Beauty crystal ball: V Magazine gets industry insiders to talk trends for beauty 2010

Halloween has come and gone again, which means it's a made dash to the end of the 2009 (and the decade) from herein out. We're starting our slippery slide down that annual slope with beauty predictions for 2010 from V Magazine, who've questioned models, stylists and creative directors how they think beauty will shape up in decade two of the 21st century. Here's what they had to say:

"More is more! Women want to look strong, powerful, and sexy again," – Aaron De Mey, Creative Director, Lancome (DARIA WERBOWY photographed by Mario Sorrenti, makeup by Aaron De Mey, hair by Didier Malige for Frederic Fekkai) 

"The future of beauty lies in personality, which is far more interesting than just being beautiful. Knowing yourself and making yourself known as you want to be – even being someone else if you want." – Christophe de Lataillade, Creative Director, Thierry Mugler Parfums (ANNA VYALITSNYA Photography by Richard Burbridge, makeup by Kabuki, hair by Shay Ashual, styling by Brian Molloy  (Bustier by Thierry Mugler; Earrings by Cartier) )

"The future of beauty is the pursuit of a cyber-esque perfection. I wanted to transpose this virtual world onto a real face." – Val Garland, Artistic Adviser, YSL Makeup (KAROLIN WOLTER Photography by Miguel Reveriego, makeup by Val Garland, hair by Peter Gray)

"Beauty in 2010 will focus less on the external and more on the internal. Our health, mind, energy, and, most important, spirit will be the new foundations of true beauty." – James Gager, SVP and Creative Director, M.A.C. Cosmetics Worldwide (ALI MICHAEL Photography by Miles Aldridge, makeup by Ellis Faas)

"Beauty 2010 is about spontaneity, freedom of expression, and confidence." – Linda Cantello, International makeup artist, Giorgio Armani Beauty (KATRIN THORMAN Photography by Daniel Jackson,makeup by Linda Cantello, hair by Esther Langham, styling by Marie Chaix)

"Modernity is taking the classic and making it surreal." – Kamo (MIYUKI KOIZUMI Photography by Kazunari Tajima, makeup and hair by Kamo)

"Black is the new black." – James Kaliardos, Creative Director, L’Oreal Paris International (HEIDI MOUNT AND SASHA PIVOVAROVA Photography by Mario Sorrenti, makeup by James Kaliardos, hair by Recine, styling by Jane How)

"The future of beauty is about letting your freak flag fly. Anything goes when the whistle blows!" – Jimmy Paul, Editorial Stylist, Bumble and bumble (COCO ROCHA photographed by Alasdair McLellan, makeup by Kaoru, hair by Jimmy Paul, styling by Marie Chaix)

"Optimism. The more, the better." – Gucci Westman, Creative Director, Revlon (NATALIA VODIANOVA photograped by Craig McDean, makeup by Gucci Westman, hair by Julien d’Ys (necklace by Tom Binns Design))

"The past inspires the future." – Aerin Lauder, Senior VP and Creative Director, Estee Lauder (Photo (1983) by Victor Skrebneski for Estee Lauder)

Images and copy courtesy of V Magazine.

CHANEL painting the town Jade with manicures this LFW

While I can't make my CHANEL manicure later this week (so very sad), one of BWM's reviewers will be there to bask in all the shiny gloriousness that is the Bond Street CHANEL boutique while her hands get the first degree by manicurists covering her nails in the varnish colour du jour, jade. [editor's note: the colour of the day in the states seems to be gray, not jade... there's a difference of opinion on this season's it colour on either side of the pond it seems.] Stay tuned for our review of CHANEL's tip of the hat to one of this fall's trends at London Fashion Week...

Bad beauty trends: escapism or just poor taste?

Crimped hair has been rearing its ugly, geometric head for the past few months. I have tried to ignore it, glazing over when I come to fashion spreads in my glossies (ahem, September Marie Claire and French Vogue) but it's clear the beauty-industrial complex or its hairstylists or whoever is really pushing for this one to make it back into the mainstream (have we not tired of the 1980s already?). I can ignore it no longer... Sure, it's less offensive than the penultimate look du jour (eyebrow-less as in 'I have a crack habit and have shaven off my eyebrows' eyebrow-less... who thought that was a good idea and why do all junkies seem to be missing their eyebrows?) or the pre-penultimate one (purple lips a la cadaver)... but it Will. Never. Work. In. Real. Life. At least in its pure form. I mean, if you're in The Noisettes, sure you can rock a half-crimped, half-slicked back style. But try walking into any office block wearing your neat little pant suit and... crimped hair!? Not working. On top of the fact that it's probably about as welcome in most work place as a face full of piercings, it's not exactly all that flattering.

We strive relentlessly for soft, wavy, touchable, voluminous 'dos, at least that's what I'm led to believe if I look back at the ads in these same glossies. Soft hairstyles gently cradle the face. Maybe we're pushed to wear such styles because they are more feminine and as the proud owners of 2 X chromosomes, we're supposed to want that? I like a bit of edge sometimes (actually, most of the time) but the crimped look does not provide the good sort of edge. It gives the sort of edge that the mean girl at the mall (the ringleader who holds said position due simply to her large frame and aggressive disposition) sported... crimped hair, body of a Fijian wrestler, concrete wall of vertical fringe (bangs), blue eyeliner and pink gloss. That's the sort of girl who sported crimped hair. Fast forward to now and couple the crimped hair with the not-so-new new penchant for black makeup and... well, you can imagine it. Get yourself a gimp suit and you could easily and convincingly have your own dominatrix business.

But, thinking about it, maybe all this stuff we see on the runway and in the magazines is simply meant to stay there. These imaginary worlds are just that - imaginary, escapes for us from the hard-and-fast (at times) beauty rules by which we live our lives... and if you don't think you live by them, just look in your purse. Nude lip liner, powder, black mascara. Just as we wear uniforms to work, we also wear a sort of facial uniform. Sometimes we step out of line with a slash of red on the lips or a haze of charcoal around the eyes, but never to the point where we become grafittied caricatures of ourselves. 

What led me down this train of thought? My compilation of best beauty looks from New York Fashion Week for S/S 2010. A slideshow with my favourite looks will be posted shortly. In the meantime, have a long, hard think before you plonk down the dosh for that new crimper... and if you are absolutely compelled to crimp your coif, at least do the following: brush it out so it's a less severe crimp and then pull it back into a low chingon. There's some iota of style and dignity in that look (as seen above at Narciso Rodriguez courtesy of Style.com).