'All work and no play ' was certainly not my motto for the holidays 2016. This past month has been busy with work, and celebrations. Trips to New York City and Miami, the opening of Forty Five Ten on Main, numerous Holiday parties, multiple early Birthday lunches and dinners; it has been a December of joy, dress-up, and lots of 'playing' with makeup.
One more celebration to go on Saturday- NYE, which also happens to be my birthday. First I will be having lunch with my amazing daughter who will be turning 25 in just a few weeks, then in the evening, on to an intimate sit-down dinner party hosted by friends.
An incredible way to close out 2016 and to prepare for greatness in 2017!
Now to the details.
December started off with a trip to NYC- strictly to play tourist, which I never get to do. It doesn't get much better than Christmas in NYC. From the tree in Rockefeller center to the Rockettes Christmas show, to all the incredible store windows- I felt like a kid again. The chill in the air was perfect- once I dashed into UNIGLO for a long underwear purchase.
Upon returning home, it was onto the opening party of the fashion emporium Forty Five Ten on Main- 45,000 square feet of visual perfection everywhere you turn. From the building itself, to the interiors, to the clothing- no stone was left unturned; every detail perfectly executed.
The theme for the evening was 'The Eccentrics' and guests were required to dress accordingly. Nothing classic for this event.
This was a challenge I was up for- especially as I wanted to shop within my own closet- at which I was mostly successful.
I had recently splurged on a pair of Valentino ballet heels that I fell in love with - that I spotted while having my makeup event at Stanley Korshak, one of our best accounts.
This meant my outfit was going to be based on the ballet shoe, and planning ahead.
From my closet I pulled out a black bodysuit and black leggings, a wonderful black chiffon overlay vest with attached skirt, and a black chiffon gathered collar- a gift from my BFF a few years ago. Nothing new- but all worn in a new way- the key to collecting good pieces.
On my ears were vintage Versace earrings- an early birthday gift from friends who knew I had my eye on them. Outfit complete with my Alexander McQueen clutch, and I was dressed to go.
Now of course was the big question- how would I do my makeup? The Susan Posnick line is designed for Real Life. As a rule, I keep a pretty natural look- quick and easy, but decided that for this party I was going to apply my products in a more theatrical, vampy way.
This was not the 10 minute makeup, but the 45 minute one!
I'll give you an idea of the steps involved......I don't expect you will attempt to copy it; it's just to give you a sense of what 'painting a face' really means.
The key to every makeup is flawless looking skin, which is easy to obtain with COLORFLO foundation.
- I used COLORFLO in the sifter container with the blending brush as I wanted maximum coverage. Although it still looked and felt as if there was nothing on my skin, it was perfectly smooth and even - like peaches and cream.
- Next I applied the correcting side of COLORCORRECT in C3 for a little contouring to my cheekbones, nose and jawline.
- Above the cheek contouring, I lightly applied COLORME in Peony to the apple of my cheeks, for a touch of color.
- I also swept Peony across my lids as a base color for my eyeshadow as well.
- Then onto COLOREYEDEFINE liners and shadows- and I was wearing most of them.
The 2 'must dos ' for a dramatic eye are :
- Layering your colors to build shape and dimension to the eye b. False lashes in addition to mascara I used the jet liner to create a thick line above my lashes, extending out past the outside corner to make my eyes look larger and more almond- shaped. I also lined the inside of my eye beneath the upper lashes.
Using the black liner as a shadow, I blended it into the crease of my eye and onto the outer third corner, using the multi- use brush to blend.
Through the center of my eye from the pupil to the brow, I layered the platinum pencil with my Whisper ILLUMINATE.
Into the jet liner I added the amethyst COLOREYEDEFINE liner to bring out the green in my eye, and added some amethyst pencil & opal shadow below my lashes to do the same and to frame and brighten my eye.
The inside corners top & bottom, held the turquoise liner blended with the gold shadow.
Just under and over the arch of my brow was COLORCORRECT in C1 - to lift the arch of the brow.
And speaking of brows, I lightly feathered in the jet pencil with a small, angled brush and then brushed through the brow with a little of the amethyst liner for depth and dimension.
Next came the false lashes- and they were not natural looking.ones. I was going for drama! On top of those, more black liner- and a coat of COLORCOATED mascara. And then of course, I added a few coats of mascara to the bottom lashes as well. Eyes done!
6. My lips looked like they were stained a subtle berry color. First I used the NUDE side of the COLORDUO lip pencil to shape and enhance my lips. Then I placed some Whisper ILLUMINATE to the center of my lips to highlight for a fuller looking pout.
Lastly, I dotted COLORESSENTIAL Rio onto my lips.
- Final step- A light all-over dusting of my ILLUMINATE in Whisper applied with the blending brush, giving my face the perfectly soft glow for an evening of fun.
To say the party was festive would be an understatement. From sitting & chatting with Iris Apfel the 94 year old fashion icon, to watching burlesque queen Dita Van Teese perform- it was a night of delights.
Douglas Little was misting his all natural fragrances into vodka shooters. Model extraordinaire and jewelry designer Erin Wasson and I toasted to friends and success with the perfect rose champagne. I had a long overdue catch-up chat with Hal Rubenstein and his husband. Hal was a founding editor and ex-fashion director of InStyle magazine, and is one of the most respected and influential voices in the fashion world.
Everyone at the party had pulled out all the stops when it came to dressing- and what a wonderful fashion parade it was. A perfect way to start the holiday season with both long-time friends and new ones.
Wishing everyone a Happy New Year and may all your wishes comes true in 2017!
