ThisThatBeauty’s Exclusive Coverage of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week AW/11: Beauty Trends

Perk up ladies and gents! We are delighted and excited to have industry leader and all around phenomenal human being, Trae Bodge lend her expertise to ThisThatBeauty and provide the Beauty Trend Report for Autumn/ Winter 2011. Take it away, Trae….

From Trae….

As Creative Director of Three Custom Color Specialists, one of my favorite responsibilities was to search for beauty trends on the New York catwalks.   We would create new products and shades based on those trends.

I recently left the company and was so thrilled to be invited to generate a trend report for ThisThatBeauty, which happens to be one of my very favorite beauty blogs.   Thank you for having me, Felicia – it’s an honor!

Trend #1 – NUTMEG

The most prevalent beauty trend during New York Fashion Week was what I’m calling the “Nutmeg” trend.   Everyone from Richard Chai Love, Victoria Beckham and Charlotte Ronson showcased Nutmeg tones on the eyes, lips and cheeks.     As a makeup artist, I didn’t find it to be a very exciting look, but it is certainly flattering and fresh in “real life”.   I thought this look was most effective with collections that featured khaki tones, like Charlotte Ronson and Richard Chai Love.

I liked the “Nutmeg” look best when it was paired with a strong brow, like at Christian Siriano, Proenza Schouler (pictured above) and Christian Cota.     The strong brow framed the face and lent some modernity to this otherwise safe look.

Trend #2 – RED LIP

This is my favorite trend of the season.   At Jenni Kayne (pictured), Nanette Lepore, Milly & Luca Luca, a beautiful clear red lip was the star element.   Eyes and cheeks featured the pretty nutmeg tones I referenced above – this was a lovely and wearable pairing that I predict we’ll be seeing lots of this Fall.

If you find the thought of red lips to be daunting, don’t be afraid – clear reds like these have equal parts Cool and Warm, so they work well on almost all skin tones.   And if you’re too shy to commit to a full-coverage red, experiment with dabbing red lipstick on your lips with a fingertip.   You’ll be amazed by the brightening effect red can have!

Trend #3 – WASHED OUT LIP

I admit that I wasn’t such a fan of this look in terms of practical wearability, but I did enjoy it on the runway.   It’s supposed to be all about fantasy, right?   As such, this was not your standard nude lip – this was a flat, full-coverage taupy-beige which made the lips all but vanish on the face.   This look was used most effectively at Nicholas K – the aggressively washed out lip was paired with a very strong brow and black-rimmed rock and roll eyes, which looked great with the edgy, mostly black collection.     This lip, in a less extreme incarnation, was also found at Timo Weiland (I loved the fabulous, colorful dresses!) and Rachel Comey.

FAVORITE “OUT THERE” LOOK

Definitely Jeremy Scott.   His bright, colorful clothing was shown with fluorescent pink and orange makeup, big fake lashes and here and there, a messy, shimmery smokey eye here.   I also liked the fact that the models were all made up a big differently – a refreshing change from the same makeup look model after model.

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Thank you, Trae!

Brief Bio: Trae Bodge is  a beauty product developer, beauty&lifestyle writer, pro makeup artist and the co-founder of indie color cosmetic brand, Three Custom Color Specialists.To connect with Trae and her beauty expertise, follow her on Twitter @TrueTrae.

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