How to photograph well: Makeup tips to ensure you look as spectacular in pictures as you do in-person

As a wedding photographer and makeup artist, Dallas Curow knows a thing or two about looking good in front of the camera—which is why we asked her to share her best beauty tips on how to photograph well. Be it a wedding you’re attending or other big event, you’ll want to use these tricks the next time you know you’ll be in the spotlight!

Wedding season is almost in full swing and even if you’re not heading down the aisle yourself, chances are high that many a camera will be pointed your way. Meaning: If there was ever a day want to know how to photograph well, someone’s wedding day is it. Aside from picking a flattering outfit and practicing your smile, the best way to ensure you’ll photograph well is through your makeup. But this doesn’t mean you need to turn to a professional makeup artist to get the job done. With just a few tricks and changes to your everyday beauty routine, you can ensure you look as spectacular in pictures as you do in-person. Follow the steps below and get ready to smile for the camera!

Prep
Great skin is the foundation of any look. The night before your big event, exfoliate with either a gently abrasive scrub (such as St. Ives Apricot Scrub) or a non-abrasive liquid (like Aveda Botanical Kinetics Exfoliant) and apply your favourite moisturizer generously. This will leave your skin looking plump and refreshed. On the day of your event, only apply moisturizer if your skin is dry to very dry. If your skin is a bit more oily, skip to the next step.

Prime 
Be sure to begin with a primer to create a smooth starting point for the rest of your look. Two of the best ones on the market are Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer and Nars Pro-Prime Oil-Free Pore Refining Primer.

Refine Your Complexion
Choose a foundation that’s right for your skin type and made to be photographed. It’s best to avoid any varieties with built-in sunscreen, as they don’t play nice with flash photography and can look mask-like in photos. Two of the best camera friendly foundations are Make Up For Ever HD Invisible Coverage Foundation and Revlon PhotoReady Foundation (liquid, mousse or powder).

Read more ...

Wedding day beauty: Whether you’re the bride or a guest, 10 tips for romantic makeup and hair

Summer wedding season is here, and whether you’re walking down the aisle, standing up for your best friend or just showing up and dancing the night away, it’s important to consider how you’ll look. In terms of outfits, we certainly have you covered. But what about your hair and makeup on the big day?

More and more brides are taking the DIY approach to their wedding makeup (even Kate Middleton was rumoured to have done it herself!) and it goes without saying that most wedding guests aren’t spending a day at the salon before a friend’s nuptials. But with photographers everywhere and some weddings starting at the crack of dawn and going into the wee hours of the night, it’s advisable to put some extra effort into your hair and makeup.

To get the best advice on wedding day makeup and hair, we turned to the Beauty Panel. With a number of professional makeup artists on the panel, these experts have many weddings under their beauty belts—and plenty of tips for you, regardless of your bride, bridesmaid or guest status.

Challenge 12: How would you do your hair and makeup for a wedding? See the answers now! »

For Fiona Man from Product Wars, wedding day makeup is all about thin layers. By apply products slowly, you can control the pigmentation (no smoky cat eye mistakes for brides!) and ensure that it lasts all day and night long. Janella Panchamsingh fromBold n Beautiful Makeup agrees with the layering technique, but her her, the best bridal makeup is all about coming in under budget. No fancy brushes or expensive palettes are required to get the romantic look she shares with the Beauty Panel.

As for wedding day hair, Toronto Beauty Reviews’s Elaine Atkins shows you how to do an easy, curled bun that’s sure to standout amongst the sea of wedding guests. And if you’re feeling a little more dramatic, take a tip from Secrets From Your Girlfriends’s JJ Cowan: she enlisted the help of some hair extensions to get her show-stopping updo that any bride is sure to covet.

Have a beauty question you want to see the panel answer? Send it our way atbeautypanel@fashionmagazine.com. Read on for the answers to this week’s challenge and for more goodness, get to know all contributors on our Beauty Panel hub page.

Read more ...

SUMMER WEDDING GUIDE 2013

You know that the summer wedding season has officially begun when wedding invitations fill your mailbox and wedding photos dominate your social media feeds. Even if you’re not the bride (or bridesmaid), attending a wedding still requires an awful lot of planning. From finding a date to deciding how to do your hair and makeup to figuring out what to wear to a wedding—there’s a lot riding on just one day. But don’t fret: our summer wedding guide is here to help!

Though getting ready for a wedding may feel daunting, it’s the perfect excuse to experiment with spring fashion trends, try a new hairstyle or, at the very least, buy a new pair of dancing shoes. To help you decide what to wear to a wedding, we’ve compiled some top-notch wedding style guides. If you have a dress code to follow, turn to our street style-inspired shopping guide. From what to wear to a country wedding to choosing a dress for a black-tie affair, we have you covered. (Even better, every pick takes a cue from some of the best street style photos of the season.) If buying a new dress isn’t in your budget, the Style Panel offers great tips on how to make something you may already own (or borrow from a friend) look special enough for a big event.

We know the bride and groom will be documenting everything at their wedding, and that includes pictures of all the lovely guests—yourself included! But instead of getting nervous by the onslaught of cameras, change up your beauty routine and ensure you look your best. We share 10 romantic hair and makeup looks that are ideal for wedding guests—though DIY brides may want to take note! And if you’ve always wanted to know how to photograph well, our step-by-step tutorial takes you through key makeup tricks that will make you look your best on camera. (File that one away for any time you’re attending a big event!)

One last thing to remember: It’s certainly a faux pas to steal the bride’s spotlight on her special night, but with the help of our wedding guide, there is no doubt you’ll be the second prettiest lady in attendance!

Read more ...

Best curly hair on the red carpet: 67 photos to inspire your next style

View our gallery of the best curly hair on the red carpet »

Curly and wavy hairstyles are, without a doubt, one of our favourite red carpet looks. From perfectly coiffed Old Hollywood ringlets to messy beach waves, there are endless ways to wear your hair down—while still giving it some style. Curly hair is easier to master than an updo, looks much more dramatic than a ponytail and definitely has an appeal that straight hair just can’t match. Need further proof? We’ve gathered some of the best curly hair and wavy hair looks from recent red carpets all in one place. (If you haven’t already logged into your Pinterest account, now’s the time!)

Jessica Chastain, Kristen Stewart and Rihanna are at the top of our list of stars who are most likely to walk a red carpet with wavy hair. While Chastain generally keeps it very glamourous, Stewart has perfected the art of pairing haute couture with a grungy hairstyle—for equally stunning results. Rihanna, on the other hand, is the queen of changing colour—her curly hair has gone from black to blonde and back again—its most recent incarnation is a trend-setting shade of grey.

Cropped cuts and long bobs also look best with the added texture of waves. Demi Lovato kept her curls messy when she was in Toronto last month for the MMVAs.Lily Collins ditched her long style for a shorter, beachy-wave style. And Jennifer Lawrence probably caused a thousand girls to request a lob when she debuted her new short cut—complete with loose waves—earlier in the spring.

Read more ...

Lucian Matis brings ’60s banana eyeliner back (with French outline nails to match!) for Fall 2013

See the makeup and nail art from Lucian Matis Fall 2013 »

It may have occurred at the very end of Toronto Fashion Week, but the makeup and nails at Lucian Matis set the bar for Fall 2013 beauty trends. Of course, having some talented heavyweights on board certainly helped: Revlon global artistic directorGucci Westman and Revlon nail expert Leeanne Colley were behind the retro look.

Despite a scheduling conflict that prevented Westman from actually being backstage, she didn’t want to pass up the chance to work with Lucian Matis. Skype sessions allowed for proper collaboration with the designer and once the look was finalized, her right-hand gal, Mimi Imanishi, led the team in Toronto.

“The inspiration for this look was Lucian’s gorgeous, monochromatic colour palette while incorporating safari khaki tones to the eye. This look is also very much inspired by the ’60s, specifically, the German model, Veruschka,” Westman said, via press release.

Thick, black banana liner was what really brought the ’60s influence to life—that’s the industry term for eyeliner applied to the crease. Mimi layered Revlon PhotoReady Kajal Intense Liner and Brightener in “Carbon Cleopatra” and ColorStay Crème Gel Liner in “Black,” blending and adjusting as she went. The rest of the colours—shimmering, multi-dimensional shades of green and khaki-gold—came courtesy of the Revlon PhotoReady Primer and Shadow in “Pop Art.”

Even better, the banana liner look was artfully mimicked in the nails, with Leeanne Colley creating a contoured, outline French mani design. The stripe-heavy style was done with a custom blend: “We created a wintery white using Revlon’s “Spirit, which is a white Top Speed [Nail Enamel], with one coat and then layered [Revlon Colorstay Longwear Nail Enamel in] “Porcelain” over top of it. It actually looks a bit like French vanilla ice cream,” Colley explained. The black outline was done using Revlon Nail Enamel in “Iconic,” which is a deep charcoal-grey shade with a green undertone—making it a perfect match for the makeup.

An additional nail art look, featuring a deep V of leather-looking polish, was created after Colley previewed the Fall 2013 Lucian Matis collection and decided more texture was needed: “The second look is a little bit more dramatic—a little bit fiercer—we used the exact same [polish] colours but we created texture. We really wanted to create a leather look because there’s a lot of leather throughout the collection so we did that by using a sponging technique.”

Read more ...

Noticed: Playing cards, pastel hairnets and clips of all colours were popular backstage at the Fall 2013 shows

See all the Fall 2013 backstage photos of the hair clip trend »

Backstage at the fall shows, we spotted all manner of ways to keep hair off the face and crease-free, from playing cards to pastel hairnets. Bow-and leaf-shaped clips are stylist Guido Palau’s signature, while Bumble and Bumble coiffeurs keep a handy supply of logo’d cards.

Read more ...

Greta Constantine Fall 2013 backstage beauty: Warrior-inspired hair and “beautifully unfinished” makeup

See the backstage pictures from Greta Constantine Fall 2013 »

“A sense of tribal,” is how Stephen Wong—one half of the Greta Constantinedesign duo—described the beauty look for the label’s Fall 2013 collection. When presenting the looks last night, models were turned into fierce warriors, goddesses and Amazonians with textured hair, smoky eyes and geometric, neutral nails. “We took our cues from Oribe [Canales], a hairstylist who did all the supermodels in the ’90s,” Wong says. “I remember looking at the shows he’d do and thinking the hair was amazing. It had a sense of tribal, but very cool and modern feel to it.”

Sebastian core stylist Daniel Di Tommaso was the lead for the three different hairstyles, inspired by three variations of tribal. “All three hair looks were tight on the sides but textured on top to blend all the girls together.” First up were the goddesses. Di Tommaso layered multiple products—including Sebastian’s new Shine Crafter Moldable Shine Wax—to make the hair moldable. He then added a long, 30-inch ponytail in the back and braids in the front, while the rest of the style was “just her own hair pulled back into a chignon bun.” he explained. He finished by layering the style with Sebastian’s Thermal Spray, Shine Define and Shaper Hairspray. The second hairstyle was the warrior, where the hair was tied into tiny ponytails to look like a mohawk—using Shine Crafter Moldable Wax to get the hair sleek and tight. With the individual ponytails, knots were made to condense the length and were pinned in. The third hair look was the Amazon goddess who had more texture and dimension. Di Tommaso braided cornrows at the side and brought the hair into a high, tight, sleek bun with the ends left out for added flare.

The past few seasons, a smoky eye has been Greta Constantine’s go-to for makeup. This season, M.A.C Cosmetics senior makeup artist Melissa Gibson was inspired by two ideas: “savage” and “psychological romance.” “I wanted to do something not only tribal but beautifully unfinished,” Gibson said. “It’s like marking your face, but instead you are running your finger across your eye, creating a broken down smoky look.” She achieved this by mixing “Black Black,” “Pure White” and “Marine Ultra” from M.A.C’s professional Chromacake line. Gibson took a fan brush to break up the colour so it didn’t look beautifully blended. To complete the look, she layered Haute and Naughty Lash Mascara.

Nails were kept chic and long, and designed by nail artist Naomi Misu from Tips Nail Bar using M.A.C Cosmetics. Misu used M.A.C polish in “Nocturnelle” and added lines with “Skin” using a detailed brush. “We created this look inspired by pysanka, an Ukranian Easter egg,” Misu says. “It has all the nice details with lines and triangles.

Read more ...