Hot new trend: Blue Eyeshadow

Where I come from, everybody is jumping on the Eyeshadow Bandwagon. Every kind you could imagine: matte, cream, powder, sticks, slicked (etc), and the colours! Oh the colours! A rainbow of one's wildest dreams. But one colour in particular seems to be dominating the shadow scene: blue. Light blue, dark blue, shiny, peppered and all that jazz!

My mother is currently studying naturopathy, which has resulted in an extreme domestic chemical detox. Basically what this means is a surge of undesirable knowledge of the real ingredients in cosmetics. But don't worry, I won't panic any of you with those details right now. I just felt like complaining about this annoyingly incovenient situation. Lol.
But I will say that one particular cosmetic ingredient, Coaltar, is quite hazardous and is the base of alot of blue eyeshadows. I'm pretty sure I'm allergic to this ingredient (but even if I wasn't, I'm sure I wouldn't be "allowed" to use any product which contains it), so that means I'm denied the simple pleasure of going to a beauty store, harmlessly trying on eyeshadows and purchasing my favourite.Instead, I've been researching "safe" brands. This is similar to eco-fashion shopping. Scared at first (big change; thoughts of plain jane, or just plain ugly products), but after a little while, the thought of doing your skin, and the environment, a favour gets the better of you.

Larenim Mineral Makeup -- eye colour collection.

Jane Iredale Mineral Cosmetics -- Triple Eyeshadows: Truly Denim.

But if you really just can't bear the thought of eco-cosmetic type products, then your old favourites have some truly beautiful blues, too:

1. Bobbi Brown -- Midnight Metallics.
2. Laura Mercier -- Blue Sky Colour Quad.
3. M.A.C. -- Starflash Eye Shadow.

Well, I think I've thoroughly exhausted the topic of blue eyeshadow by now, no?
Hope I've helped, even if it's just a little bit.
Oh and please don't forget to cast you vote(s) in this month's poll on the right hand side of the page.

Catch.

Romany

[photos courtesy of larenim.com, janeiredale.com, bobbibrowncosmetics.com, lauramercier.com and maccosmetics.com.au]

Style in expected places...

Sometimes, style icons come out of nowhere. And sometimes, they have always been there and yet no one really notices them until they're thrust into the spotlight. And such is the case with the stars of Gossip Girl, touted the Sex and the City of this generation (with regards to its impact on the young-adult fashion industry). Blake Lively (who plays Serena Van der Woodsen), as far as I'm concerned, could be on her way to becoming a true style queen, but thus far hasn't particularly impressed me with her safe (aka boring), California-girl fashion efforts. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure she's a lovely girl, but when it comes to style, Leighton Meester (who plays Blair Waldorf) is the real star.

Leighton is incredibly beautiful and knows how to work the red carpet.
This look on the right, Pencey mini-dress with matching while heels, is possibly one of my favourite red-carpet outfits ever.

Leighton may not always get it right (who does?), but this is not what defines a style icon. A style icon (or an icon of any kind, really) is someone who takes risks no matter the consequences. And it's this confidence that gives them that 'wow' factor, meaning a wrong step is nearly impossible.
It may be too early to tell whether or not Leightoon Meester is a full-blown style icon in-the-making, but one thing's for sure: as her star continues to rise, her style cred will surely rise with it.

Many of you noted that one of the things you would like to see more of on this blog was magazine editorial coverage. Recently I came across a particularly dazzling, little photoshoot from this month's Russh magazine, which I thought beautiful enough to share with my equally beautiful readers. Enjoy!

Oh and please don't forget to cast you vote(s) in this month's poll on the right hand side of the page.
Catch.

Romany

[photos courtesy of people.com, leightonmeester.us, gettyimages.com and myspace.com/russhmagazine]

Redefining statement jewellery

Boy, those Arulpragasam sisters sure make political objection cool.
We all know M.I.A. (the British singer's 2007 album Kala is currently pulling big numbers on my iPod). Now meet her big sister, Kali, the creative brain behind jewellery label Super Fertile. The brand recently released its new collection called Tourism, an aesthetically pleasing advertisement for the 'undesirable' locations of the world. The collection features a range of gold and silver neck-pieces displaying the positive aspects of war-torn regions.

"The media only reveals the negative, so when you Google 'Iraq' you only get American soldiers with guns and rubble. This is not Iraq! Iraq has culture, music, fashion, sports and great architecture. And so, I magically removed the guns, tanks and violence from the picture so that my jewellery acts as tourism posters dipped in 24ct gold or silver -- becoming instant precious treasures."
-- Kali Arulpragasam

"I feel blessed I can say what I want. I feel it will be a wasted opportunity to create more skulls and wings in the world, rather than make something that can actually make a difference...
I wanted the message to be more important, and I wanted it to be kicking around for hundreds of years. I liked the idea of people digging up my jewels 500 years from now, with the pieces still communicating a beautiful message."

"The reaction I'm getting has been a big surprise, but it's a collection that seems to have hit every type of person from politicians to artists and fashion people.

I have been flooded with messages from Colombian girls and boys to Haiti footballers to Middle Eastern bloggers and Sri Lankan women just thanking me for acknowledging them."

Personally, I think the collection (visually, as well as the message behind them) is gorgeous. Even if one doesn't wear them, hanging the jewels as decorative ornaments around the house would suffice.

Catch.

Romany

[photos courtesy of superfertile.com]