What a way to start the new year – Hosting a beauty breakfast on level 7 of David Jones as part of their A/W’14 fashion launch to beauty media and industry representatives! Talking on behalf of Laura Mercier (the cosmetics partner of this year’s season launch) about the hottest A/W ’14 makeup trends! Here I will walk you though the first of the trends…

A look inspired by the empowered fashion forward woman of David Jones and the Seasons hottest colours from Laura Mercier this look is all about eyes. Rustic-Bronze oval shaped eyes set in fresh, dewy, less is more skin and lips. A look that was going to appear later that night on the ‘David Jones Season’s Fashion Parade’ this look is both confident, fresh and fashion forward.

Step 1; The base, a sheer luminous mix of Oil Free Tinted Moisturiser and Radiance Primer. Tip; Mixed a 20%/80% ratio (20 % Radiance Primer, 80% Tinted Moisturiser) and blend the two into the skin for a more seamless makeup free finish! 

Step 2; Conceal (or as I like to refer to it as… highlighting!) all the high-points of the face with a Secret Camouflage Cream that is one shade lighter than your Tinted Moisturizer. This will ‘enhance’ the angles of the face and wash away any discolouration or inconsistency in the skin. Note; High points of the face include… under the eyes, around the nostrils, across the cheekbones, down the centre of the nose and a little under the bottom lip. Tip; Mix a little of your foundation into the Camouflage Cream so it’s of the same creamy constancy as your foundation. Blend into the skin with your fingers! 

Step 3; With a little Secret Brightening Powder on the tips of your fingers, lightly press the powder into the concealor and or any hot spots of the face. Note; Hots spots of the face are areas that may shine.  Like the centre of your forehead, tip of your nose and under the eyes. Tip; The key to using your fingers to press the powder in, is the same as applying the Camouflage Cream and Tinted Moisturizer- it’s all about making them one with the skin.

Step 4; Contouring is subtle and more about shape rather than a colour. Blend Praline -a soft, beige-pink- Cream Cheek Colour deep under the cheekbones for depth. Tip; Apply using the Cream Cheek Brush in small buff-like strokes to get a even application. Allow the Cream Cheek Colour a few seconds to set for long lasting wear.  

Step 5; Using the Eye Crease Brush, contour the socket line of your eyes with the Pink Mosaic Shimmer Bloc to define and lightly shape the eye. Then, with a damp All Over Eye Brush take a small amount of the Terracotta Baked Eye Colour and apply along the top and bottom lash line before blending up into the contour of the eye. Note; By using this colour wet you maximise the colour’s intensity and stop any fall out from the shadow under the eyes. Nothing worse than doing a smoky eye and the shadow falling out under the eyes. Tip; Once it’s dry, blend a small amount of the shadow ‘dry’ around the edges to soften and blend!

Step 5; Curl your lashes with the Eyelash Curler and apply Faux Lash Mascara to the top and bottom lashes. Tip; Don’t forget to use my ‘tree trunk technique tip’ when applying mascara. Just incase you’ve missed me talk about that technique, it’s about applying the mascara to the very root of the lash (only) on both sides creating a tree-trunk like base to your lashes. Once the trunk is dry, continue the mascara up the lashes till you reach the tips. This technique will stop your lashes from sagging under the weight of the mascara.

Step 6; To finish off the look, apply Brigette Lip Colour to your pout. First applying with the Lip Colour Brush  and then by blending some more colour onto your lips using the tip of your finger. Note; This will soften the edges of the lip giving the illusion of bigger lips.

So there you have it. The first look for the David Jones A/W ’14 fashion Launch and a key trend to watch this Season.

As always I would love to hear your thoughts on the look and if anyone has tried any of these products?

Special Thanks to David Jones, Oralie, the Laura Mercier team and to all the guest that made this event such a great morning!

x MM

Photographer; Byron Spencer for Maxmade.com.au, Hair; by the Aveda team, Makeup, Max May, Model; Ksenija at Chic Model Management.