Your bi-weekly dose of sartorial snippets
By Savis Irandoost, Contributor, and Sophie Isbister, Life & Style Editor
This week on Style Roundup, Savis and Sophie look at ways you can add colour to your spring wardrobe to keep looking as fresh as possible. We look at beauty product trends in nails and hair, colour-pop accessories, and introduce you to the colour of 2013.
Pop out of the norm
When it comes to creating a look, any glam gal knows that accessories are your best friend. I spend more money a year on accessories than I do on actual clothes. Clothes can only get you so far, while accessories polish your look and make you stand out. The mother of all accessories is the statement piece, which can be a big, bold piece of jewellery, a funky shoe, or any other bold and bright accessory item. A personal favourite of mine is a pop of colour on an otherwise neutral outfit. I usually go with an all-black outfit and wear a bright lipstick, purse, or shoeâtry fuchsia, royal purple, deep green, or azure. Colours, while not necessary, can be especially inspiring for spring. Gold and silver jewellery work as a statement piece as well. Trending right now in the market are clunky necklaces and weâre loving it! Whether you go for colour or metallic, accentuate your amazing fashion sense by drawing attention to your statement piece!
Chalk: itâs not just for sidewalks
Are you a hair colour commitment-phobe looking for a way to spice up your locks without investing in toxic bleach and dye? Look no further than hair chalk! Itâs exactly what it sounds likeâblocks of coloured chalk that you rub onto strands of your hair for fun, low-impact streaks. The chalk comes in bright hues like pink, orange, and purple and can usually be found in specialty makeup stores and hair salons. Try to pick up chalk specifically for hairâwhile you can use your little brotherâs sidewalk chalk for a similar effect, the kind that is specifically made for hair will be brighter, less damaging, and will wash out easier. Concerned that your hair might be too dark for the colours to show up? I asked my brunette bombshell bestie Sharon Miki how she gets the chalk to stay in her trendy tressesâshe says to straighten the strand of hair, rub the chalk on while itâs still warm, then spray it with hairspray. Repeat until you achieve desired saturation!
Shellacinâ Around
Tired of doing your nails just to have them chip a day later? Do you want the brightest of bright awesome colours at your disposal? Do you want a shine and thickness to your polish that canât be replicated with anything else? Then you probably want Shellac. It baffles me how few women know about Shellac nails. Itâs been around for a while, with an ever-growing fan base. Shellac is a nail lacquer, somewhere between gel nail polish and regular nail polish. Itâs a trademarked formula that is only sold at specialty beauty suppliers. The polish itself is more expensive and requires a few other items like bond aid, shellac base coat, and shellac top coatâmost people go to a salon to get Shellac. Your nails can be super short and itâll still look great. Shellac lasts two to three weeks, way longer than a regular manicure, and it is virtually impossible to chipâit even needs to be soaked off with acetone. The one thing that keeps us glamazons from doing our own Shellac nails on a regular basis is that the polish requires an ultraviolet light to activate and set. Mini UV lights are hard to find and expensive, but are becoming more accessible. Until then, Iâll settle for the nail parlor!
Emerald city
Pantone, the pigment company that sells colours to the entire fashion industry, has scientifically deemed emerald green the colour of 2013. Remember 2012? When you couldnât walk down the street without seeing someone wearing the bright orange that Pantone called Tangerine Tango? That was the colour last year. Pantone determines the colour of the year based on their industry sales, so when they say the colour is emerald, be prepared to see this manifest in countless items at the mall. Described by Pantone as âLively. Radiant. Lush⌠A color of elegance and beauty that enhances our sense of well-being, balance, and harmony,â emerald is great in accessories: belts, bags, shoes, headbands, or even earrings. Itâs also a great colour for eye makeup. An emerald shadow or liner can make brown eyes stand out, and youâre sure to find several great options of this trending colour at Sephora.
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