, says Eric Del Monaco, creative director for hair at LG Fashion Week. Using just Elnett hairspray, hair was pulled back as tight as possible with the hairspray helping to keep flyaways in place into a ponytail and then wrapped into a neat, pretty bun. Read the rest of this entry