Color Blocking With Zara!

Let me start this post by saying that I am overjoyed at Zara's decision to sell online in the U.S. The skies opened and rays of sunshine poured out from heaven when I read about it. September 7th is marked in my calendar!

Someone complimented me on my color blocking. I didn't even realize that is what I had done. I just wanted to wear my new blue skirt with my tangerine blouse. From what I have been reading though, it seems there is some hesitancy on how to colorblock. My advice- the only rules there are the ones you set. Do what comes natural. Pair a solid bottom with a solid top and there you have it. If you are wary of color stick to two colors or a monochromatic color scheme using shades or tones of the same palette.

Maybe a little lesson in color theory can help you with your pairings:

Primaries-Red, yellow, and blue are primaries. Any combination of these colors would work. Unless one of those is not your color, in which case you may still wear the color, just try that one on the bottom. Some options: a yellow top with blue skirt; yellow top with red shorts.

Secondaries- a mix of two primary colors i.e. purple, orange and green. Try orange and purple together or with a primary color. For example mix: purple and red, blue and green, or acid yellow and lime green.

Tertiaries- a mix of a primary and a secondary i.e. red-orange, yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, red-purple, blue-purple. Fun stuff, eh?! Try a yellow-orange top with  blue-purple bottom or red-orange top with  red-purple bottom.

Compliments- Those are the colors directly opposite on the color wheel. … Maybe I will save that tutorial for later, just know that compliments i.e. blue and orange work well together as do a compliment with one of its neighboring split compliments. 

My favorite colors to colorblock right now are tangerine and purple. Check out Zara’s Tangerine Collar Gathered Blouse for $59.90 and Purple Skirt with Zip Pockets for $49.90.

Until tomorrow,

Chamele

THISDAY ARISE AFRICAN COLLECITVE AND JUAN CARLOS OBANDO FASHION SHOWS: MAC COSMETICS

Hello Divas!

Remember no matter what you are going through, you can always turn it around!

So far Mercedez-Benz Fashion Week has been simply fantastic! MAC Cosmetics is definitely setting the tone for Spring make-up. The face for spring includes healthy looking skin with natural warm colors.

At the Thisday Arise African Collective Show, the lead MAC Makeup Artist, Fatima, created a simple but classic look. Her inspiration for the look was the fiery orange red color used in the Jewel Collection. Specifically she used a strong red lip with sheer lightweight foundation, black smudged gel eyeliner, and no mascara. Here is the look:

The MAC Products used were:

Lips - Mix of Pure lip Pigment and Park Side lipstick

Face- Face and Body Foundation

Eyes- Fluid Gel Eyeliner. No Mascara just curled lashes.

At the Juan Carlos Obando Show MAC Lead Make-up Artist, Fulvia Fanolfi created a look that was reminiscent of "Old Westerns", which was Obando's inspiration when he created the Spring 2010 Collection. Fulvia used colors that included the colors of the desert. As a result, she used browns, bronzes, and taupes to create a dusky look.

The MAC Products used were:

Face - A blend of MAC NC45 and NC55 on the cheeks, Bronzer, and the color Taupe for countouring.

Eyes - Brown Breeze eyeshadow was used on the eyes.

Lips - Brown Breeze eyeshadow was used on the lips as well.

Here is the look:



As Fulvia stated, "the look is very monochromatic and cinematographic as if the model had been exposed to the sun for a month."

Stay tuned for more Spring Beauty Trends!

Mercedez-Benz New York Fashion Week Day One

Hello Divas!

I hope life is grand! Remember life is what you make it, so make it beautiful!

I am in New York for Mercedez-Benz New York Fashion Week, Spring 2010 Collections! Last year I set a goal to attend and I am here! I will be reporting on beauty trends for Spring 2010 and will also throw in some fashion trends. It has been an exciting and fun filled day.

Yesterday morning, I attended the Total Beauty Summit hosted by Loreal Paris. The Summit was held at the Loreal Paris corporate headquarters and we received an amazing presentation on hair color from celebrity Loreal colorist, Patty Slattery. She stated that you can achieve your desired color at home or in a salon if it is applied correctly..."Its all about application." The Loreal technical color team gave us a class on how to properly apply color. Here is the mannequin I worked on:

Loreal Paris then treated us to a fabulous lunch. I dined with some of my favorite beauty bloggers. Here is Kia of Yummy411 and Nikkia of Silverlips.

I had to leave the summit a little early to attend the Ports 1961 show. Ports 1961 is a new line that is all the rage. The pieces are modern, fluid, creative and gorgeous! The new line, Fluere Spring 2010, "draws inspiration from the elements of nature." The colors in the collection included peaches, mauves, reds, grays and yellows. There was a gorgeous yellow and gray jumpsuit that I simply adored! I also loved that the pieces were very simplistic and realistic. Any woman could wear the pieces. Here are a couple of pics. They are not great because I was in the absolute last row! LOL! Hey you have to start somewhere.

I then attended a few Fashion's Night Out events. Fashion's Night Out was like a big fashion shopping party. Hundreds of retailers kept their doors open until 11pm and encouraged people to shop with music, food, cocktails and special discounts. My first stop was the Milly/Clinique event. Michelle Smith, designer of Milly created a signature bag for Clinique using her signature pink. HOT! I did interview Michelle and I will post the interview later. Check out the Milly bag in the pic:

I then attended two Lancome events...of course. LOL! Lancome hosted a blogger bash at their SOHO Bloomingdales Counter. I met the new it girl, model Arlenis. Simply gorgeous. She is tall beautiful and her skin is like chocolate silk. Plus she is the absolute sweetest person ever. So personable. Lancome did a fantastic job picking Arlenis as one of their "faces" of the brand. She represents Lancome well! Here is a pic!

Lancome intern Ilene. She is so sweet!

I also met my girl, DE of Beautylogicblog. Remember she turned me on to coconut oil. It was like we were old friends! Love her.

My next stop was backstage at the Julie Haus show. Stila's lead make-up artist, Sarah Lucero, created a gorgeous look for the show. The focus was on the eyes and she used purples, plums, and navys on the eyes with lots of Mascara. The rest of the face is a matte neutral. I was given the opportunity to interview her and can't wait to share her inspiration for the look. Stay tuned.

I then went to another Lancome event at their boutique store on 69th and Columbus Circle. The highlight of my evening was meeting Keri, VP of Public Relations at Lancome. She is VP and still writes the Lancome Blog! She is personable, sweet, and super nice to the blogging community. It was so nice to finally meet her in person. Here we are:

My first day was fun and jam packed with beauty and fashion. I will regularly post updates as Fashion Week continues!

Toodles!