Fables in Fashion

Sirene here~ Today I have an extra special treat for you all, a guest post from one of my closest friends Sefie~ I hope you enjoy her post, I know I sure did! <3

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Hi there! It’s Sefie, the other half of 1Up Makeup. I also blog at Sefie Eats, writing about how I nom through life as best as I can!

In late April this year, my absolute makeup hero, Napoleon Perdis, launched his first book, Forever Flawless. Unfortunately, Sirene was stuck at work, so I made it my duty to go to the book signing session at Chadstone Shopping Centre.

I love Napoleon, not just because I think his products are great, but because he’s the first (and pretty much only) Australian in the high-end cosmetics market. He’s always come across as funny, approachable, and extremely confident, which is how I feel when I put effort into applying my makeup. He also caters for the middle-level consumer with his NP Set range, which focuses more on palettes and smaller sizes of products, which allows you to try and play with makeup without dropping an absolute ton of money on it.

My first and favourite NP product is the China Doll foundation (Shade 4). Some people criticise NP foundation as having yellow tones, but with my darker Asian skin, this matches me perfectly. While I now use MAC Studio Fix (NC42) or BB cream as my everyday foundations, China Doll is my choice for photoshoots. It almost never goes shiny, and dries to a lovely matte finish, even when I’m too rushed or lazy to put powder on. My NP Set 10 Colour Eyeshadow Palette is my everyday palette, with Two Faced Eyeshadow Insurance to make it last all day.

Okay, enough ads, onto the book signing!

I got advance notice of the book signing from the NP mailing list, and I could not pass up the opportunity to meet my hero face-to-face. I was a little disappointed that it was being held at Target rather than the actual concept shop, but I suppose it would have been a lot more difficult for security to handle. I was surprised to see Anne-Marie Biggar (in pic) MCing the event, but she did a fairly good job of keeping the line moving and entertaining the general crowd. I got there about an hour early, and there were already about 30 people there. Within half an hour, there was already nearly 100 people! Which was lucky, because only the first 100 people got a free gift pack… which was kind of crap, to be honest. $5 Target gift card, pair of footless tights, 3 mini NP nail polishes (leftover Christmas packaging… in April…) and a sample sachet of NP Auto Pilot foundation – in a crinkly paper bag. On the other hand, the best thing in the gift bag was the comfiest grey T-shirt I have ever worn! Another big plus was that the book itself was 35% off, making it only $26AUD.

Finally getting Sirene’s and my books signed. I also got a chance to gush about how much I love China Doll, and he thanked me for giving him specific feedback!

Mwaaaaa~

So, as for the book itself. The photography, of course, is typical NP style. Minimal background, clean faces and slick hair, and no celebrities at all, just “real” people. It was written to promote the NP Set series, and to be honest, it’s quite heavy on the specific product recommendations. Savvy makeup fans will be able to dupe or use products they already have, but if you’re that savvy, you probably know 90% of what’s in the book already. There’s nothing particularly surprising in it, unless you’re still putting on concealer underneath your foundation. However, it is also full of positive messages about body image, and using makeup to enhance your features, rather than to cover them up, or use it as a crutch. Beginning MUAs might also find it a good starting point, especially if you don’t have much experience with people in other age groups (especially older women). And, of course, the fact that it was so much cheaper and signed by Napoleon himself means that this book has a treasured place on my bookshelf.

I hope you enjoyed this guest post, and thanks to my darling Sirene for letting me gush on. Love love~
- Sefie

Last night was a lot of fun, I didn’t manage to get any outfit shots. Something I’ve been meaning to do for a while now. Probably for the best come to think of it, not easy to get the outfit, makeup and hair right whilst dashing from work to a fashion show in the car within 30 minutes! This Christmas, could I please just have more time?

Here are some select photos from the Harpers’ Bazaar runway show last night, and this time I managed to list out all the designers too! I think out of all the shows I attended this week, InStyle gets my vote~ Anyways, hope you enjoy the photos.

Martin Grant

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Some of my favourite outfits from the InStyle Runway One more to go tomorrow! Can’t wait~

Mimco

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Yesterday was a painfully early morning for me, after staying up late to process my Grazia photos, getting up at 5:30am the next morning to make the workshop in time wasn’t my idea of fun. Nope, instead I ended up waking up at 6:15am, only to rush frantically out of the house by 6:30am, thankfully Celeste was kind enough to drive us into the city for the workshop that day.

This isn’t a workshop for people like me, who have done makeup for years and really just love to go wild with different looks. However, this workshop would be perfect for those perhaps trying to get into makeup or would like more information on how to apply everyday makeup.

Listed below are the tips the L’Oreal team provided after each section was complete, hopefully you find them helpful

All About Skin

• Prepare your skin thoroughly  with the right products before starting your makeup.
• Sunscreen is an everyday essential – don’t be tempted to skip this step.
• Foundations come in different textures. Build a wardrobe of various finishes.
• When it comes to concealer, be sure to choose the right formula for what you need to cover.
• Match your products: powder with powder and cream on cream

All About Eyes

• Look straight ahead while applying 90 per cent of your eye makeup for a true result.
• When selecting shadow shades, consider your eye colour and use a matching hue or the exact opposite.
• Metallics are a top trend this season, and are easier to wear than you might expect so why not experiment?
• Your brows are the frames for your face – give them the attention they deserve with regular grooming.
• Make mascara work for you. Choose a formula for the effect you wish to create.

All About Colours

• Blush will make you look instantly younger, but make sure it compliments your skin tone and lipstick shade.
• Lipstick is back. Select a tomato-red tone and prepare to make your mark, or use a nude hue for a chic result.
• Play with application techniques – achieve a sexy stained lip look by dabbing on colour with your fingers.
• When using lipliner, tilt your head back as you apply to achieve a perfect outline, then fill in your lips.
• Never forget your nails. This season, choose shades of taupe, red, plum or a polish pale pink.

I could write a lengthy entry about my opinions on each and every dress I saw that night… OR I could just spam with you all my photos! And isn’t that what matters at the end of the day?

I will make one comment though, I was so happy to learn that the shoes were provided by Siren, which makes them affordable and totally in my price range!

Last night Celeste and I attended our very first fashion event. In an attempt to learn and integrate myself more into the fashion community, I’ve been keen to attend more fashion related events. So I was very happy to find out that my dear friend who just as keen to attend the same type of events~

Unfortunately, I forgot my camera on the night. I’m sure Celeste will have some pretty ones up soon, so do feel free to skip over there and check out them. Overall, it was a very interesting event, getting to know the locals in the fashion community (till yesterday my “network” had been restricted to anyone online, irregardless of which country they were from) and it was a nice change.

Looking forward to attending many many more in the future with my new partner in crime~ <3