SpaRitual Nail Lacquer in Airhead

Me! Bath Ice Cream

Me! Bath Spa Morning Grapefruit Bath Ice Cream - This fizzy bomb, which contains both jojoba and coconut oil not only makes taking a bath infinitely more entertaining, but the ingredients leave your skin soft and supple, making lotion a thing of the past.

Spa Ritual Ginger Moisturizing Lotion

SpaRitual Ginger Instinctual Organic Moisturizing Lotion – This lotion smells exactly like a freshly cut piece of ginger, but the spicy scent is light and refreshing on skin, and this organic, vegan moisturizer is good for both your body and your conscience.

Degree Classic Romance Body Mist

Degree Classic Romance Body Mist - I have long wondered how certain people get the scent of soap to last on their skin all day. Luckily, Degree Classic Romance body mist has answered the question for me. This light scent smells incredibly fresh and clean and is subtle enough to wear in conjunction with your regular perfume every day.

Skindinavia Makeup finishing Spray

Skindinavia Makeup Finishing Spray - Hot summer days can mean major makeup meltdown, but you don’t have to suffer the smudges anymore, thanks to Skindinavia’s Makeup Finishing Spray. Unlike other make up finishers, this mist is light and completely non-sticky, but keeps makeup put for an entire day. Even with the combined forces of my oily skin and the hot weather stacked against me, my makeup didn’t move one bit until the day was done.

SpaRitual Nail Lacquer in Airhead – Like many fans of the French manicure, I have been a longtime devotee of Essie’s Ballet Slippers polish. However, it may be time to hang up my dancing shoes for good, since I have fallen in love with SpaRitual’s Airhead color. This soft, baby pink is so similar to the color of my nails that it looks completely natural and effectively covers up any spots on my nails without being too opaque.

IQ Derma Firmaceuticals Firming Body Gel

iQ Derma Firmaceuticals Firming Body Gel – This unscented sculpting gel made my skin feel instantly firmer and baby soft. Although I already like the feeling this formula gives to my skin, when the changes become visible, I’m sure I’ll be shouting its praises from the rooftops.

The cream colors on the eyelids are brown and oak and layered with a gloss on top called Instant Gold. The face is flawless with Studio Sculpt foundation (believe me, I’ve tried this foundation and can literally sing praises from the rooftops!). The eyes look stunning, don’t they? You can achieve this look by applying Dusk and Midtone Sepia color on the eyelid and crease. Make sure the color gets more concentrated by the lash line.

Apply Pearl eyeshadow on the inner corner of the eye with a 224 brush. Then dust the top of the eye with Instant Gold Luster Glass.

As with many MAC shows this Fashion Week, there was no mascara applied to the eyelids, which is pretty funny when you consider the fact that long lashes (with Latisse etc.) are all the rage right now. But life is all about oxymorons, isn’t it?

The lips were colored with Midtone Sepia and Dusk lip gloss and Voile Slimshine lipstick.

The collection itself was a feast of plaid capes, high waisted trousers, high collar blouses, blazers, suits and trench coats. In short: luxe retail. Barneys, we imagine, would scoop this up in a matter of seconds, and we can really see the streets of New York alive with style and wearing Monarchy.

Numbers like the Olive Military Trench, Cream Cowl Neck Button Up and Olive Denim were some of the delicious numbers that strutted down the catwalk. I would have really liked to see more color in the collection, though. Which proves that once again, Fall is shaping up to be a sombre affair.

Backstage at Adam Lippes gave us insight to how colorful fall can be. Before this show, we had witnessed a pretty stark, colorless face palette. But MAC’s makeup artist, Romy Soleimani, says that “the inspiration came from Japanese watercolors and there’s a lot of color for Fall. The clothes are colorful and the makeup complements that. There’s a lot of layering of color.” Romy used makeup that had fine micas and fine pigments over the face.

Eyes: Beautiful Iris Eyeshadow

Cornflower Pigment to make the eyes pop

Teal Pigment on lower lids

Lips: Liperase on the lips

The hair was done by Laurent Philippone for Bumble & Bumble, who said that everything in the collection was done to complement the rich clothes and makeup. “Basically, I felt the makeup and clothes were very colorful, so I did not want to do a dramatic hair.” The look was fresh, straight hair that did nothing to distract from the colorful pigments of the clothes.

Backstage at Ohne Titel, there was a lot of makeup and hair activity by MAC Cosmetics and Bumble and Bumble, respectively. The entire look is “sans makeup” with powder on the cheeks, powder around the eyes, a very natural lip color. “I used whatever color was naturally on the model,” says a MAC makeup artist. “There were no set products.”

As for the hair, there was a lot of texture going into the loose undefined style that Jimmy Paul for Bumble & Bumble chose to create. “The designer wanted me to keep the hair away from the face,” says Paul. “So I created hair full of texture. First we put the hair up into a “zulu” knot. We left that for about 20 minutes or so, and created a very defined and precise middle part.” He used Surf Spray by Bumble & Bumble to create that thick coarse texture.

Georges Chakra has been known for his rich, shimmery textured clothes, and backstage, the makeup for the Fall 2009 show showed us what a perfect contrast the makeup and hair was. Gregory Arlt from MAC Cosmetics conceived the makeup for the show: think beautiful, clear skin; a clear smokey eye; glowing blush; and soft lips.

“I blended two colors for the lips,” Arlt says. ” The Vintage Rose and the Creamsheen in Boybait.” Of course eyeliner is a must and all the models sported blush, which was a mix of two shades as well: “Lillicent” and “Lady Blush.”

According to Arlt, “Georges Chakra is really the red carpet event of Bryant Park…he uses some really amazing fabrics.” As for the makeup, he says, ” I wanted the skin to have a mobility to it.”

The hair was done by Bumble and Bumble. Stylist Amy Farid says,”The look is an alternate version of the chignon. We start with a side parting, almost like a beret.” She used the best selling “Surf Spray” by Bumble & Bumble to give the hair the texture needed for the hold. “Once you achieve this texture, you put the hair up in a ponytail..we braided some of the girls’ hair to get rid of the weight, especially if they had a lot of hair.” Then she put up the chignon with pins.