Make-Up Bag Treats

Well its grey, rainy and dull in London today so its probably too early to tell you about the spring make-up looks just yet. Although if you are looking for a couple of beauty treats to take your mind off the rubbish weather here are a couple of suggestions to start off your new spring look. March 1st sees the launch of the much hyped Chanel temporary Trompe L'oeil Tattoos. Expect a rush and a waiting list at the Chanel fashion boutiques and Selfridges London make-up studio. If you can't get your hands on their temporary skin art or even their spring nail shade Particuliere, dont worry. Paul and Joe do a similar nail colour. Shade number 7 is half the price and lasts double the time and at Luna and Curious fashion face fantasy comes in the form of paper-cut eyelashes. Paperself have created a range of false eyelashes inspired by traditional Chinese papercutting. Just be careful not to get them wet in all that rain.
http://www.chanel.com/
http://www.lunaandcurious.com/
http://www.paperself.com/

London Fashion Week Picks

The stand-out trend from London Fashion Week this February was that hem-lines are hitting the floor. Long sweeping gowns were paraded out at the end of the shows at Kinder Aggugini , Erdem and Richard Nicholl . Although when London does something as glamourous as a dramatic evening dress it has to grunge it up a bit to feel comfortable. At Meadham Kirchoff a beaded thirties bias cut gown was paired with a white applique jumper and a tiara to give it the London look. Capes were big news at the New York shows and the trend was present here in London too. PPQ, Erdem and Marcus Lupfer included them in their presentations, although jackets were a bigger trend in London. Aviator and biker styles in leather and shearling were popular at Burberry Prorsum and Christopher Kane. A chunky, oversized and cropped jacket is also a great garment to wear with the long gowns. It's a grunge-y but gorgeous bit of styling. Chunky clunky boots were also a big trend in London. The style is somewhere between a tough workboot or Dr Marten with a heel for added sex appeal.
Floor Length Printed Gown- Kinder Aggugini
Heeled Workboot- Erdem
Shearling Aviator Jacket- Burberry Prorsum

New York Fashion Week Picks

A big trend from the Big Apple for next season is an uptown-meets-preppy look . If you can imagine an American university student in the seventies who borrowed a couple of key pieces from her mummy to see her through a winter semester at school then that would just about sum it up for me. Tartan and Plaid was a popular fabric at the shows and seen at Marc by Marc Jacobs, Proenza Schouler and Peter Jensen. I loved some of the plaid kilt skirts and am thinking to nip down to the charity shop to source a secondhand schoolskirt to get in on the trend early. At Peter Jensen, the tartan velvet bloomers look was very inspiring too. Ankle and calf socks featured heavily on the catwalks. Worn with brogues (a trend which continues on this autumn) they look traditional and cool. When paired with cute Mary-Janes its a look that says sexy yet understated. If just socks in winter is too cold for you then do as Rodarte did and layer a couple of pairs of socks over tights for an alternative styling idea. The Satchel looks set to be the bag of 2010. Already available to buy from Proenza Schouler and Fendi spring collections this bag style gets luxe'd up from Marc Jacobs and Peter Jensen next winter. And what would our clean-cut American student borrow from mum to keep the chill off her? I imagine the superb cape coats seen at Alexander Wang and Marc Jacobs.
Layered socks- Rodarte
Fur-Collared Cape- Marc Jacobs
Velvet Tartan Shorts- Peter Jensen

Mardi Gras, Masks and Maquillage

Ciao! This week The Style Eye is in Italy checking out Carnivals and costumes. Mardi Gras is a celebrated all over Italy with events and parties running from the weekend until Shrove Tuesday and this is the day when floats and parades take place in the larger cities. In Venice, masked balls are one of the city's famous aspects and the style is one of 18th and 19th century aristocratic balls. Sumptuous brocades and silks feature heavily in the costumes as well as exquisite masks. At a party in the Tuscan hills however, anything goes. For Saturday night's event, revellers were thinking out of the box when creating a modern take on the masquerade ball . We saw a white boiler-suited forensic team with hospital masks ,scuba divers and one guy with a circular shower curtain around his head to obscure himself. I had to be convinced that a drawn-on eye line mask would be appropriate for the event as well as suitably glamourous. I have to say that it was the perfect backdrop for my Viktor and Rolf for Shu Uemura eyelashes and was very pleased with my Zorro- Burlesque -Catwoman look. Susy Carducci, a London based make-up artist is the creator for all the looks shown here. Including her own New Romantic-meets-Harlequin look and the Afroed-Manga-Clown girl.

Cool Carnival Queens never looked so good.

Contact Susy Carducci at susycarducci@gmail.com

The Style Eye Loves You

Exciting! it's Valentines Day tomorrow and over recent years the day has become more and more commercial. Great , I say another excuse to be spoiled with fabulous gifts. As well as the traditonal beautiful rose, lavish box of chocolates or a bottle of pink champagne who could resist these beautiful suede pumps by Christian Louboutin which over the two shoes spells out Love in gold. They certainly get my heart racing. A little Love You cosmetic purse by Lanvin is perfect for taking out on a Valentines date to carry lipstick for frequent touch ups. Mon Rouge by Paloma Picasso is a timeless red lipstick that smells divine.

Set the mood with some love songs. Here are a few suggestions to pop into your Valentines playlist

Golden Lady - Stevie Wonder

She Said - The Pharcyde

The Crush- Theriak feat. Blue Eyes

McQueen is Dead. Long Live McQueen!

The passing of Lee Alexander McQueen was a very sad day for the world of fashion. His brilliance will be surely missed. McQueen gave us high fashion, catwalk spectaculars and a heavy dose of inspiration in all of his collections. A technical genius as well as a great creative mind. Early in his career McQueen gave us the incredibly low cut waistline trousers also known as Bumsters. And soon after we adopted this silhouette into our day to day wardrobe. Since then McQueen's forward-thinking vision has often filtered into mainstream trends. As a London trained and educated designer he can also be accredited with helping give the UK fashion industry creedence on an international level.

RIP Alexander McQueen.

Underwear as Outerwear? Corset You Can!

We've all seen Lady Gaga parading around in her PVC underwear. It's practically her signature look and exposed bras and corsetry were big news on the catwalks this spring. But can it filter into our day to day wardrobe? It's tricky trend this one, though if done right can look cool and effortless. Unfortunately this time of year it's a bit chilly to be out in just your undies. So get the look now by wearing an unbuttoned cardigan to reveal a vintage style bralet and belt at the waist to define an hourglass silhouette. Corsets worn this time of the year look great with a giant chunky scarf around the neck to keep the chill out. Or cheat and go trompe l'oeil style with Kind's intarsia bustier cardigan. And if it heats up undo a few buttons to show off a PVC bra Lady Gaga would be proud of.

http://www.k-i-n-d.com/

She Wears The Trousers

When I saw this recent photograph of Devon Aoki in Chloe high waisted fitted flares I thought 'Amazing.. I want that look right now'. And so it had me thinking. We havent seen trousers out and about like this in the mainstream for ages and now perhaps its time to get back into pants. The last decade saw us going crazy for every kind of denim on the legs from Bootcut to Boyfriend via the Skinny. And when we weren't in our jeans we were rocking another must-have-fail-safe dress of the week. So now girls I'm thinking its time for a return of the Trouser and I have identified some key shapes for this spring. If you've got the figure then deffo do a Devon and go for something chic and 7o's . The alternatives styles seen on the Miu Miu spring catwalk shows were an array of glittery and printed slim cut ankle grazing trousers. This style was also present in the Toga spring collection and they look great as the way they have been styled in these pictures with chunky clunky platform sandals or with a neat little mid-heel court shoe. And don't think that just because you haven't got your legs out this spring you won't attract any male attention. Just look at the guy to the left of Devon. If I could cut-and-paste a speech bubble i'm sure he would be saying 'Wow! Alright love. Don't you look smart in them strides' . Well he would if he was from South East London.

http://www.toga.jp/

http://www.miumiu.com/

London Fashion Tweet

You can now follow The Style Eye on Twitter. Search for TheStyleEye

Regular updates and links to what is happening in the world of fashion,beauty and style.

The Style Eye will be covering London Fashion Week and will be bringing you London Fashion Tweets as they happen.