My latest Powder mani uses this years pantone, Rose Quartz with classic white, presenting a dual mani where the two shades start from either side and join in the middle.
The trend from a two-tone, dual accent nail or featured on every digit is big news for spring 2016 especially in romantic pastel tones, and yet the two hues worn in this way, redefine the classic French manicure and offer up an edgy yet playful way to wear pastels.
Carry the edgy pastel look into your outfit by teaming pastels with denim, stripes or neutrals – such as grey, white and nude. Combine with nude or pastel orange stack heels and a patterned or metallic giant clutch bag.
The festive season is already a long, distant memory but that doesn’t mean the shine and sparkle has to end too. In fact, metallics and high shine fashion and beauty are in vogue for spring 2016.
From panels on your trainers and glittery sliders to irridescent tote bags, metallic jackets and high shine brogues – fashion has a sparkle.
Above: White City Plimsoles, £99 from CoCo Rose London, £99. Tamaris Brogues, £44.99 from www.tamaris.eu and Topshop Barrel Metallic Luggage, £55.
It doesn’t stop there either since beauty is profiling the use of glitter along the hairline for a playful going-out look, glittery shadows across your lids and liner and a touch of two-tone shimmer in your lipstick.
Of course, nails go all futuristic too and my latest gel manicure captures the look perfectly. With a subtle sparkle, this mink-meets-metallic hue is ideal for everyday wear and offers grown up glamour.
Are you going to dare to wear?
Powder Beauty Boutique has some very exciting news that you’ll love too – they are now selling Cosmetic brand, delilah. The brainchild of Rupert Kingston, Hannah Nicholson and Juliet White, a wealth of experience ranging make-up artistry and product development to beauty buying, imagery, graphics and design has gone into making Delilah what it is: an already much-loved, high-performance boutique British brand.
With the likes of Vogue, Glamour and Grazia all praising this brand, I had to check it out for myself…
The Influence
The Delilah team were inspired by quintessentially English influences, from Britannia Metal, a traditional semi precious, pewter coloured metal that inspired the design of the packaging, to the crown gold accents that run through the whole line. Even the Delilah symbol, a pale pink Delilah rose, is a true icon of British beauty.
First Impressions
Powder has a collection of essentials including eye powders and creams, cream blushes, mascara, brow pencils, lipstick and glosses, foundation and concealers. The range is elegant and premium but inviting, with a good variety of shades for skin and variety enough for colours, taking you from nudes and classics to fashion-lead hues.
What I Tried
I’m all about the eyes right now and disguising the dark circles due to sleepless nights from festive mayhem, pregnancy and a toddler!
I’m a big believer in defining your brows since doing this frames your entire eye area, opening up your eyes and improving your overall look. I used the Brow Line Retractable Eye Brow Pencil with Brush, £20 in Ash, which is great for blondes.
Brow Line is a retractable eyebrow pencil with a narrow nib and a built-in brush at the other end. This makes applying colour and in-filling sparse brows very easy. It glides on and you can use the brush to feather in the crayon strokes for the most natural look. I found the colour stayed put all day.
My next eye-improved was the Fade Away Future Resist Concealer, £26 in ivory. Available in four shades, this fluid concealer incorporates light-diffusing agents that soften the appearance of fine lines and dark circles plus roseroot and sugar beet to help to reduce puffiness and darkness.
You apply it like a pen, which helps you to blend into the darkest areas such as the shadows next to you nose and to gently trace the shape of the dark circle beneath your eye.
Bethanie x
This manicure takes inspiration from the Ashish SS16 London Fashion Week show with a little festive magic thrown in. Yes, the festive season is nearly upon us!
The latest Ashish collection was one giant glitter party, from the clothes and shoes to the hair and make-up – everything had a dose of sparkle and fun. I love this mood as I’m probably one of the only people thoroughly looking forward to Christmas already; when it is sequin and sparkle central.
Image courtesy of ASOS
While I love the playfulness of the multi-coloured brights in the Ashish glitter manicure, the shades aren’t quite right for this time of year so instead, give a nod to next season and choose autumn-inspired hues. Berry and wine shades, such as claret and plum. This Gelaze gel, with its wine-red and subtle sparkle tones is perfect.
I think of it as grown-up glitter as the glitter particles capture the light rather than jump out at you. Ideal for all those pending Christmas parties, this mani will not only compliment your LBD but it will last the pace just like you.
Bethanie x
Image courtesy of Tatler
It’s Brighton Pride this weekend and I’m celebrating and supporting it with a rainbow gel mani! Why not?
Multi-Colour manicures are hot for summer 2015 and if you’re indecisive – don’t settle for one shade, choose them all. You could go all out and visit Powder Beauty Boutique not just for the manicure but for professional makeup too. I love this rainbow eye look, perfect for the festival season and paying homage to Pride.
The orange tone gel polish on my middle finger is a key shade for autumn winter 2015-16 so you’ll be seeing plenty of this. Look out for this bright hue in the form of faux fur gilts, wide legged trousers and turtle necks a la the 1970s vibe. The jade green on my ring finger is another autumnal big hitter. This bold colour will be gracing faux fur coats, opaque tights, footwear and accessories – from tippets and hats to handbags and flats. The below Gucci collection shot epitomises this new elegant, confident and glamorous hue. I’m really drawn to it right now and it is in fact the shade of the accent wall in Powder’s new Vogue Room at the new premises (36a Duke Street, Brighton). Have you been yet?..
For the spring / summer 2015 catwalks, nail designs and colours came in all shades of the spectrum and from the simple and elegant to the outright bedazzled. Whereas I do love a spot of zany nail art (if you’re an avid reader of this blog you’ll know that by now), one of my personal favourite looks for the season is nude nails. Understated, chic and a goes-with-everything colour, nude oozes sophistication and versatility.
You can either keep nails oval and long with a simple nude tone or complete the look with a diamond embellishment at the base of the nail, this looks great on short nails. But with white also being on trend, I chose to blend the two with this gel moon manicure. By teaming white with of-the-minute nude, it won’t look so harsh and adds an element of interest and originality.
Fashion
You can either flaunt your nails and wear a contrasting colour to enhance them, such as navy blue or fuchsia pink or else complement the tones and wear head to toe neutrals like these gorgeous outfits – perfect inspiration for summer…
Images via
Chroma Gel is loved by us here at Powder Beauty because it is quick and easy! A family business has spent years creating this formula with passion and care to receive perfect results! Chroma Gel has all the wonderful benefits of a gel polish such as the instant drying under the UV lamp, no smudges when digging around your handbag and stays beautifully shiny like other gel polishes but with the easiness of normal polish.
1 Step by Chroma Gel is just what it says on the bottle, no need for base coat or top coat it achieves delicious looking nails in minutes, usual 3-step gel nails in just one! Pushed for time? Wanting a manicure during your work lunch break? Chroma Gel is for you! We have beautiful colours here at powder, classics such as ‘Hollywood Galm’ and ‘Black Cherry’ or more original colours such as ‘Disco Stick’ shown below.
Offering a wide range of colours with the mix of our advanced nail technicians, fabulous looking nails is easy!
Book today call us on 01273 720055
‘Hollywood Glam’
‘Disco Stick’
Hi everyone, I’m Bethanie – Mum, writer and wine lover. I’ve been writing about fashion and beauty for 11 years now and have in that time, grown a passion for products and trends alongside boundless knowledge.
I recently visited Powder Beauty Boutique for a trend-lead gel manicure and simply had to share it with you for a little beauty inspiration.
Hailing key autumn-winter 2014/15 fashion looks, I opted for pastel pink and gunmetal grey nail art in a geometric pattern. I think the colours stand out so well next to each other and my talons are attracting much attention – always a good thing in my book.
In contrast to Fall’s bold primary colours, burnt oranges and strong reds, pastels will become a tran-seasonal trend from the summer months with Ralph Lauren, and Christopher Kane having lead the way on the catwalks. Pastel pink in particular will give a feminine and glamorous look but, as an overriding style for next season, pretty pinks will be punked up a little for a ‘polished but edgy’ finish.
Grey, as shown by Michael Kors, will be one of the key shades to wear and looks fabulous combined with pastels. Look out for gunmetal grey as shown here for the perfect balance of glamorous and gritty.
So if you want to stay ahead of the fash pack and sport next seasons styles, head down to Powder Beauty Boutique.
Bethanie x