8 Autumn Winter 2015-2016 Makeup Trends

The Autumn Winter 2015-2016 runway beauty trends roughly fell into two main camps : the dark and dramatic look with the focus either on heavily made up eyes or dark lips. Others went for the natural look with a softer definition of features -nude lips and understated eyes with full thick brows dominating the catwalks (aka the Cara Delevingne Effect but at least we can hold the tweezers!)

1. Graphic Eyes

Statement eyes with creative shapes were trending across the catwalks, from the bold cat eye at Chanel (top left) to the strong dark colour blocks at Dior (top right). Bambi eyes were seen at Rochas where makeup artist Lucia Poeroni graphically painted the models' upper and lower eyelids with floating black liner (Middle right.) Similar but less elaborate shapes were spotted at House of Holland and Proenza Schouler.  Over at Vaccarello models wore half stars at the corner of their eyes (middle left) while at Giamba models had small arrows on their cheeks. More wearable winged liner was also seen at Oscar de la Renta (Bottom left) while a lighter double winged eyeliner in  brown was adopted at Anna Sui. (Bottom Right)



Top Right Chanel Vogue, Top Left Dior Jason Lloyd Evans Harpers Bazaar Bottom Left Anthony Vaccarello Jason Lloyd -Evans Harpers Bazaar, Bottom Right Rochas Vogue

Left Oscar De La Renta Vogue Right Anna Sui Hapers Bazaar

2.  Kohl Rimmed Waterline

If graphic eyes seem too adventurous try lining the inner eyes. The look varied from classic kohl lined eyes at Lavin (top left), a slept in rock/grunge look, at Versace (top right) to smoked out liner at DVF (bottom left) Kohl rimmed eyes were also seen at Erdem, Issa and Jenny Packham.

Top Left Lavin,Vogue Top Right Versace, Vogue Bottom Left  Cavalli Vogue Bottom Right Diane Von Furstenburg

 3.  Shades of Grey

Yep 50 Shades of Grey is back. No I'm not talking about trending the bestseller book list but the autumn/winter 2015 catwalks. I think grey shadow is a universal shade and will suit everyone. It's also versatile: neutral for work or glammed up for a sexy smoky eye. At Dries Van Norton a dot of charcoal eye shadow was applied to the inner corner of the eyes and then a slate colour was washed across the eye lids (top left.) The look was soft at Marni with a wash of colour (bottom left) and more defined at Burberry (top right) Marc Jacobs (bottom right) and Paul Smith.

Top Left Dries Van Norton Vogue Right Burberry, Jason Lloyd Evans Harpers Bazaar, Bottom Left Marni Jason Lloyd-Evans, Harpers Bazaar Bottom Right Marc Jacobs Vogue

 

4. Shades of Terracotta

Terracotta orange eye shadow was seen at Alexander Mcqueen ( top right along with white mascara which I hope doesn't catch on), Preen and more subtle and wearable at Pucci (bottom right) and Thakoon (Top left.) On the catwalks it was worn with pale porcelain skin, but I think it could work with other skin tones it's just a question of being confident enough to pull it off.

Top Left Thakoon Vogue Top Right Alexander Mcqueen Vogue Bottom Left Preen by Thornton Braggazzi Jason Lloyd-Evans, Harpers Bazaar,  Bottom Right Pucci Vogue

5. Doll Eyed lashes

Elsewhere the 60's influence could be seen in the wide eyed Twiggy look, with defined doll like lashes at Rachel Zoe (Bottom left) and Rochas (Top left.) Giambattista Valli saw more natural looking lashes (top right.) Heavy 'spider legged lashes' (see bottom left photo)  were sported at Versace  and Fendi so don't throw out that thick clumpy mascara yet!



Top Left Rochas She look book, Top Right Giambattista Valli  Vogue  Bottom left Rachel Zoe, Bottom right Getty Cosmopolitan

6. Dark lips

Dark red and berry colours were spotted at  Dolce and Gabbana, Carolina Herrera, 3.1 Phillip Lim and many others. Lipsticks were blotted down to give a softer stain appearance which looked more natural instead of perfect overly made up lips. Black 'blackberry' lipstick was seen at Giles along with matte skin, eyes slightly contoured but free of mascara so that the main focus was on the lips (bottom left.)  Black lipsticks were also spotted at Emanuel Ungaro.

Top Left 3.1 Phillip Lim Jason Lloyd-Evans Harpers Bazaar, Top Right Dolce & Gabbana Vogue, Bottom Left Giles Vogue, Bottom Right Carolina Herrera Jason Lloyd Evans Harpers Bazaar,

 

7. The Natural Look

The natural look saw full thick brows brushed through but not heavily made up, concealer, mascara and subtle neutral eye shadows to lightly define the eyes. Lips were bare or had a slick of clear lip gloss. At Hugo Boss, makeup artist Pat McGrath went for luminous skin, groomed brows and subtle definition on the eyes using beige shadow (bottom left.) While at Ralph Lauren, makeup artist Tom Pecheux used a little bronzer and brown mascara paired with a natural looking light base for a fresh healthy look (Top left.) 




Top  Left Ralph Lauren Vogue  Top Right Jill Sandler Bottom Right Gucci Vogue Bottom Left Hugo Boss Vogue

 

8. Rosy Cheeks

Flushed cheeks were seen at Topshop Unique, Michael Kors, Donna Karen, Palmer//Harding and David Korma. At David Korma Andrew Gallimore used Nars Matte Multiple in Anguilla for a 'natural rose flush' (bottom left) while at Michael kors, Michael Kors Bronze Powder in Flush, Beam and Glow was applied. At Topshop the look was for "healthy, windswept skin, freckles, handsome eyebrows and wind-burnt lips." (See top and Bottom left)

Top Left Michael Kors Jason Lloyd-Evans  Harpers Barzaar Top Right Topshop Unique Vogue , Bottom Left David Korma Bottom Right Topshop Unique Vogue

 

So there you have it, what trend will you be copying?

MakeUp Revolution Salvation Palette Run Boy Run & Vivid Blush Lacquer Liquid Blushes Review

Desire- unblended semi dried

These liquid blushes are similar to ELFs HD blushes in their packaging with the air tight pump dispenser. However I haven't tried ELFs HD blush to compare the two. The bottles are small but you only need the tiniest bit. The consistency is a thick slightly creamy liquid (See picture above un-blended) which blends easily so you don't need to use much.- about a quarter of a pea or third of a pea. I've tried various brushes to apply these the best were Bobbi Brown's foundation brush and the Zoeva 122 petit stippling brush. 

However it is so easy to over apply so I make up I have powder or foundation brush to cover any excessive blush. You have to be careful when pushing down the nozzle so that it doesn't give you more than you need and end up wasting the product. Additionally sometimes if it hasn't been used in a while the blush may have dried blocking the so a clean pin is needed to unblock it. These packaging issues aside I really like these. The blushes dry fairly quickly (if you use a small amount) but it does give you enough time to blend them, but once it sets its hard to remove are long wearing. It dries to a matte finish and both are very pigmented but once blended it looks pretty natural on the face but they do show up and I think these colours would suit most skin tones, although black/women of colour may need something darker and brighter. For the price (£3) these are brilliant. They can be found here at Make Up Revolution or at Superdrug Online.

Many of Makeup Revolution's Salvation palettes contain eye shadows that are very similar to each other. I chose Run Boy Run over the others because it was the least similar to the Redemption Iconic 3 palette I'd purchased previously. The Salavation palettes are limited edition palates and Run Boy Run contains a mixture of neutral and brighter colours that are wearable on a day to day basis.

The packaging is simple but looks sophisticated with rose gold lettering on a shiny black case. There seems to be a Charlotte Tilbury rose good lettering trend at the moment. It has a good sized mirror and is bigger than the Sleek and MUA palettes(16cm long by 8cm wide and 1cm thick)  housing many more eye shadows (18 in all). Overall it looks more expensive than it is, a thumbs up for the pretty packaging, something which is often sacrificed in order to maintain a lower price point in budget make up brands. The packaging is sturdy and not too big so would be ideal for travel such as for weekends away, being able to create anything from brown, taupe and pink daytime neutrals, blue, grey,  brown and purple smoky eyes and bright pop of colour with the cranberry 'Break out from Society' shade. I like the mixture of colours as it makes it more versatile to use.

There are 12 shimmer shades and 6 matte shades in the palette. The shimmers are full of pigmentation and are easy to use and pick up on the make up brush. I'm impressed with the longevity of the colours in the first and second row lasting 8 -9  hours, nearly all day on my oily-ish lids without fading and that's without an eye primer! The last row contains six matte shades, from white to warm browns and then cool taupes and a black. These seem to be the neutral shades. The first two shades (Follow Me and Head To The Hills) were difficult to swatch, with Head To The Hills being difficult to show up especially as it's close to my skin colour. These need a primer to stay on and are softer and chalkier than the others, to be honest this row is wearable and usable  but a little bit of a disappointment compared to the amazing quality of the others in the palette.

This is tremendously good value £6 for 18 shades! For the amount of colours and the quality of the shadows (the 6 shades on bottom row aside) you are getting a lot for your buck! Since these are limited edition palettes I'd snap them up while you can.

Salvation Palette Run Boy Run £6 from MakeUp Revolution (which ships internationally) and Superdrug online and instore.

Get Cheek bones like Kate Moss-Ben Nye Contour Powders and Blush.

I always find contour powders that have an actual grey tone (grey to mimic shadows) impossible to find on the high street and don't get me started on bronzers they are all so orange! Enter Ben Nye Contour powders- realistic colours at high street prices. 

Ben Nye speicalises in theatrical make up but the brand has become so popular with makeup artists and youtubers they've started to develop products for the mainstream beauty market. Their products are very pigmented because stage makeup needs to be seen from back row seats and also be long lasting to withstand hot theatre lights. While they are are cheaper than high end brands such as MAC or Make Up For Ever their quality is just as good. Fortunately as they have become popular they haven't t raised their prices by very much. 

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                                          Left contour no 1 and Right Contour no 2.

The contour powders come in 3 shades: Contour no 1, no 2 and no 3. Their primary use was in theatres so there was no need for fancy names. I have no 1 and no 2 because I'm a tan shade and didn't know which one would show up or suit me better. 

I needn't have worried both suited my tanned olive skin tone. Contour no 1 is cooler and has a grey tone to it, making it perfect for contouring as the grey mimics grey shadows. Contour no 2 is warmer so is best suited to bronzing. They last all day although I haven't tested them in the hot summer heat. 

The packaging is a basic black snap close case although the matte rubber is similar to Nars packaging. The downside to this is they are difficult to keep clean and can end up a bit sicky. The pans contain more product than Kevyn Aucoin's famous sculpting powder (3.5g vs 3.1g) and is so much cheaper at £15.48 each. The pans measure about 3.7cm across. 

Because the powders are so pigmented I wouldn't recommend purchasing them if you have pale skin or if you like your contour and bronzer to be very subtle or require a lighter shade. These blend well but need a light hand so if you're a bit heavy handed with bronzer bear this in mind.   

Ben Nye is not as widely available as established mainstream make up brands. I bought these from Treasure House of Make Up which is based in the UK here, if you look under powder rouge you'll find the contour powders. They are under the pre-order drop down menu but I actually didn't find that it took that much longer to arrive (perhaps an extra 7 days.) Treasure House of Makeup is extending their 25% off pro discount to everyone at the moment. Ben Nye also sell contour creams in very similar shades to those above, however they do contain Ozokerite wax which I am allergic to which is why I stuck to buying the powders. In the US Camera Ready Comestics and Screen Face carry Ben Nye.

My other purchase was Ben Nye Powder Rouge in Dark Tech DR-9.

Contrary to the name this blush is not dark. On the website this looks like a muted orange but it's a bright coral colour in person. This is actually the colour I wanted but in the pan it looks so scary like the colour red clown cheeks and noses. On the cheeks it does give that summer coral blush but careful this blush is so intensely pigmented you have to apply just the tiniest bit on your blush and make sure you tap away all the excess so that you don't overdo it. I'd recommend washing your blush brush soon after so it doesn't stain the brush. Since this is so pigmented i'd recommend using a fan brush or a synthetic brush that doesn't pick up or apply as much blush. This lasts all day and the pan would last you a very long time like a year or much longer.

I bought this as a refill pan so while the packaging looks basic and a little unattractive it's actually quite functional- there's a sponge that keeps the pan in place which can be thrown away and the pan added into another palette. Unlike other packaging that houses refills the plastic case is sturdy and practical, I've had refills in really flimsy packaging before that you have to move immediately before the whole thing disintegrates. 

The refill pan contains  3.5g and costs £8.98 and is available at Treasure House of Makeup here