Friday, August 23, 2019

My Romantic Shades - My perfect Red


For YEARS I have been trying to find my best red lipstick and my best 'romantic' shade.  I feel that in the past, I've come close to discovering my best red, but was mislead when I was draped in various colour systems.... UNTIL.... I had my personal palette done by John Kitchener.  My romantic reds, according to Kitchener, don't really fit a 'seasonal type' perfectly, although I feel I a lot of Spring influence in my palette.  My romantics range from a bright warm burgundy, to a light warm pink, to a medium coral-pink and salmon and also even some light warm plum shades:



My favourite romantic shades from the palette are these warm bright burgundy shades and the light warm coral pinks.  I of course was so excited to try and find the perfect red lipstick in my range of colours and finally found one that matches perfectly.  It's a shade called Grenadine by Lise Watier.  As you'll be able to see in the next photo, it's an exact match to my first page of romantic reds.


Here is a photo of my full range of romantics:


For those of you who follow seasonal analysis types, this doesn't 100% fit into a specific season, although the more I get to know my palette, the more and more it resonates to a light spring type of feel - a 65% spring palette with 20% summer, 10% winter and 5% autumn, although Kitchener calls these Lively Bright, Subtle Blended, Striking Contrast and Earthly Rich.  

I am SO incredibly happy since I got me personalized palette by John Kitchener,  It has literally changed my entire life.  My struggle for finding a 'season' is over and now I'm able to focus on putting my best self forward.  I highly, highly recommend contacting him on Facebook to get a virtual analysis done - you won't regret it!






Saturday, July 6, 2019

Colour Harmony

I'm so excited to be back and blogging again :)

I'm going to get right to the point and share my exciting news with you.  As many of you know, my colour journey has been 'all over the place'. I'm jumped from warm to cool, soft to clear, light to dark etc etc.  I had such a hard time trying to find myself in the 12 seasonal colour analysis system.  Many of the experiments on this blog are a testiment to my struggle to find my 'season'.  I seemed to have dabbled in every season, but always feeling unsettled in whatever 'home' I decided to claim as my own.  I would scratch my head wondering why I could wear both soft autumn and bright spring simultaneously and look good in both seasons.  Well, I finally have an answer....................................................


I'm not a SEASON, I'm an INDIVIDUAL!!!

I was starting to get frustrated with season colour analysis and now I understand why.  I invested in getting a personal analysis done by John Kitchener.  If you haven't heard of him - google him, find him on Facebook, research him.  He is a colour GENIUS and his system is not based on finding your 'season', but finding your colour harmonies.  

In John's system, I have ALL 4 colour harmonies - meaning, I am a woman for all seasons!!!  Here is a breakdown of the colour harmony in my personalized palette by John Kitchener:

65% Lively Bright
20% Subtle Blended
10% Striking Contrast
5% Earthy Rich

Those of you who thought I had a more clear, bright skin tone, you were right on the money.  However, the same breath, I am able to wear soft, blended colours, jewel toned colours and have a touch of added warmth.  It's been about two weeks that I've had this analysis done by John (it was a virtual analysis) and I honestly have never felt better in my own skin.  I want to write a part 2 to this, but for now I'm going to leave you with a photo of me sporting my new palette:


In this photo I'm wearing my best romantic red shade (Lise Watier Grenadine lipstick), NARS Deep Throat blush, Urban Decay Deep End eyer smudged with Annabelle Goldy Brown eyeliner.

Getting this palette done by John Kitchener has changed my entire perspective on colour and colour analysis.  Stay tuned for part 2 of my experience :)

 

I'M BACK!!!

Hello Everyone,

I have some very exciting news!!!  After YEARS of neglecting this blog, attempting to start a new one, not sure about colour analysis any more, almost giving up on the world of makeup and colour, I've decided to return to blogging in this space - Beauty and Elegance!

I have A LOT to share with you so stay tuned to my next post with photos of my most recent colour adventure.  I've undergone a sort of metamorphasis where my energy now aligns with a palette that has created personally for ME.  I can't wait to tell you more about this :)

I hope that returning to this blog will allow me to connect with my audience again!

STAY TUNED!!!

With love and light,
Renata

Saturday, July 29, 2017

Check Out My NEW Blog

It's been one year since I've posting anything on this blog.  It was a nice break for me and it gave me time to re-evaluate what I'm the most passionate back.  This blog gave me a wonderful opportunity to express my creativity, experiment with different palettes and simply play around with makeup.  After a year away from this blog, I decided that it's time to start beauty blogging again :)  However, I've decided to start fresh, with a clean slate.  Therefore, I created a NEW BLOG called 'Elegance and Beauty'.  Here is the link to my new blog:

http://eleganceandbeautyblog.blogspot.ca

I just wanted to say thank you to all the people who followed this blog and gained insight/inspiration from my posts.  I really look forward to start blogging again and sharing my passion for makeup, style, beauty tips and elegant chic looks.   I hope that those that followed this blog will enjoy my new one :)

Many blessings to all!!!

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Trip to Spain - and NEWS about this blog!!!

I just came back from two incredible weeks in SPAIN!!!  For me, it was a life changing trip, so much so that it's inspired me to begin a new blog (more info to come soon).  :)  One of my habits when I travel is to people-watch, especially when it comes to what people are wearing, style, makeup etc etc.  I would have to say that one of my impressions about Spain, in regards to makeup, is that is incredibly chic.  While shopping at El Corte Ingles, I was in awe of how elegant and put together the looks were.  In some ways, it reminded me of the Parisian look, but with more emphasis on accessories and incredibly stylish hair.  I recall being mesmerized by the look of one woman who had her dark hair loosely pulled back in a half pony tail with loose waves, a red lip (which seemed to look incredibly natural on her), gold hoop earrings and a very simple, casual outfit.  She looked so incredibly 'casually chic' - yet she looked better than someone who took 2 hours to get ready.  She reminded me so much of Penelope Cruz - a natural, confident Spanish woman.  I think this look has always appealed to me - the idea that the true mystery of feminine beauty is in being simple and elegant and not trying too hard to be a part of the 'beauty industry'.   Traveling back to Toronto, I wanted to create a similar look - casual, chic, red lip :)


You could call this my Spanish inspired jet-set look :)  Since I was able to get such a great golden-bronze tan, I found that I didn't need any makeup products for my face, so I'm not wearing any concealer, foundation, bronzer etc etc.  I did apply just a touch of blush - I found that NARS Torrid was the only blush that had enough colour to enhance my tan.   I applied a touch of Bobbi Brown Mahogany shadow on my brows and some black mascara.  The key to this look is the red lip.  I'm wearing a shade that was recommended to me by a makeup artist at the NARS counter in El Corte Ingles, Alicante Spain.  I spent some time with her talking about makeup and picking out my best red.  She was so helpful and we both agreed that NARS Red Lizard is the winning shade for me. 

 I've spent YEARS trying to figure out my best look and it took a trip to Spain to finally come to some serious realizations about what I'm really searching for.  That being said, I'm saving my most important news for last. I think that it's time for me to say good-bye to this blog.  It's been a great journey and my experiments with colour analysis have been really fun.  However, I want to blog/post about so many other things and not just focus on makeup/colour analysis.  I have a new vision for a new blog that will still include my passion for makeup to a certain degree, but will also include information/reflections on food, cooking, lifestyle, music, wine etc etc.   

I wanted to personally thank everyone who has followed me on this blog and read my posts.  I'm not going to delete or take down this blog, so you can continue to search, read my past posts.  However, for me, personally, it's time to bring in some new, fresh energy and let go of what is no longer serving me at this time.  Thanks to those who have followed me.  I will most likely write one final post once I've set up my new blog :)  Excited for my next new venture :) :) :)  



Saturday, July 9, 2016

Not Impressed with MAC Cosmetics - A bloggers Vent Post

Today is a very sad day.  It's a day that I've lost a lot of respect for MAC Cosmetics.  For YEARS I have been a loyal MAC customer and have had my Pro Membership card.  I have purchased a lot of money worth of their products and have promoted them throughout this blog.  Recently MAC has changed it's application process and the qualifications that you must now have in order to keep and use the MAC Pro Card.  Apparently, being a makeup artist, promoting their products on this blog and not being 'agency branded' is their reason to 'decline' my membership.

What is happening to the face of MAC and what it used to stand for???  I guess just like every company, money and elite membership takes centre stage.  To be honest, I'm not surprised.  I'm just really hurt and upset!  I know the MAC product line like the back of my hand.  I've recommended MAC products as a makeup artist and being declined because I'm not 'agency branded' is a slap in the face!!!

Personally, I've always believed that everything happens for a reason.  Perhaps, it's time to move away from MAC products, as I can no longer support them knowing that I've spent so much time, energy, money promoting their products with nothing in return.  MAC has declined me and now it's time for me to decline MAC!!!

There are so many wonderful other makeup companies and products that are available on the market. Products that stand for something other than corporate gain.  :(

Boooo MAC - you've really disappointed me!!!


Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Bobbi Brown Sunset Orange Art Stick

I am starting to fall in love with Bobbi Brown's Art Sticks.  I've had my eye on a few of them but decided to wait until the fall-time to play around with the more neutral shades.  However, the last time I was at Sephora, I found myself drawn to the 'Sunset Orange' shade.  In fact, I couldn't put it down - I kept swatching it, holding it up against my skin - I think it's the 'perfect' orange shade.  What I love about it the most is that it's not quite pure orange, but more of an orange-red.  Most orange red's however, I find 'too bright'.  Bobbi Brown's sunset orange is perfect - it's not too bright, but it's not muted/soft either.  It reminds me a little bit of NARS Red Square, but the Sunset Orange just has that additional classic feel.  I also love the idea of an 'Art Stick'.  It sounds so 'playful' - I love that I can wear it as a lipstick, but also use it as a cream blush.


It's interesting to me how my natural lip shade allows this colour to appear more 'red', yet still hold on to the orange undertone.  I think I may have just discovered my perfect red liner/lipstick.  I can't wait to play around with this shade as a base to my favourite reds like YSL #1 and even Bobbi's 'Burnt Red' would be beautiful paired with this shade :)

I decided to pair the Sunset Orange with Bobbi's Tawny blush - it's the perfect pairing, as both are warm and it allow's the lip to still take centre stage.  For the eyes, I used a blend of MAC embark and expensive pink shadows, Bobbi Brown Caviar gel liner smudged with embark shadow and MAC Teddy liner on the lower lash line.  I really love these combination of shades against my golden skin and dark hair - I feel it gives me a very unique and original look, something that is authentic to me :)  The Bobbi Brown Art Stick's are amazing - I will definitely be getting more of these in the future :)