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| Tom Ford Fall 2011 |
If it's drama you're after, then look no further. There is nothing quite as dramatic - or fabulously over the top - as heavy black liner paired with brilliant scarlet lips. This look not only stalked the fall runways, but continued their dominance in the September magazine issues. The best examples can be found on the models featured in the fall campaign offerings from Tom Ford and Kate Spade. To quote The Spice Girls: The lady is a Vamp; she's a vixen, not a Tramp. In other words, a woman after my own heart.
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| Bryce Dallas Howard for Kate Spade |
I think it goes without saying that this is not your average daytime look for the office, and might be better saved for a cocktail party or gala event. However, there is something to be said for taking a risk...
Anyway, here's the breakdown, regardless of how or where you intend on wearing it.
For the Eyes: Start with Black Velvet (matte black) applied with a damp smudger brush across the top lashline beyond outer corner of the eye, adding a slight wing at the end. Smudge the colour further up lid to just below the crease, whilst maintaining that sharp line at the lashes. Tip: the benefits of using a powder shadow damp as opposed to a liquid or pencil liner are that you have more control over the intensity of the colour result, and it lasts longer on the face - pencils are made of waxes that melt in heat and liquid liner will run if you tend toward watery eyes (which I do).
Wash Buttercup (buttery yellow with shimmer) liberally over entire lid beginning from base of browbone, using a fluffy shadown brush, building colour till the desired amount of shimmer is reached. Finish with LOTS of black mascara.
For the Cheeks: Dust Go Go Boots (plummy peach-pink) lightly on the apples of cheek working back into hairline using the cheekbone as a guide.
For Lips: Apply Seriously (a true glossy red) with a brush, blot with tissue then dust with Invisible Blotting Powder before applying a second coat, for added staying power.
Random sidenote: When I finished this look and started taking the pictures, I was struck by the oddest sense of deja vu. I know that this is a very retro, Moulin Rouge type look, but it's exact inspiration remained elusive. Until I realized what song had been running through my head the entire time...
What's new, Buenos Aires...
What do you think? Is there a resemblance, be it ever so slight, or is it just me?
Ah...the Roaring Twenties. The Jazz Age. Regardless of what you want to call it, for many it was a turning point in history. Most of all, for women. 
For the first time, women were finally granted the right to vote in the US in 1920 - a freedom enjoyed by Canadian women since 1917 - and were beginning to enter into the world of work. For the first time for many of them, women were finally making their own money. And with money, came freedom. It was a period where the last vestiges of rigid Victorian values where shaken off - quite literally - in favour of a new liberal attitude all around. The economy was booming: the Great War was over, and it was time to celebrate. 
The Flapper was the epitome of excess: she wore 'too much' makeup and 'too little' clothes; she drank and smoked, danced with careless abandon and treated sex in much the same way. Once exclusively the domain of prostitutes and stage actresses, makeup began to be used on a daily basis for the first time during this period. Lipstick painted on in the characteristic 'bee-stung' shape, heavily lined eyes, and blush were the order of the day. It offered a nice contrast to the cropped, almost boyish haircuts and shapeless shift dresses. 
However, as with all things, what goes up must come down. Prohibition came along to try to kill the party from 1920 to the early Thirties, but only served to drive it further underground in the form of bathtub gin and speakeasies. Then came the Wall Street stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression of the 1930's, which soon gave way to the Second World War. All of which killed the party for good. 
