Fashion Trends

There’s a new trend in town, and it’s one we think — no, know — you’ll love: Beauty product customization. From nail polish to lipstick to eyeshadows and beyond, the cosmetic world is taking an individualized approach to business by giving their customer’s more of a say in what they buy.

Customized Lipsticks

NYC’s Bite Beauty Lip Lab, which opened in May of this year, is the perfect example of customized cosmetics. It’s essentially a shop that lets you make your own lipstick shade and take it home with you that day.

“The patent-pending process of making custom lipsticks starts by combining different existing lipstick colors,” writes Bite Beauty on their blog. “You can try on mixes of different colors and layer on more shades to alter the look. The process of making a lipstick takes about seven minutes and involves melting down the different bullets of lipstick (they look like chocolate truffles!), adding a scent (cherry, violet, peppermint, or super fruit), pouring the mix into lipstick molds and allowing the formula to harden on a cold plate. It’s as simple at that!”

Check it out yourself:

*The store will be temporarily closed at the end of summer for a re-design, which promises to be “more interactive” and will include play stations for color.

Bite Beauty
174 Prince Street, NYC
646-484-6111
Open 11 AM to 7 PM, Tuesday-Saturday and 11 AM to  5PM Sunday.

If you’re not in NYC, but still want to give customized lipstick a try, head over to LillieMakeup.com, which lets you create your own lipstick online. You’ll start with a base color. From there, you can customize your lipstick even further by adding toners and/or frosts. You can also add lip plumping ingredients, sunscreen, extra moisture and certified therapeutic grade oils.

Customized Nail Polish

“Pretty Please thinks it’s time to get personal,” writes the brand on the home page of their website. “That’s why we create customized nail polish just for you! You select a shade you love and give it your own unique name.”

The concept is actually pretty cool, as is the tool you use on their website. You essentially choose one of the brand’s pre-made colors and then you customize the name. If you’re thinking, “Why would I care what it’s named?” the answer is simple. It makes a great gift, is perfect for baby showers or bachelorette parties, and sometimes it’s just fun to have a nail polish you’ve named yourself.

If you wanna get all Shakespeare (“What’s in a name?”), then perhaps you’d like something more along the lines of Couture by Nails Inc., which let’s you customize the bottle, the name and the box. You do choose from one of their pre-made colors, though.

If it’s customized color you’re really after, though, you do have options at Etsy.com.  Various sellers will work with you to create your own, personalized nail polish color, and for a reasonable price.

Customized Palettes

Ever buy a makeup palette only to hit the pan on three colors and never touch the rest? That’s what you call a waste of money, darling. Don’t do that anymore. Instead, buy from brands that let you mix and match pans. Here’s a list of some of our favorites:

Inglot Cosmetics (Freedom System)
Bobbi Brown Cosmetics (Build Your Custom Palette)
MAC Cosmetics (Custom Palette)

Customized Foundations

Nothing’s worse than wearing the wrong shade of foundation. It’s a tell-tale sign of cosmetic ineptitude and is seriously unflattering.

Unfortunately, it’s really hard to match your skin tone. Even if you think you’ve got the right color, you could walk out of the store — and into different light — only to realize you’ve got the wrong shade.

Sephora and Pantone of joined forces to save the day with “Color IQ.” Their motto: “Never wear the wrong foundation again.” They suggest going in-store to try the Sephora + Pantone “revolutionary color-matching system” to see how awesome it is for yourself.

Check out this demo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch/?v=UgcEh7r2ds4

Do you have any recommendations for brands that offer customized cosmetics? If so, share them in the comment section below!

By Wendy Rose Gould

If you’ve traveled recently, you may have seen one of Benefit Cosmetics’ new, pink-tastic vending machines in the corridors of your airport. The brand’s vending machine has picked up some Internet steam — most likely because of its ultra girly aesthetic — but it’s not the only high end cosmetic vending machine on the market.

The Rise of Cosmetic Vending Machines

As far back as a decade ago, skincare and cosmetic companies have sold their goods to consumers via the convenience of vending machines. For example, in 1997 Elizabeth Arden began stocking vending kiosks with their top cosmetic sellers. On the whole, buyers were delighted.

Other brands that’ve had their own vending machines around for just as long include Coty (which sells designer fragrances), StriVectin and Proactiv Solution Acne Care. Sephora, Chanel — and now Benefit — are more recent passengers of this “vending machine cosmetic” bandwagon. The fact that more and more high end brands keep joining the vending machine club makes it apparent that these novel, futuristic makeup machines are doing well. And you know what that means? They’re likely here to stay.

It’s no surprise they’re doing well, as the idea, really, is a genius one. First of all, consumers love convenience. If you’re not in a big city, chances are you have limited access to high end cosmetics. Vending machines help solve that problem by selling these hard-to-find products at places where you’re more likely to frequent (say, at your nearest major airport). And let’s say you forgot your concealer and you’re headed straight to a business meeting after de-boarding. Seeing a whole case of options to choose from would probably make you feel like guardian angels do exist.

Secondly, from a business model standpoint, the novelty of getting your mascara or highlighter from a vending machine is pretty cool. These machines have probably done quite well thanks to impulse buying alone.

While these machines have, for the most part, resided mostly inside of airport walls, there’s been discussion on branching out to other venues. The goal, naturally, is to increase sales by targeting various demographics. Namely, teens. There’s even been talk of installing these high end cosmetic vending machines in bowling alleys, movie theaters, malls and even at high schools, all of which get decent teen traffic.

Would You Buy From Them?

Personally, I prefer to test out a cosmetic item before purchasing it (or at least reading reviews and seeing swatches), so I don’t see myself trying new products with vending machines. I would, however, purchase products I’m already familiar with. Or, if I had forgotten my makeup bag or desperately needed an item, I’d chance it with one of these machines.

How about you? Have you seen one of these vending machines floating around? And more importantly, have you — or would you — purchased from them? And lastly, are there any brands you’d love to see introduce a vending machine of their own? I’m holding out for NARS, Urban Decay and MAC.

Share your thoughts in the comment section!

By Wendy Rose Gould

I hope you’re all recovering from the heat wave that encapsulated basically the entire United States a few weeks ago. As a Phoenix dweller who’s come to refer to “heat waves” as summer breezes — and who says things like, “Oh! The high is only 100 degrees today?” — I was somewhat unfazed by it all. However, I did feel for you poor souls who aren’t used to scorching temps.

I actually escaped to Boulder, Colorado for a portion of it, where the abnormally high local temps of 90ish degree temperatures felt absolutely lovely compared to the 115 I’d grown accustomed to. Score!

Anyway, all these people on social media, the news (and even in person!) upset over the hot weather inspired me to share some makeup tips for extraordinarily hot weather. You know, so your makeup doesn’t melt off your face!

Tip 1: Always Use Primer

My husband laughs when I say I’m going to go paint my face, but that I first need to apply some primer. But in the same way a primer creates a smooth foundation for your home’s walls, it also preps your skin for foundation, blush and anything else you’ll apply. Primer also helps your makeup last longer, especially when you’re prone to sweating it off. On the hottest of hot days, say buh-bye to melting faces and hello to primer. I’ve had great success with BECCA’s primer and Max Factor makes some amazing products, as well.

Tip 2: Apply Makeup to a Dry Face

This is kind of a given, but how, exactly, does one keep her face dry when it’s muggy and hot? First, face a fan or air conditioner when applying your makeup. If you’re still sweaty, give your face a blast of (non-hot) air from your blow dryer. Secondly, rinse the sweat off your face off with cool water and gently pat dry with a clean towel before applying any makeup.

Tip 3: Keep Makeup Products Cool

Store any of your liquid cosmetics in the fridge. That includes foundation, BB cream, primers, lip glosses, cream blushes, liquid eyeliners, etc. This isn’t a necessity, but it will help cool you down!

Tip 4: Opt for Waterproof Mascara

If you’re not wearing waterproof mascara, sweat can make your mascara run. And that causes mascara to get in your eyes. Few things are as uncomfortable as mascara in your eyes, am I right? Always opt for waterproof mascara, especially if you’ll be out in the sun and especially if you’ll be anywhere near a pool.

Tip 5: A Touch of Deodorant On Your Nose

A few years ago, I discovered that even though I was wearing an SPF foundation/powder and primer, my nose would get burnt whenever I played outdoors. After a bit of thinking, I realized my makeup kept rubbing off due to a) sweat and b) my sunglasses sliding up and down my nose. The Bozo look nobody any favors, myself included. Solution? A touch of deodorant on your nose will help prevent sweat and keep your sunglasses in place.

Tip 6: Use Setting Spray or Powder

Even when we’re reaching record breaking temperatures here in the desert valley (hello, 120 degrees!), my makeup lasts through the day. How? Well, minimum exposure to outside weather (even if my AC is set to 86 degrees inside), but makeup setting powder also helps. I apply a quick dusting of Make Up Forever HD Powder and boom — flawless face for hours!

By Wendy Rose Gould

We live in an interesting time.

The same thing was also said amidst the boom of print media, especially when haute couture glossies first hit the market and the whole fashion industry became more of an “event” as opposed to a utilitarian means to an end (read: being clothed).

I’d argue that when online blogging hit the scene roughly 15 years ago — the late ’90s — fashion underwent a notable shift. Once “the people” received a megaphone (in this case, the Internet), their amplified voices slowly began competing with the opinions of fashion designers and magazines across the globe. Don’t get me wrong, to this day designers and glossies certainly have a huge say regarding what we wear, but the whole social aspect of the Internet indubitably turned the style world on its head.

Fast forward another five-ish years or so — into the early 2000s — when “all about me” social media websites such as MySpace were at their height. The early 2000s also marked the dawn of the Facebook era, a website which has a bigger influence on the world than most even realize. It was also around this time when deep and thought provoking online diaries shared between close friends (hello, LiveJournal) lost their luster and lifestyle blogs gained momentum.

Today, you can’t go anywhere on the web without running into a blogger or a niche website that focuses specifically on fashion/style or beauty. And with the prevalence of smart phones and Apps (fashion-focused and otherwise, including Instagram), we can’t even pick up the phone without seeing what other people are wearing or buying.

This social media/Internet whirlwind frenzy makes me wonder: Are we better dressed now compared to 10 years ago?

The Stylish City’s own founder, Mirela, says: “Everybody — stores, bloggers, fashion magazines, etc — has “looks” to draw inspiration from. There are literally thousands of bloggers, personal stylists, celebrities and reality shows we are exposed to every day.”

This undoubtedly affects our decisions when we walk into a store or peer into our closet. With the potential for more people to see how we’re dressed, are many of us less apt to throw on scroungy sweats even while sauntering around the house? And do we make better fashion choices now as a result of being exposed to the more fashionable who want to put themselves out there for the world to see?

Another question I have, in regard to the Internet/social media influence:  Do we approach fashion on a more “individual” level these days? Or does the influx of online/media inspiration cause us to all sort of look like each other?

Personally, I think cities such as NYC, where there a lot of people coming from all walks of life, are more likely to dress individually, but there’s still this “NYC vibe” that permeates all fashion in the city.

Perhaps the boom of social media has made us dress better as a collective whole, but with that have we lost a sense of individuality when it comes to fashion choices?

What do you think? Have your wardrobe decisions changed over the past 10 to 15 years as a direct result of the Internet and social media? Has it gotten worse? Or have you sort of shrugged your shoulders and not changed much at all? Share your comments below!

By Wendy Rose Gould