Makeup Ideas: Three New Year's Eve Beauty Looks

Unless your plans are watching the ball drop wearing pajamas (which I fully condone), there's quite a lot of planning that goes into New Year's Eve. While I can't help you with the dress—I'm still trying to figure that out myself—I can provide makeup inspiration courtesy of three sexy celebrities. Even better is that they're super simple, so you can spend less time primping and more time popping bottles.

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Bright Pink Lipstick. This is hands down the prettiest fuchsia lipstick look I have ever seen—and I've seen quite a few. I think it's the freshness of Kate Bosworth's skin, the creaminess of the formula she's wearing, and the darkness of her lashes. For a similar lip shade, try MAC Lipstick in Girl About Town, CoverGirl Lip Perfection lipstick in Eternal, or Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet in L'Exubérante. Swipe it on straight from the tube, but then take a Q-tip and run it along the perimeter of your mouth. It sounds odd but stay with me here: Makeup artists use this trick to soften the edges so bold lipstick looks easy and cool rather than painted on and heavy.

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Cobalt Liner. This electric shade is a great way to spice up a plain LBD, and it also complements white and silver. To get the same intensity as you see on Jennifer Hudson, use a liquid or gel liner (l like Stila Stay All Day Liquid Eye Liner in Cobalt, NYX Gel Liner and Smudger in Cobalt and Sephora Long-Lasting Eyeliner in Fancy Blue). If you want something more subtle, smudge a blue pencil just along the lower lashes and load up on black mascara. Makeup artists say it will make you look wide awake—an illusion all of us could use post-midnight.

Sexy Smoky Eyes. A classic smoky eye on the last day of 2013? Yawn. Shake things up with this smoldering winged liner riff modeled by Emily Ratajkowski from "Blurred Lines." Start by lining your top lashes with a pencil to lay down the shape, then add a sweep of shimmery charcoal shadow all over your lids, fading slightly up towards the crease. Then, using a black gel liner, trace over the pencil line. If you're fair, finish with pink blush and sheer pink lipstick. For medium complexions, go for a peachy-pink on eyes and lips; for dark complexions, wines and deep berries look best.

Premium service emphasised

It’s not just about making a purchase as the exceptional shopping experience plays a role in sales.

WITH high-end products leading growth within the perfume and cosmetics industry, it is no surprise that beauty brands are placing increased emphasis on the “premium” experience of shopping for their products. Product quality itself is no longer enough. In the premium segment, customers are seeking an exceptional shopping experience and the sense of a certain mystique surrounding the products, explained Jasmine Petiot, Vice President at the Federation Francaise de la Parfumerie Selective (FFPS) and manager of the independent fragrance shop Parfumerie Seduction in Paris.

Although the cosmetics and perfume industry is more vulnerable than other sectors during an economic downturn, it is less likely to suffer from a decreased demand than the fashion industry. And, paradoxically, in the current economic climate, premium brands are leading the growth for the entire cosmetics and perfume industry, while sales of mid-range products seem to have gone down in recent years.

In fact, the most exclusive premium brands, such as Creme de la Mer, have rarely sold so well in the past. “These brands’ sales are increasing at a slower rate than last year, but they are investing in media and advertising heavily to maintain their volume,” said the Vice President of the FFPS.

“The customers who shop here regularly have not changed their habits, those who used to come sporadically sometimes come less often or buy in smaller packages, for example, from 10ml to 50ml packages when it comes to perfume,” she adds.

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More than just the sum of their products, today’s high-end beauty brands are defined by the unique experiences they aim to embody, and services play an increasingly important role in this regard. Petiot notes that “clients are paying more attention to services, sales rituals, anything that gives value to the object they are purchasing: gift paper, scented packaging, a smile, and personal touches ... they are looking for recognition and for special attention. And all of these factors contribute to the memory of a pleasant shopping experience. Life is hard for many people, and walking into a perfume shop should represent an enchanted interlude.”

It is just this type of enchanted interlude that Guerlain hopes to offer through its newly-renovated Champs-Elysees flagship store in Paris. In white marble, wood and Baccarat crystal chandeliers, the new space is more than a boutique: it also includes a gourmet restaurant and a tea room where guests can sip beverages inspired by Guerlain’s iconic fragrances.

Another strategy for cultivating a premium brand image lies in product packaging. In a recent study, British research firm Visionaid revealed that the overall cosmetics packaging market has received a boost due to a stronger demand for premium cosmetics products.

“The trend towards the ‘premium-isation’ of cosmetics and anti-aging products in developed countries could lead to a rise in the price of beauty product packaging overall, as packaging will become more innovative and costly,” according to Visionaid.

Finally, the ambience and narratives surrounding a product or brand can also contribute to its desirability, which is why a number of brands are appealing to story-telling strategies to cultivate a certain mystique. In recent years, Chanel, for example, has emphasised its prestigious and iconic history through its Inside Chanel videos. This month, the brand continues in this vein, launching a campaign based on archival photographs and recordings linking Marilyn Monroe to the famous Chanel No 5 fragrance.

Thanks in large part to the Internet, customers almost always know everything about a product before coming into the store and buying it, Petiot explains. In consequence, brands need to add complementary elements that will make the customer’s experience more positive.

Telling the story of a product or surrounding it with interesting services is a way of inviting customers “to discover what they had not yet imagined, or did not know,” says Petiot. Cultivating the special relationship between each customer and the brand is a vital element for success in the high-end cosmetics and perfume industry.

15 of the best Jennifer Lawrence quotes

If Jennifer Lawrence isn't already your (girl) crush, she should be.

America's motor-mouthed sweetheart is perhaps the most quotable gem of them all, her penchant for off-the-cuff honesty and hilarious quips is off the charts.

Without further ado, we've pulled together 15 of J-Law's best quotes, and trust us - it was mighty difficult to limit it to just 15 because everything that comes out of her mouth is pretty damn good.

1. "Sorry! That was phlegm. That was so powerful. I'm like a dragon!" - after coughing on David Letterman.

2. On meeting John Stamos: "He was at a party, and I turned into a perverted guy. I was like following him into rooms and staring at his ass... He asked me if I was on mushrooms and I said, 'No. I'm dead sober. This is just me." - To Conan O'Brien.

3. "You guys are just standing up because you feel bad that I fell and that's really embarrassing.. but thank you." - Accepting her Best Actress Oscar after tripping on the way to the podium.

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4. "I really would not call myself a fashion icon. I would call myself somebody who gets dressed by professionals. [It's like], 'Dance, monkey, dance' right on the red carpet.' I would call me more of a monkey." -On her new status as a red carpet style icon, to E!

5. On being a teenager: "I was a weirdo. I wasn't picked on or anything. And I wasn't smarter than the other kids; that's not why I didn't fit in. I've always had this weird anxiety. I hated recess. I didn't like field trips. Parties really stressed me out. And I had a very different sense of humour." - to Vogue.

6. "Once I'm obsessed with somebody, I'm terrified of them instantly. I'm not scared of them - I'm scared of me and how I will react. Like, for instance, one time someone was introducing me to Bill Maher, and I saw Meryl Streep walk into the room, and I literally put my hand right in Bill Maher's face and said, 'Not now, Bill!' and I just stared at Meryl Streep. I just creepily stared at her." - telling Vanity Fair about getting starstruck.

7. On bringing little bundles of joy into the world: "I think all mothers are a nightmare - i don't think you can have children and not lose your goddamn mind." - to Vogue.

8. On strange men sleeping on your lawn: "If I were just your average 23-year-old girl, and I called the police to say that there were strange men sleeping on my lawn and following me to Starbucks, they would leap into action. But because I am a famous person, well, sorry, ma'am, there's nothing we can do. It makes no sense." - to Vogue.

9. On eating raw fish in The Hunger Games: "They kept saying 'It's sushi-grade!' And I'm like... 'Put some soy sauce on this. Get me some rice. And cook it. And then get me out of here." - At Comic Con, via Entertainment Weekly.

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10."If anybody even tries to whisper the word 'diet,' I'm like, 'You can go f-yourself."- On being called fat, to Harper's Bazaar UK.

11. On exercise: "I hate saying, 'I like exercising' - I want to punch people who say that." - Glamour magazine.

12. "If I don't have anything to do all day I might not even put my pants on." - responding to a question in Glamour magazine about what she does in her free time.

13. "I think any time a girl has to show her thighs, it's never going to be her favorite look. I love the dress... if someone else wore it." - On the sheer Dior gown she wore to the LA premiere of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, to Good Morning America.

14. "My family went on a cruise, and I got a terrible haircut. FYI: Never get your hair cut on a cruise. And I had, like, this blonde curly 'fro, and I walked into the gym the first day back in seventh grade and everyone was staring at me, and for some reason I thought, I know what I need to do! And I just started sprinting from one end of the gym to the other, and I thought it was hilarious. But nobody else at that age really did. It was genuinely weird." - September 2013 Vogue.

15. On her weight: "I'd rather look chubby on screen and like a person in real life." - to Marie Claire South Africa.

Raf Simons Opens His Atelier—and Shares His Label—to Artist Sterling Ruby for the Most Complete Designer/Artist Collaboration Yet

On January 15, Raf Simons will show his new men’s collection in Paris. Except it won’t be his name on the label. Or at least, not his alone. “For one season, the brand ‘Raf Simons’ will not exist,” the designer boldly declares. Instead, he’ll be sharing the billing with Sterling Ruby (below), “one of the most interesting artists to emerge in this century,” according to The New York Times. Same could be said for Simons, of course, but, on the surface at least, that looks like the only thing they’d have in common. Whether painted, sculpted, dripped, slopped, or bronzed, Ruby’s work is extravagantly physical, monumentally messy—or messily monumental. Simons’ isn’t. Extravagantly emotional, maybe, but otherwise a masterwork of purity and precision. But we know that surfaces deceive. Designer and artist are, in fact, a perfectly compatible duo. “We have similar sensibilities that surface when we speak about music and art,” Ruby confirms. “And even before our collaborations, we were talking a lot about textiles.”

Those collaborations have included the interior of the Raf Simons store in Tokyo and a handful of outfits from Simons’ first couture show for Dior, which referenced Ruby’s paintings. But this time it’s radically different. “Fashion has a long interest in collaborative situations,” explains Simons, “but what interests me now is to say that this is not just a collaborative thing, not just asking someone in my field to do the knitwear or the bags. This is all the way, all the way. There is not one shirt, one shoe, one sock that is not from our mutual thinking process.”

The challenges such an endeavor presents seem obvious. Geography, for one, when the creative process so physically involves one person based in Antwerp and another in L.A. Simons insists that even if Ruby wasn’t at every fitting, every single decision was made jointly.

Then, on some level, there is surely the issue of dimensionality, meaning the scale of Ruby’s own work versus menswear’s dimensions (there are rumors of a coat composed of seventy-five different types of fabric, which sounds pretty, er, massive). But that was a challenge Simons saw as his own: for the designer to find solutions to technical issues so the artist’s creativity wouldn’t be restricted. “It was less of a challenge than you might think,” Ruby offers. “I have been thinking about my studio as a kind of Bauhaus. In the last couple of years, I have been producing my own work clothes to wear at the studio, work shirts, pants, and jumpsuits. They are made from bleached denim and canvas, materials that I also use to make some of my artworks. In my work I have been thinking about the moment the utilitarian object becomes an aesthetic object.”

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The last Raf Simons collection for men offered a shiny Warholian pop/art vision of the evolution of product in a synthetic world. This one promises the polar opposite: do-it-yourself handcraft dewed with the sweat of an honest workingman’s brow. That hypermasculine image is very much in keeping with the spontaneity and physicality of Ruby’s work. “But what shouldn’t be forgotten about the rawness of Sterling’s work is that it’s about someone who takes complete control as a person and an artist,” Simons points out. It’s a paradox he explored in his own early work, when his designs twisted the raw DIY ethos of the punk, new wave, and electronic scenes he loved into intensely disciplined dissertations on youth culture. Those days—before everything got so much more “industrialized,” as he puts it, for him—have been on his mind a lot lately. “When you’re thinking about a new collection,” he says, “your own history is very much in your thoughts.”

Even before the collection is subjected to the jury of public opinion, the experience has had a transformative impact on its protagonists. “Very liberating,” says Simons. “I know this independence is what people like most about my brand.” For Ruby, it’s been an education in the unholy speed of the fashion industry. “It seems like an endless cycle for designers, and they make decisions so fast,” he says. “I am thinking about how I could incorporate that kind of immediacy into my own work.”

Simons is keen to underscore once more the essence of the project. It is not a simple collaboration, a case of a designer bringing in an artist to create a T-shirt or a bag. But nor do the creators want what they’ve done to be perceived as art. January 15′s show space has been carefully selected so that it couldn’t possibly be construed as an “art” environment.“We are making a men’s fashion collection, not an artwork,” Simons insists.

But logic is equally insistent. With the Simons/Ruby collection being one of the most attractive and fully conceived offspring of fashion and art’s courtship, there will undoubtedly be people who prefer to hang the clothes on their walls. Simons is typically unfazed. “As much as we feel free to do this, anyone who buys it should feel free to do whatever they want with it.”

New contact lens releases drugs into the eye, treats glaucoma

Researchers at Harvard Medical School Department of Ophthalmology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are one step closer to an eye drop-free reality with the development of a drug-eluting contact lens designed for prolonged delivery of latanoprost, a common drug used for the treatment of glaucoma.

"In general, eye drops are an inefficient method of drug delivery that has notoriously poor patient adherence. This contact lens design can potentially be used as a treatment for glaucoma and as a platform for other ocular drug delivery applications," said Joseph Ciolino, lead author of the paper.

The contacts were designed with materials that are FDA-approved for use on the eye, researchers said. The latanoprost-eluting contact lenses were created by encapsulating latanoprost-polymer films in commonly used contact lens hydrogel.

"The lens we have developed is capable of delivering large amounts of drug at substantially constant rates over weeks to months," said Professor Daniel Kohane, director of the Laboratory for Biomaterials and Drug Delivery at Boston Children's Hospital.

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In vivo, single contact lenses were able to achieve, for one month, latanoprost concentrations in the aqueous humour that were comparable to those achieved with daily topical latanoprost solution, the current first-line treatment for glaucoma, researchers said.

The lenses appeared safe in cell culture and animal studies. This is the first contact lens that has been shown to release drugs for this long in animal models.

The newly designed contact lens has a clear central aperture and contains a drug-polymer film in the periphery, which helps to control drug release.

The lenses can be made with no refractive power or with the ability to correct the refractive error in near sided or far sided eyes.

"A non-invasive method of sustained ocular drug delivery could help patients adhere to the therapy necessary to maintain vision in diseases like glaucoma, saving millions from preventable blindness," Ciolino said.

The study appears in the journal Biomaterials.

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Thomas Erber Brings His Cabinet de Curiosités to Soho

Tucked in The Avant/Garde Diaries Project Space in Soho is Le Cabinet de Curiosités of Thomas Erber—a compilation of limited-edition goods curated by Mr. Erber, a journalist and consultant. Le Cabinet de Curiosités (or CDC) is an annual collaborative affair whereby Erber brings together approximately fifty independent artists, brands, and designers, and gives them carte blanche to create (and, of course, sell) items that are alluring and exclusive.

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New York is his fourth installment (Colette in Paris, Browns in London, and Andreas Murkudis in Berlin were CDC’s previous venues), with Bangkok as its next. And last night’s launch was hosted by one of the CDC’s very first permanent guests, Parisian label Maison Kitsuné, who produced a special black flight jacket with shearling. “It’s a very American style that’s perfect for New York,” Maison Kitsuné creative director and co-founder Masaya Kuroki (co-founder Gildas Loaëc was also in attendance), who’s been friends with Erber for fifteen years, said of the topper. “Thomas has style, and he’s sharp,” added Kuroki. “He has his modern eye but still appreciates all the old traditional things, which is so Maison Kitsuné.”

The designer’s sentiments were echoed by second-time participant, House of Waris founder Waris Ahluwalia: “Mr. Erber is great. He really pulls it all together,” Ahluwalia said. “It’s nice to be in the company with other artists, and CDC is always a great show of mixed media, of everything from jewelry to caviar.”

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Notable items on offer include a French caviar-leather rolling case by Want Les Essentiels de la Vie, a rare copper-encased Marquis de Montesquiou Armagnac, twelve unique Vulcain timepieces, and a Moulinette x Højmark bicycle with graphic details etched into its steel frame.

“I have seen many young entrepreneurs and brand founders who put a lot of heart and soul into their [products], and on the opposite, I have seen many artists who are dealing with their own career as entrepreneurs,” Erber said. “My role is to define the limit between both and to curate them with authentic enthusiasm and sincerity.”

How to pick up Prom dresses for slender body shape girls

No matter how is the shape of your body, a well-suited dress is enough to highlight your bodyline and shape and also conceals the unattractive part of the body. From this point of view, it can be clearly stated that purchasing the dress that simply looks gorgeous without considering in any other factors is entirely wrong. In case, you are slender in your appearance, you need to be more careful when selecting your dress. If you are planning to pick up prom dresses for the upcoming festive season, it would be better for you do certain homework so that you look elegant and fabulous and mesmerize your admirers.

How to select

Before purchasing the dress of your preference from the online store like kissydress , it is certain that you should consider certain factors that play a vital role in determining whether the dress suites you or not. If you cannot find out what type of dress is best suited for your slender body type, it would be better that you should take into account the following factors that would help you to discover your hidden beauty.

Color

Selecting the color is the first step to buy the perfect prom dresses for you. It is evident that in most of the case, girls tend to buy the dress of their favorite colors. However, this is certainly not a wise idea. If you prefer dark or heavy color like black and purchase your prom dress accordingly then be sure that it would damage all your effort as wearing it you would appear longer and thin. People would get that idea that it does not suite you and your temperament. Hence, it is important to select some light shaded colors that matches your temperament and attracts others towards you. It makes you appear more lively, and spiritual.

Size or fittings

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In the next step, you should select the size. Being slender, you should offer special attention to the size of the prom dresses . Follow the below mentioned points to grab the attention of others and be the centre of any party you attend.

>>> Try avoiding tight dress.

>>> A little loose dress is the best option for you.

>>> If the dress is tight, carry proper accessories like a long multi colored shawl with it so that it hides that fault of the dress.

Style

Prom dresses UK designers offer varieties of dresses that are perfect for our body shape. They take special care to design the prom dresses that would make you elegant. The prom dress that flatters your body shape so that you can attract your loved ones towards you is undoubtedly the best choice for you. Dresses like empire waist or ball gowns successfully create the illusion of the curves of your bust line or waist line.

Just follow these simple rules and pick up the one that enhances your personality from the exciting range of collection of the prom dresses UK companies.

Post by Sherley Mori