Fall Runway Beauty Trend: "Perfectly Imperfect"

I know most of you probably don't want to think about Fall right now and all the things that come with it like heading back to school, colder weather, and a drained bank account from purchasing textbooks and other various back to school necessities; however it is inevitable and we must learn to embrace the positive things about the changing of the seasons! It's a time to embrace the warm colors of Autumn and some of those backstage beauty trends from the Fall/Winter runways way back in February and March!

There is one trend that has to be my favorite above all others. From Chanel to Michael Kors, everyone's models seem to be done up in a beautifully undone way. It's like those girls I see walking around campus with their side buns having all the right pieces untucked and just the right amount of blush on her cheeks. What makeup they do have on may be some smudged up eye liner that looks chic, not slept in. It doesn't look incredibly innovative, but it is still how we wish we could look because it just makes them look effortlessly cool. How do they DO that?????

Vogue put it as being "Perfectly Imperfect", and it was all over the Fall/Winter 2010 runways.

A Michael Kors model getting her roughed up ponytail. (Photo from Allure)

Perfect imperfection! (Photo from Allure)

Well it looks like we may need to break out the hairspray and rat tailed combs because this runway hair was achieved through lots of back combing and teasing. We don't have to go totally 80's on this one though, just enough so that your ponytail or bun has a few wisps escaping from it. The idea is also to add some texture to your hair, if you do not have any already. Sleek and smooth is NOT what you want here.

Try teasing your hair before you pull it back into a ponytail. Not for volume, but for texturizing. Rough it up a little! If you have particularly smooth, straight hair that is had to get any texture from like I do, one technique I accidentally stumbled upon last night was spraying your hair with hair spray before going to bed. I was playing around with my new haircut (I went back to some blunt cut bangs I had in high school) and I sprayed my whole head with hair spray. Then I went to sleep, just thinking I would take a shower this morning. I woke up looking like I just stepped off Michael Kors' runway! (ok not quite, but you get what i am saying.) You just want your look to look undeveloped and a little primitive. If teasing your whole head seems a bit much for a look that is supposed to be "imperfect", just put your hair up first, then go back with a comb and backcomb the front of your hair to released a few chic, seemingly windblown wisps.

Marc by Marc Jacobs show makeup artist said it was almost embarrassing how little makeup there was in the show! Embarrassing or refreshing? (Photo from Allure)

This look at the Marc Jacobs show was created with the simplest of tools; Fingers! Fingers were used to give it a "more destroyed" look. Just a single lavender shade on the lids and mascara. (Photo from Allure)

Monotone, saturated lids at Alexander Wang's show. (Photo from Allure)

Makeup trends this fall have one thing in common: Simplicity. Whether faces were void of all makeup except blush like Marc by Marc Jacobs' show or have lids saturated in only one shadow like Alexander Wang's as well as others, it is safe to say eye makeup is going to get a lot easier this fall.

To achieve the perfectly imperfect smokey eye, take a single shade of eye shadow and apply just to your eye. Saturation is key! Pat it on with your (clean!!) index finger rather than a brush for a really undeveloped look. Finish it off with a natural looking mascara. Nothing full of drama and length. The idea is to look effortless and natural. The lack of intricate technique and product overload is refreshing. Some people don't really consider the idea of this natural, perfect "imperfection" really a trend, but in my opinion it is at the very least a break from the almost theatrical liner and lips on the Spring 2010 runways. I have always appreciated a minimalist approach for day to day beauty and it is nice to see a trend that others can follow even if they are limited with regards to supplies and skill.

What do you think of this trend? Do you like the minimalist, undeveloped looks or do you prefer to be all done up for your day to day activities? Do you rock the undone updo, or are you like me, brushing your hair back until it is absolutely smooth before putting it into a bun or ponytail?

Every week I will post about a different Fall beauty trend so stay tuned!

Review: Revlon's "Just Bitten" Lip Stain

Hey there!!  I'm sure many of you have seen the beautiful commercial for Revlon's new "Just Bitten" Lip Stain staring Jessica Biel. If not, here it is.



I love this commercial. The location looked beautiful and so did Miss Biel (and her man!). I ran out and picked up two shades of this lip stain, Passion and Twilight.

Revlon Just Bitten Lip Stain in Passion (top) and Twilight (Bottom)

Passion (Top) and Twilight (Bottom)

 The packaging is very similar to other drugstore lip stains on the market right now. Covergirl has had one out from their Outlast line for quite some time and Maybeline has just jumped on the lip stain trend as well. These all have the sharpie marker tip for application, but what separates Revlon's lip stain from the rest is the added lip balm on the other end of the product. This comes in handy since lip stains can be very drying. Also I feel like I will not be able to tell when I am running low until it is too late. Other than that the packaging is quite good. It's an all in one product which is always nice to have.

There are ten shades consisting of mostly  reds and pinks.

Swatches. Passion is on the left and Twilight is on the right. The swatches on the right have the balm over top of it

I loved the idea of being able to use these colors. Unfortunately, I did not realize how carefully I would have to apply these to avoid looking like a clown! These are EXTREMELY true to color. See how Passion's packaging is hot pink? That is how it is going to look on your lips if you are not careful! I should have known this, seeing as this is a lip STAIN and not a lipstick or a gloss. Stains are different from those in the way that they are more of a liquid, and they soak into your lips, thus staining them. It's like taking dye for tie dying, but putting it on your lips.

So the first time I applied Passion I took the sharpie marker-like applicator and just drew it on my lips. I did not think it looked like I had put it on right so I went over it again, pressing harder this time, but still no difference. I walked away from my mirror in disappointment. When my mom came home from work she took one look at me and asked what was wrong with my lips. I went to the mirror again and my lips were hot, barbie pink! Oopsie. Maybe appropriate for Halloween, but not for everyday.

As for Twilight, I actually enjoyed this color, but again not for daytime. It showed on my lips as a really romantic, slightly gothy blood red. I can definitely see myself using it for a fall/winter night look. However I did notice that even after I apply this stain, none really soaks into my upper lip except for the part closest to my bottom lip. I do not know if there is something wrong with my lip or if this is true for everyone. Either way it was a little troubling.

Sorry for the blurriness! Left is Passion, right is Twilight. Notice how there is no noticeable color on my top lip.

For its final grade I give this product a B-. Passing, but barely. While I love the concept of this and other lip stain marker pens, this product did not deliver for me. Yes it lasted for HOURS with no smudging or running like it promised(and like any lip stain should), but applying was a pain because I found myself having to shake the pen often to get the marker to work, and then obsessively check to make sure the product was not going to be too heavy in one spot and over dye it, or that any accidentally went outside my lips, thus redefining my natural lip line (in a bad way!). I have used lip stains before like Benefit Cosmetics "Benetint", and I never had the same issues I had with this marker. I believe it is because this product dries much faster than Benetint I have finally gotten the hang of this product after experimenting with it for about 2 weeks, but I have never really actually worn it out in public. I lightly applied Passion once and it did appear very natural looking and I wore it to work, but still at $8.99 I could find another drugstore lip product to give me a natural pink lip with a lot less stress of looking like a clown.

So have any of you tried this product? Were your experiences any different from mine? What about other lip stains? Any suggestions for another product to review or how I can make these better?

Thanks for reading!