Advanced Style at the Ace Hotel NYC with Tavi and Ari Seth Cohen

During NY Fashion week, I got a chance to attend Advanced Style's Fashion Week party at the Ace Hotel. The night was hosted by Tavi Gevinson of Fashion Rookie and Ari Seth Cohen and was a tribute to the sophisticated generation of women who can put a lot f current fashion celebrities to shame. The night started with a tootsie roll candy flavored cocktail, moved onto sweet cabaret serenades  and ended with style advice from the Idiosyncratic Fashionistas!

Sunday Laduree and Beauty time!

Ladureé NYC

Mmm Macarons!

After studying accounting and econ in the library for 4 plus hours, I made my way to the newly opened Laudrée for some Macarons! Lauduree just opened here in the city about two weeks ago and along with the opening came the line of devote Macaron lovers!  Prior to this experience, my only brush with Laudreé was their Brioche and Glazed Chestnut candles that I picked up at Opening Ceremony earlier this year.
Luckly, the line wasn't so bad, I stood for a good 15 minutes before heading inside and picking up a small gift box of Macarons. These babies are a definite treat but something I won't be having regularly.
But since its Sunday and I've finished my homework, I'm ready to enjoy some Macarons, watch the new season of SNL, put in a hair mask and lacquer up my nails.
Its been about 3 weeks since I have done my nails and am in between choosing something fall-ish or something fun. Aww, we'll see.
How are you enjoying your Sunday afternoon?

Chanel Perfection Lumiere Review and Swatches

Chanel Perfection Lumiere Swatches Ambre 104,134 and 154 on hand

Thanks to Karlasugar.net, I first heard of Chanel's new Perfection Lumiere Foundation. I stopped into Saks Fifth Ave and Simone helped me explore the new line.

Chanel Perfection Lumiere Ambre 104, 134 and 154 Swatches

 Perfection Lumiere is described as a naturally looking, everyday long wear foundation suitable for all skin types and the first foundation by Chanel to have a range of 20 shades.
Out of the 20, there are about 5 shades that are great for women of color that are in the Ambre category: Ambre 94, 104, 114, 134 and 154. The numerical value of these shades are no indication of the shade depth in this range. For instance, as seen in the photo at the top, Ambre 104 fits me well but when I tried Ambre 114 it was about 2 shades lighter (more yellow) on my skin.
I found that Ambre 134 had a red undertone and Ambre 154 had a brown neutral undertone and my shade match, Ambre 104 has an orange undertone.
After testing the swatches on my face ( I actually walked around the whole evening with them on) I didn't get the sense that I was wearing anything on. Usually after 2-3 hours, I can feel the effects of coverage as my skin gets oily but I didn't have a problem here, so far. I will need to test it when I go a full day and with more coverage.
Overall I'm impressed so far, its tough because summer is winding down and typically Fall is when my skin calms down where as Summer was not a great moment for wearing foundation at all but I'd be curious to see if Perfection Lumiere can stand the NYC heat and humidity.
I hope that the shade range is just a taste of whats to come for Chanel Beauty in relation to its facial cosmetic line.

Recap Fashion's Night Out 2011: Chanel Betsey Johnson, DVF, Oak and The Ace Hotel!

Mercedes Benz NY Fashion Week Spring 2012

 Its been a wild almost 3 weeks, I'm currently enduring a massive life change. I started my MBA program at a great university here in NYC! Yay! and have been tending to the needs of Financial Management and Econ classes ( among other courses I'm taking this semester). Unfortunately, I'm waaay behind on blogging as I'm still getting acclimated to classes, study time and navigating my career path.

Dancing Models at Betsey Johnson

Ok, onward to Fashion's Night Out here in NYC! My Thursday morning started off with attending the Porter Grey show at Lincoln Center and then I went down to the Film Forum with the BF to check out Gainsbourg, the film about Serge Gainsbourg. It was great, surreal, musical, completely french. I loved Laetitia Casta as Brigitte Bardot. I thought she looked perfect for the role. Post film, it was getting ready to meet the girls so that we can navigate the streets of NYC for the biggest non-shopping party ever ( bear with me, I will explain soon).

Party at Betsey Johnson

My first stop was Chanel Soho, last year was the grand opening of the store and it was PACKED. The line for free manicures was down the block! and Steel and Strong sold out within minutes. Since I'm familiar with the staff at the store, they assure that they had enough of the Les Denim collection in for all who wanted it. I stood in line and got my manicure and was out by 6:15pm.
Next up was Betsey Johnson where I met up with friends, they were out of champagne but I did snag a Yoplait and walked across the street to DVF for champagne. In the midst of pagning, I ran into Diane Von Furstenberg herself!! She was spritzing customers with her new fragrance Diane and chatting us up about the notes and tying ribbons on our wrists.

DVF part deux

Cheeky Burt Reynolds Shirt at OAK

Money Wall at OAK

After our DVF experience, we headed to OAK for the Disco Party and the walls of 3,000 $1 bills that  were supposed to be for "Redecorating" that ended up in the hands of OAK Party goers!

At this point, my phone was out of battery! But we capped off the night with Belvedere Vodka sno-cones from the Opening Ceremony/ Ace Hotel Carnival where Manilla Luzon ( runner-up of Ru Paul's Drag Race season 3) was partying along side Ms. Piggy, who we missed because we were waiting in line.

If Fashion's Night Out is to generate buzz and have people shopping, I'm afraid it failed. Why? because its nearly impossible to shop while there are hairdressers, food, drinks and dance parties happening in the store. I didn't encounter a sales person who sold me anything other than my pre-ordered Chanel polishes. Even Opening Ceremony didn't show what their exclusive collaborations were going to be, you found out when you showed up and if it was too expensive, you passed on it. Had I had a heads-up, I would have been prepared to buy.

Recap of IFB Con Fall 2011: Magnum! Minx! and Missoni!

 

First let me start by Thanking you for holding on here for all of the NY Fashion week post recaps. Its been an extremely busy week, which I will get to soon enough. But to start fashion week, the Independent Fashion Bloggers Conference hosted 200 of us at Milk Studios in the meatpacking district on Wednesday, Sept 7th for panels and discussions that included advice from Ari Goldberg or StyleCaster, the Man Repeller, Leandra Medine, Christen Rochon of Divas & Dorks, Mr. Mickey Boardman of PaperMag and Coco Rocha of Oh So Coco and Supermodel!! The Keynote speaker was none other than Joe Zee of Elle Magazine who was interviewed by Tina Craig of BagSnob.
The conference was amazing and I met so many individuals whom blogs I geek out over like Erin of Scandalous Beauty.

Magnum Ice cream provided the perfect anecdote to a rainy day by providing not only ice cream but Minx in the color of chocolate and caramel swirls! I couldn't pass up the opportunity and got my nails done pronto by Natasha a Minx specialist from DC. Natasha had her lips glammed with a platinum sparkly lip sticker that looked crazy cool.

Jessica of Styloteque

Magnum x Minx Manicures!

Target for Missoni brought their own blogger Marina, the 20 ft Missoni wearing fashion enthusiast who has the worlds biggest smart phone. At the event KMS California styled hair and provided hair tips. This particular morning, the rain turned my hair into a frizz of tangle so I asked a stylist for help. They recommended Free Shape Anti- Humidity Seal. I went with that and got back to the con.

Coco Rocha of Oh So Coco

During the panel of the Business of Blogging, Coco Rocha mentioned that since she is a model and that her job is to sell, some companies approach her about "plugging " their product, which is what she gets paid to do as a profession however her blog is her creative outlet. Conversely, there are many assignments that she is excited to share with her readers but can't talk about it for fear of being dropped from the project or job but as her blog is a creative outlet and she is mindful of her young followers who are trying to pursue their careers in modeling ( also worth mentioning that she said her followers are as young as 15!) and has spoken out against eating disorders and the pressure of appearance in her industry. While I do not follow Coco's blog, I do admire her for using her influence to help and advise her audience.

Keynote Speaker Joe Zee and his interviewer Tina Craig were amazing, their rapport was like listening to friends catch up, not like your standard interview. Its refreshing to know that Joe Zee believes that social media and print media can co-exist despite all the streamlining and faster communication streams. Plus, he is only one of three editors at Elle that have a Twitter and was one of the first to do so ( he has had his Twitter account for over 2 years) and he's launching a blog that showcases a lot of his editorial work over the past 20 years, including some behind the scenes shoots filled with back stories and memories!

After IFB, we all (over 21 folks) headed over to the Rivington Hotel for a party hosted by KMS California for their new line of products. I have to say, the line is impressive. Products to help you achieve a new look without washing your hair? That cuts so much time out of my day!


IFB Conf is such a great way to get your blog out there by meeting other great bloggers, stylists, writers and photographers who want to meet you too!

KMS Califonia Styling

Idiosyncratic Fashionistas

Tina Craig of BagSnob.com and Joe Zee of Elle Magazine

Party Bus to the Rivington!

Next up on the agenda, Fashion's Night Out, which I can't wait to share with you soon!
A special Thanks! to my new and continuing group of Blog friends! Erin of Scandalousbeauty, Laura of Lolbeauty, Jessica of Styloteque ,the wonderful women of Idosycratic Fashionistas and Donyale of Livluxmag.com

Garden Party Beauty At Porter Grey

 

Modern woman meets 1950's Garden Party served as the beauty inspiration for Porter Grey this Spring. Tata Harper prepped the model's skin and Sephora's PRO Team ,lead by José Rivera, created a bold Audrey Hepburn- inspired brow, satin skin and peach cheeks and lips to complement the oyster silk, nude and geranium hues in the RTW collection.

The Sephora PRO Team used MAKE UP FOREVER Mist & Fix to prep the skin

-Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20 to smooth imperfection

-Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder dusted under the eyes

-Smashbox HALO Hydrating Perfecting Powder for a satiny finish to perfected skin

-Lorac Blush in Peach added a touch of healthy color to cheeks

For Eyes:

-Shades from Smashbox Softbox Palette were used to sculpt and highlight the eye, including Cream Liner in Taupe ( blended in the crease for a soft base) and Eyeshadows in Nectar (lid) and Flirt ( crease)

-Sephora Collection in Nano Eyeliner No. 10, a velvety khaki, defined the lashline

-Lancome Definicils Mascara in Black for flirty black lashes

-Benefit Brow Zings created the dramatic and bold arches

For Lips:

- YSL Rouge Volupte No. 30 Faubourg Peach provided a soft base for lips

- NARS Lipstick in Belle de Jour was layered on top.

Fashions Night Out Exclusive: Les Jeans de Chanel Vernis Swatches

As you already know, I am a HUGE fan of Chanel's nail colors ( Vernis, if you will) and made the Chanel SoHo store my first Fashion's Night Out stop. Both of Chanel's boutiques had free mini manicures featuring the Les Jeans Collection or you can choose from the other nail color favorites, among the shades, Black Satin, Particuliere and Vendetta to name a few.

At about 5:15pm small lined formed and I got in it as I wanted to check out the manicure situation first prior to purchase. Especially, how well Coco Blue compares to Riva ( for reference, I love Riva! Its really stands out on my skin and looks beautiful!).

From top down: Coco Blue, Blue Rebel and Blue Boy

The Les Jeans de Chanel color hues are as follows:
Coco Blue- Opaque Baby Blue, no shimmer.
Blue Boy- Medium Blue Grey, like a standard wash jean
Blue Rebel- Dark Blue Indigo

At 6:10pm the doors opened and I started to get manicured. I chose a combination of the three nail colors using Coco Blue on four nails and Blue Jean on the ring finger of my left hand and Blue Rebel on the ring finger of my right hand.. normally I wouldn't do this but the manicurist assured it was "trendy".
Later on in the night, a friend commented that Coco Blue looked like Hard Candy's Sky from back in the day when Drew Barrymore was all about HC and the jelly rings that came with the nail polish.
I found that I really liked Blue Jean, its purely unique and universally flattering, it was also the shade that I saw the most ladies sporting throughout the evening.
Also, thinking back I would have loved to pick up Dior's denim nail color but Dior's nail colors, like Chanel's, sells out with the quickness.


On another note, these colors were a bit more pricier than the other LE's and exclusives as they were $29 each.

** Coco Riva vs. Coco Blue
Coco Riva has been courted as a Robin's Egg Blue where as Coco Blue is 2-3 shades cooler in tone, pretty close to a sky blue.
Enjoy and Happy Friday!

Live Tweeting from the Independent Fashion Bloggers Conference- Sept 7th, 2011

Yes, I'll be at Milk Studios today and will be tweeting about the experience!
Check out my tweets @Lavande_G

Representing Jamaica , Pic from the West Indian Day Parade

On the way to the store on Monday morn, I came across these ladies who were in the West Indian Day parade representing Jamaica.

Fall 2011 Looks: Hint of Blush at Proenza Schouler

photo: Style.com

Blush toned it down a notch or two for fall at Proenza Schouler by adding texture to the apples of the cheeks. This subtle cheek look can be done with a creamy blush, like Bobbi Brown's Pot Rouge or MAC's Cream Color Base layered with a loose finishing powder in your skin tone to neutral the cheek color. I plan on trying this look out with my fave MAC CCB, Virgin Isle and layering NARS Mountain Loose Powder.