I was delighted to find out last month that Dave Lackie & Nina Westbury would be coming to Vancouver to host a beauty event at The Bay. For those who aren't following Dave on twitter....you are seriously missing out! He has the best beauty giveaways, wonderful makeup tips & the 411 on all new beauty releases. He's also the editor for BEAUTY the Guide, which is a great publication if you enjoy runway looks and keeping up to date on the latest trends. I find it super inspiring- and it's also a wonderful enabler in terms of fuelling my need to buy new make-up! ;) As for Nina, she's hilarious and always willing to offer excellent personalized advice if you have any questions about makeup!
In truth, I wasn't sure I would be attending- I hadn't been able to RSVP before all the seats were claimed, and I also happened to have an exam later that evening. Regardless, I decided it wouldn't hurt to stop by. Everyone was already seated by the time I arrived, and one of the lovely managers/co-ordinators (I didn't even catch his name, yikes!) told me to check at the registration table to see if there were any free RSVP seats for me. It was still full, so I took a seat in the general area. I'm so glad I decided to attend after all- Dave & Nina were as bubbly and fun as they seem on twitter. It was an excellent presentation, filled with quirky anecdotes from Dave of behind-the-scene moments at fashion shows; he's really seen it all! From Anna Wintour to Michael Kors- it was wonderful to hear of his experiences. I really enjoyed learning about the thought process of makeup artists when planning runway looks- crazier looks to contrast with more conservative outfits, or more dramatic eyes to bring attention to detailed dresses. (Suddenly reminded of how much I'd LOVED the fun makeup at the Manish Arora FW14 show!!!!)
It was also a bit of a throwback to go through fall/winter shows- those who know me are aware of how closely I follow fashion week (albeit menswear more than womenswear), and having just gone through the spring/summer season in October, the shows from February were already one big blur in my mind.
Unfortunately, I can't access the archives for the October 2014 of BEAUTY the Guide, which provided excellent examples of the runway trends mentioned in the presentation (and my memory is horrid. Why didn't I write them down like I was originally planning to? I'm a horrible blogger, honestly.) The few that I can remember are..... glacial blues, darker red lips, and my personal fave- "Medici modern".
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| Thiarine Garcia & Sasha Luss @ Max Mara FW14 RTW. Obsessed with that shade! Wish I had their cheekbones :( |
As an art history student, I'm fairly aware of the Medici family- it was even more of a surprise for me to see a Bronzino painting, as I had to write a paper on him last year. (It's odd how I feel a certain sense of pride every time I hear about Bronzino. I came across a copy of the very painting I wrote on while in Florence this summer, and again in Milan, and I couldn't help but rave about it to my mom, haha.) I swear a little shiver went down my spine when Dave talked of how the makeup at Milan fashion week was very nude & natural but flawless- as if the models themselves had stepped out of these paintings. It's absolutely brilliant!
Dave also mentioned the rise of pink eyeshadows and how surprised he'd been to see them used at the Chanel show. Funnily enough, I'd actually experimented with a bit of pink during the summer (I was bored and hadn't left the house in a few days. This is what cabin fever does to me....) I suppose pink can come off as childish and too Barbie-like....or as if you're suffering from allergies, haha. Certainly, the first eyeshadow I ever owned as a child was a pink & brown quad from Wet & Wild. It's such a fun colour to play with though- and the dusky rose that was used at the Burberry show would be so great for fall, I think.
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| Lindsey Wixson @ Chanel FW14 RTW |
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| Emmy Rappe @ Burberry Prorsum FW14 RTW |
At the end of the presentation, the manager from before came up and asked if I'd gotten a chance to register, and I told him that it had been full. "Wait right here," he said, before running off to the table. He came back and presented me with one of the goodie bags that had been for those that had RSVPed. I was so unbelievably grateful, honestly- it was so kind of him to do so!!! I hung around hoping to get a chance to thank Dave & Nina for their presentation- and as there were only 5 of us left, Dave presented us with some full-sized goodies!! Honestly, by this time I could've cried over how generous and nice everyone was being, haha. Nina was busy giving tips on makeup application, so I tagged along as she took us from counter to counter- we went from Clarins to Dior to YSL! I asked her for tips on achieving a better smoky eye for my eye shape, and she also showed me how to achieve a nice contour despite my lack of cheekbones (with the help of Guerlain's Four Seasons bronzer in Nude!) She even complimented my eyeliner application and I wanted to clap my hands and shout with joy, haha. I've only just recently figured out how to master my cat-eye so that the line isn't all wonky, and it more or less takes up most of my morning prep time, to be quite honest. I was also really flattered by everyone saying how much they loved my red lip- I'd been a bit hesitant to wear it!
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| smoky eye achieved with YSL's couture palette in 'Rive Gauche' (i think!). Nina said she was going for the 'glacial blue' look that was mentioned in the presentation, haha! Lipstick is NYX's 'Electra'. |
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| The amazing goodies that I can't wait to try! So grateful to Dave for the Lancôme Grandiôse (which has a super unique wand), and the Butter London polish :) Also....these are my first deluxe sample-sized perfumes, and I LOVE the adorable mini packaging. |
[edit: this post has been given stamps of approval from both dave & nina, hehe!]
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