Since 2007, when their Colour of the Year concept was introduced, Pantone Colour Institute has gathered information from various influential sources, including the Milan furniture fair and international clothing designers, to get an indication of pivotal, new colour directions. The Pantone team interprets the various results before the final announcement is made:
“In times of stress, we need something to lift our spirits. Honeysuckle is a captivating, stimulating color that gets the adrenaline going – perfect to ward off the blues.” Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute

I couldn’t agree more. Psychologically, pink is such a positive colour. Take la vie en rose. We’re tickled pink and in the pink of health; we look at the world through rose coloured glasses. Part of the fun and magic of following colour trends is the curious coincidences that occur. I’m thinking of iconic fashion legend Diana Vreeland and her famous proclamation in the 1960s; “Pink is the navy blue of India.” Vreeland was famously known for her championing of pink. In the film musical, Funny Face, with Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire, Kay Thompson plays an autocratic fashion director who adores pink. And now, Allure, Vreeland’s book compiled with encouragement from her friend, editor Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and published 30 years ago has just been reprinted. Quelle coincidence!

I’m not suggesting that “pink is the new black” but I’m always intrigued to see a colour show up on numerous runways in the same season — and Honeysuckle certainly does.

I am delighted with the announcement. I love the colour; it’s fresh, new and sexy. Unlike many shades of pink, it works for both warm and cool skin tones. The absence of blue notes makes Honeysuckle ideal for warm skin — often characterized by freckles while the underlying vibrancy helps to brighten cool skin.

It’s important to understand that cool skin is as likely to be found on brunettes as blondes. Think Catherine Zeta Jones. Same story for warm skin — blonde or brunette is not really the determining factor. There’s no question that analyzing your skin tone can be a bit of a challenge. So in celebration of the (almost) universally wearable Honeysuckle, I’m offering a special invitation to my Colour Analysis Tip Sheet.

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As Liz candidly shared her Personal Journey, we watched her evolve from the strained stance of the Before image to her effortless sense of poise in the After picture. She embarked on her journey as an attractive, clever young woman but emerged transformed by self-assurance; I also want to point out the wonderful gift of self-esteem bestowed on Liz as she discovered her own style. When you present yourself well dressed, well accessorized, well groomed, it’s pleasing to the eye, displays harmony, demonstrates respect for others — and causes people to be more receptive. 

Today, we enthusiastically embrace professional help on a vast range of subjects. With this series I wanted to make the point that to look our best, we can all use some help. We all have a unique look and physical assets. What we do with what we have often conceals the real beauty; our liabilities govern, not our assets.

During the past few years, we’ve been inundated with extreme, some would say excessive makeovers and in the parlance of the reality shows, reveal after reveal. We’ve watched as medical wizards reconfigured every part of a woman’s anatomy and the equally bizarre effects of media doctors retouching a young model’s torso.

Here, in this series — the reality show called life — what you see is what you get. No retouching — no slimming nor trimming, no eye brightening nor teeth whitening, no fine-tuning — simply put, no photoshopping. Just pure Liz!

Liz has some final thoughts:
“I told Diane, at the end of our final session, that I feel like an entirely different person, more confident  — and it shows.  My look has been transformed dramatically and now I look like a young professional. Throughout the process, I’ve received compliments from my friends and coworkers and both my manager and director commented on my new image.  My director feels very strongly about the importance of image and presentation. His positive comments confirm that I’ve achieved my goal to project a capable and confident image. I’m fortunate that I met Diane and had the opportunity to go through her Image Enhancement Programme at this early stage in my career.  It will undoubtedly have a profound effect on my career development.  I highly recommend this programme. Thank you so much Diane!”

Stay tuned!   (Note that you can now have our blog posts delivered to your Inbox by clicking on the Subscribe link on the right side of this page.)

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Experience has taught me that when I address the idea of a professional makeup artist for this last step, clients frequently call upon the same mental roadblock; it’s called The Natural Look. At some point iconic American designer, Calvin Klein, obviously encountered this kind of resistance because he coined the perfect phrase: “The best thing is to look natural, but it takes makeup to look natural”.  How right you are Mr. Klein!

Happily, Liz was enthusiastic about her planned makeup application and lesson with makeup artist Genny at The School of Pro Makeup Art. Together, we discussed Liz’s lifestyle, the new demands of her career and her comfort level with makeup and its application.

Liz had brought along her makeup bag and we began the elimination process. In comparison to some “collections” I’ve seen, Liz had a bare minimum. I was delighted. (So often over the years, I’ve seen makeup bags that were potential breeding grounds of bacteria: bits and pieces from cosmetic promotional gifts, hastily purchased lipsticks and shadows, old sponges, dried-up mascara wands, ancient pencils and worn-out brushes. Please, don’t hang on to tired, old products. There are very specific guidelines for how long a product is safe to use, e.g. no longer than 3 months for mascara.)

Once the editing process was complete, Genny began applying makeup to the right side of Liz’s face — explaining her product choices and techniques. Then, it was Liz’s turn to match the left side. While Genny guided her step-by-step, Liz learned to hold a brush, to gauge the amount pressure to apply and new techniques of stippling, feathering and the art of blending. True to form, Liz was a stellar student and was well on her way to applying makeup like a pro.

Here are 5 quick tips for finessing your makeup application:

1. Apply bronzer with a large fluffy brush on the forehead, nose, chin, cheeks, jaw line — all places the sun would hit — using large, circular strokes.  Add more to the area just below the cheekbones to create a chiseled contoured look.  Next, apply a pink shade of blush on the “apples” of cheeks for a healthy glow.
2. Line lips with a lip-coloured lip pencil and blend well to avoid a conspicuous, telltale line.
3. Fill in eyebrows with taupe eye shadow powder and a small, angled brush. Use short, hair-like strokes in sparse areas.
4. 4. Curl eyelashes using a rounded rubber eyelash curler to really open up the eyes, before applying mascara. Shu Uemura’s eyelash curlers are internationally praised — they were even mentioned in the movie, The Devil Wears Prada.
5. Apply 4 clusters of individual false eyelashes to outer corners of the eyes to add volume and look natural. Perfect for New Year’s Eve!

Here’s Liz with a recap of her session with Genny:
“I usually don’t wear very much makeup, probably because I’ve never been exceptional at applying it — but Genny from The School of Pro Makeup was an excellent teacher.  She went over the techniques at each step then she would let me try and provide feedback. Applying cake eyeliner was especially challenging — I actually got it in my eye! Over the last few days I’ve improved and now the process is pain free. I really wanted to learn the techniques for a good reason – the end result of my makeup lesson was transformational.  I was amazed by how Genny was able to balance my features using tiny touch ups. Between the makeup and the hair I feel gorgeous. My new look is very polished.  Thank you Diane, I’m thrilled. And just in time for the holidays!“      

Stay tuned!   (Note that you can now have our blog posts delivered to your Inbox by clicking on the Subscribe link on the right side of this page.)

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