The 'Le No Makeup Look'

Europeans seem to possess that 'natural beauty' that every woman wants- needing only a tiny bit of rouge here and a little mascara there and the look is done.  It seems so minimal and effortless, yet the end result is that flawless, 'je ne sais quoi' look.  The French call it 'le no makeup look' and several major French actresses pull this look off so well, my favourites being Juliette Binoche and Audrey Tautou:

Here are some other celebrity examples of 'le no makeup look' - notice that even though makeup is used in the photographs, its to compliment the nautral features of the face, so the true expression of the woman is seen.  The end result of the makeup is to bring out the best in the woman, not to hide the woman with makeup!!!

Kristin Kreuk has amazing features - her Eurasian features are celebrated with the warm, natural colours of makeup - even her haircolour is very natural and lightly highlighted!  She looks stunning!!!

It was this picture of Kristin Davis that inspired me to blog about this topic - I absolutely 'love' her natural makeup look in this photo - the diamond studs that she's wearing in this photo compliment the look so well - she looks very elegant and put together!

Liv Tyler has such a unique look about her - I love the simplicity of her makeup in this picture!

Rachel Mcadams is a true beauty camelion - she has been a blond, red-head and brunette and every other colour in-between.  She also looks stunning in both cool and warm makeup colours.  I love how seductive Rachel looks in this photo - even more proof that the natural look is the most seductive! 

Julia Roberts in many ways is the Queen of the natural look - she always has the girl next door look with a sexy edge.  I love how fresh and neutral her makeup looks!

Rachel Weisz is a very beautiful woman in my opinion - Her look has always been natural and romantic.

When it comes to makeup and looking your best, I think that Yves Saint Laurent said it best: "The most beautiful make-up of a woman is passion. But cosmetics are easier to buy"

I hope you enjoyed this post - remember to celebrate 'you' and use your makeup to be your best self!

Cool Vs Warm

I recently had a conversation with a woman who swears that she feels I am a 'cool winter' versus a deep autumn - I decided I would do my makeup with the cool winter colours today - I want to post a picture of myself with the cool winter colours and the deep autumn colours - I'd love to hear what you think - what's the verdict for me - cool? warm? both?

Cool Winter:

Deep Autumn:

My Tribute to the colour Mustard

My tribute to the colour 'Mustard'

Mustard is one of my favourite colours!  It can be a bit of a tricky colour, as it doesn't suit all colour types.   My advice is that if you're a Deep Autumn or Warm Autumn, go ahead and celebrate because mustard is one of your power colours!!!  Mustard usually gets celebrated by the fashion retail world in the fall, but if its one of your colours, don't limit yourself to wearing it for only one season.  If you're not sure if mustard is a colour for you, but you love it anyway - go ahead and wear mustard toned accessories, gloves, purses, shoes etc and just make sure that you wear your best colours near your face to balance out the look!  Here is my little tribute to 'mustard':

I love how Diane Kruger isn't afraid to show how sexy mustard can be - I also love how she balances the warm, spicy yellow colour with an intense spicy red lip!!!

I love this purse - its a fantastic way to add mustard into your wardrobe without 'overdoing' it!

This mustard scarf is very chic for fall!

Shoes are another great way to add splash of colour!

I am in love with these boots!!!

This is a great example of how mustard doesn't have to be limited to the fall season - this is such a cute summer/spring dress!  Pair it with bigger gold hoop earings a few accessories and you're ready for a great evening out!!!

 

Deep Seasons, specifically Deep Autumns, looks great in a darker, richer mustard tone like Anne Hathaway is wearing in this picture!!!

I hope you enjoyed my short yet sweet tribute to 'Mustard'!!!  If you have any ideas for any future colour tributes, let me know!

The 4 seasons with Celebrity Examples

I've been interested in colour analysis for a while now and the more I read about it, the more I'm really starting to 'see' which colour season a person belongs to.  Its really amazing when you're able to look at a person and literally see that they are an autumn (warm and spicy colouring) or a summer (light and cool).  I've decided to use some well known celebrities to give examples of each of the 4 main seasons (Summer, Winter, Spring and Autumn).  Colour analysis is much more in-depth than simply classifying people into 4 categories.  However, I wanted to give a quick example of the 4 basic colour types and indicate next to each photo the diversity within each season.  Sit back and enjoy the journey into the 4 season colour palettes:

1) Summer:
When I think about the summer colour types, I automatically think of women who looks stunning in blue-gray's, powdery cool-pastels, light fucshia, orchid and light lemon yellow shades.  If you can rock the bluish-pink lipstick, you are definitely a summer!

Celebrity examples:

Bar Refaeli - Bar's light blue-gray eyes are characteristic of a summer colour type!

Here is a photo of the late Farrah Fawcett in her 'Charlie's Angels' days - her hair is ultra 'ash' blond - a hallmark of a summer!  Notice that there is no warm, yellow tones to her skin and hair (compare Farrah's colouring to Jennifer Aniston's and you will quickly see the difference between a cool and warm colour type)

Cameron Diaz - notice how Cameron always looks stunning in silver and very light tinged gold earings (most cool seasons look better in silver vs gold).  Also, look how fresh her makeup looks when she wears the pastels and goes for a sheer light pink lip - simply stunning!

SPRING: 

When I think about women who belong to the spring colour type, I think: peach, light gold, coral and warm sand colours.  Springs come alive in warm toned pastels and look amazing in light coral and warm pink shades.

Celebrity Examples:

Jennifer Aniston is a classic Spring - notice how her hair has a stunning warm, golden glow (compare this to the picture of Farrah Fawcett and you will see the difference between cool/ash blond and warm golden blond). 

Lindsay Lohan is a classic example of someone who is a 'warm spring' - she is so lucky to be able to have natural warm, strawberry-reddish blond hair- yet, she always seems to colour her hair to colours that drain her natural warmth - as long as Lindsay stays in the 'warm' tones, she will sparkle!

Mischa Barton is another classic Spring.  She looks terrific when she adds warm, golden blond highlights to her hair.  Notice that in this picture, she looks great in the gold tinged lipgloss (compare this to Cameron Diaz's light pink lip colour and you will really see the difference between warm and cool lip tones).  Also, check out Mischa's eyes in this picture, when she wears the light gold colours of her palette, her eyes sparkle and you can pick up the natural goldish flecks in her eyes - its amazing what the right colours can do!!!

WINTER:

The ultimate winter woman was 'Snow White' with her ivory skin and black hair.  However, Winter is not limited to this colouring - many women who have a cool olive undertone are winters!  When I think of the winter woman, I think deep, cool, crisp colours - winter women can wear the most deep, dramatic colours and look fantastic!

Celebrity Examples:

Courtney Cox - I picked this photo of Courtney because it really shows how well a winter woman looks in icy blue - it compliments her black hair and stunning blue eyes.  

Catherine Zeta Jones looks amazing in her winter palette colours - especially the jewel toned colours of ruby, emerald, sapphire - she sparkles in her deep, cool colours!

Elizabeth Taylor simply 'glows' when she wears her winter colours - look at how fantastic she looks in red!  Elizabeth is an example of someone who is more of a 'clear winter' - she really sparkles when she wears the clear, bright colours of her palette!

AUTUMN:

When I think of the Autumn woman, I always think spicy and warm.  Deep burnt oranges, marigold yellows, moss greens and deep teal - all these colours are stunning on an autumn! 

Celebrity Examples:

Audrina Patridge looks terrific in her teal coloured dress!  Notice how her red lipstick has an orange/warm undertone and how well the gold earings compliment her colouring! Audrina looks the best in the deep, vivid shades of autumn!

Susan Sarandon - check out how well Susan 'owns' orange!  She is a true 'warm autumn' and really glows in the spicy, burnt orange/rust and terracotta shades.  

Rita Wilson - Rita is an example of an autumn that wears the softer autumn colours the best!  She is more of a delicate autumn that needs warm neutrals and light accents of autumns warmest shades!

I hope that providing you with some celebrity examples has helped you determine if you are warm/cool and which season you fall into.  Please remember, that there are many variations within each season -  colour analysis is not a cut and dry process.  However, I had fun with this post and I hope you enjoyed it as well!!!

Style and Colour - The Hair I Want!!!

During my University days, my hair was on the short/medium side,  I remember one summer going to Europe and being mesmorized by how well European women dressed and looked.  I also experienced a moment I would never forget - I overheard a very well dressed gentleman say to his friend "A true woman always keeps her nails well groomed and should have long, flowing hair".  There I was, a nail-bitter, with short hair - if I could hide under the table at that moment I would have.  Part of me was 'hurt' by what he said, but a bigger part of me, desired to become this 'true woman' that he spoke of.  I think I made a decision that day - to grow my hair, stop bitting my nails and graduate to the 'European' sense of style!  I've been blogging lately about makeup and what colours I intend to wear in autumn, so I decided I would post a few pics of what I'm aiming for in terms of hair this year - my mission is to keep it long, but give it that sexy, wavy edge:

Gisele has the 'ultimate' sexy, wavy, long hair look!

I love how Julia Roberts hair is layered in this picture!!!

I love everything about this hairstyle - the modern Farrah Fawcett layers are so feminine and sexy!

COLOUR:

Every fall I like to change up my colour - this past year, it was all about adding in the cooler shades of red (Burgundy, Plum tones, Reddish Brown shades).  This year, I'm really going to play up my 'Deep Autumn' colouring by adding richer, warmer, more auburn tones to my hair.  Audrina Patridge is a fellow 'Deep Autumn' and I love her hair colour:

Lately, Julia Roberts has been sporting the warm, golden blond tones to her hair, but I love her in the rich, autumn-toned red hair - here is another colour I'm considering for the fall:

I'll be keeping everyone posted on my new fall look once I've decided what I'm doing for sure - but make no mistake, it will be uber-sexy this year!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fall Makeup Shades

Fall is one of my favourite seasons - I love how the leaves change colour to incredible warm, rustic colours.  I love everything about the autumn colour palette - rich olive shades, spicy orange, mustard yellows, chili reds, aubergine/eggplant purples and deep, luxurious teal tones.  I've been going to different makeup counters trying to get a sneak peak at their new fall makeup collections.  My favourite so far has to be NARS - their new fall 2010 lipgloss shade is fantastic - a great berry shade (it won't be out on shelves until late August, but it helps to be a makeup fanatic - you get to know the makeup sales associates quite well and having that relationship with the makeup artists at the store counters, gets you 'sneak peaks').  I'm also a big fan of NARS blushes - my favourite being 'Lovejoy'.  Now, I know its still July and I'm getting ahead of myself, but my colour season is Autumn, 'deep autumn' to be specific, so I often get excited when fall approaches because I know 'my' colours will be coming out of the woodwork!  Here are some of my favourite fall/autumn 'tried-tested and true' shades (by 'moi' of course) -

1) MAC lipstick in 'Chili' - I usually use MAC"s 'Auburn' lipliner with this lipstick - usually reds look best when your eyemakup is toned down.  However, I love wearing this lipstick with a rich bronze/gold smokey eye - its what autumn is all about!

2) MAC blush in 'Peach Twist' - This is hands down my favourite blush (next to Lovejoy of course) - it is a blend of warm peach and bronze and works well when paired with 'Stength' Lipstick by MAC

3) MAC eyeshadow in Sumptous Olive and/or Laura Mercier eyeshadow in Sherazade - both of these shades are in the rich golden-olive family!  I wear these shades all year round because they really make my green eyes pop - I usually line my eyes with MAC's Teddy Liner and then add some more olive-toned shadow to an angled brush and blend it into the liner (on the upper eye lid) - this really creates that defined, smokey eye that screams 'bombshell bedroom eyes'

Below is Laura Mercier's eyeshadow in 'Sherazade':

One of the key things about fall makeup is to not throw out your summer 'Bronzer' products just yet - in fact. if anything, they enhance the entire 'autumn' palette!  Secondly, if your colours are in the  'Autumn' and warm toned family - play up those spicy makeup shades even more, by wearing similar clothing colours.  Chili lipstick looks extra sexy when you wear a warm chocolate brown sweater or tomato red top.  If you have a rich-toned chocolate brown trench or jacket, take it out of the woodwork and create those bronze, sultry eyes!  For evening, play up the gold and amber shades - try 'Woodwined' and 'Amber Lights' by MAC - Both of these eyeshadows are great Autumn colours!!!

Know Your Colours

In the 80's, 'Color Me Beautiful' was all the rage, people were running to get their colors 'done' - Colour Analysis has taken on a whole new meaning since then - its no longer only limited to four seasons - Summer, Winter, Spring, Autumn. Currently, colour analysis takes into account if you are Light, Deep, Soft, Clear, Warm or Cool and within those catagories, there are even more options. For example, If you are a Deep - you can be either a deep winter or a deep autumn - the whole cool/warm idea is still involved in the process of discovering your colours. I've come across an amazing website that helps you do an on-line self analysis of your colours ( http://www.prettyyourworld.com/ ). One of the great things about this particular website, is that the creator uses plently of Celebrity examples to help you determine your colours. Make sure to really study the 'power colours' she provides you once you determine your best colours. There are some people who think that you can wear whatever you want and this whole 'colour analysis' thing is a waste of time. I disagree - I think colour analysis is one of the best things you can do for yourself and it should not be limited to females - men should know their colours too! Knowing your colours ensures that you ALWAYS step out into the world looking your best and feeling your best. You will shine and will always make a fantastic first impression - the most important thing is that people will notice 'YOU' - because wearing your colours enhances all the fantastic things about you! All the fine lines on your face disappear and all people will see is the radiance that is 'you'! There is a great book I picked up at Chapters called 'Color Me Confident' by Veronique Henderson and Pat Henshaw - Its an excellent resource for anyone interested in Color Analysis or simply curious about knowing their colours!!! I'm being completely honest when I say that finding my true colours has changed my life - when I walk into a store, my eye now goes directly to my power colours and shopping is hassel-free and more often than not, I save money because I don't overspend on clothes I don't need! I often get compliments from people (even on days where I feel 'blah') because wearing my colours always ensures I have a healthy glow! Its also made choosing a new hair colour, super easy - I've always liked the deep, rich brunette tones and now I know why - my deep autumn colouring screams for added warmth and richness!!! And lets not forget about makeup and all the money you'll save in that department - knowing your colours, will take the indecision right out of the picture - you will know your best shades because you will instantly glow when you put them on - more importantly, (and I've mentioned this before) - people will not notice your makeup when you're wearing the right colours, they will notice 'YOU'!!!


Good luck with the 'Pretty Your World' Website - let me know how it goes!

Here is a picture of me wearing one of my power colours - I'm a Deep Autumn - notice, that even with the orange being instense and spicy, it does not overpower me - I wear the spicy orange, it doesn't wear me!!!