I've never been one to follow the fashion trends. This is due to a lack of abilities. It's a time, money and effort thing. I don't have enough of any of the above to be a trendy fashionista (or a fashionable trendinista). At least I didn't think I did.
Until now.
I am happy to report good news from the fashion front for non-trendsetters like me. The latest fashion keyword for makeup (you might want to sit down if you're prone to fainting) is imperfection. You read that right. According to the New York Times, the hottest beauty trend for 2012 is being less than perfect. Flawed is fabulous.
Goodbye lip liners, stiff coiffures, brow pencils, smoky eyes and contoured cheekbones.
Hello mussed hair, barely there foundation, muted eyeliner and neutral lip colors. We're even advised to embrace the moment and skip mascara. Skip? Mascara? There's a technique worth mastering.
In our new, messy, flawed state, we are instructed to practice restraint so our makeup appears smudged and relaxed - as though our faces were nude. I was practically born smudged and relaxed.
The experts tell us the reason for their innovative outlook is simple: perfection in makeup got boring.
It's about time they noticed.
It's 2012, imperfection is in, perfection is out and I am dancing in my chair. Why? Because there's one thing I know for certain: I am most definitely imperfect.
I don't have to be the only one. I'm willing to bet, with a little effort, you can be imperfect too.
The fashion pros are describing the flawed look as a just-out-of-bed, minimalist approach. I think I can pull that off. I've been practicing the just-out-of-bed technique for years. Just-out-of-bed is as easy as falling out of bed - except without the bruising.
I've saved the best detail for last. In 2012, power brows dominate the runway. The fashion icons who know what they should know because they create these trends are telling us to amp up our eyebrows and go for a strong presence with a willful arch.
Leave the skinny to your jeans. No more plucking or tweezing in pursuit of the pencil-thin eyebrow. This year's brows are as big and bold as any hairstyle from the 1980s - aim for the eyebrows of Katy Perry, Brooke Shields and Madonna.
I've never thought of eyebrows as strong or willful. I usually leave those sorts of descriptions to my kids. Come to think of it, though, I do possess strong brows (if we're defining strong as big and bushy). For years, I've tried to make them take on a certain shape and, in a response that can only be described as willful, they've gone their own deviant ways.
I've never been a trendsetter. Heck, when it comes to trends I can't even follow them, much less set them. Except for this year, when messy is the new vogue, mascara is optional and brows are strong and willful. I may become a fashionista after all. At least for the next 11 months. Afterwards, I'll still be imperfect and flawed: no longer in style, but the same old me.
- Jill Pertler's column appears every Thursday in the Times. She can be reached at pertmn@qwest.net.
Until now.
I am happy to report good news from the fashion front for non-trendsetters like me. The latest fashion keyword for makeup (you might want to sit down if you're prone to fainting) is imperfection. You read that right. According to the New York Times, the hottest beauty trend for 2012 is being less than perfect. Flawed is fabulous.
Goodbye lip liners, stiff coiffures, brow pencils, smoky eyes and contoured cheekbones.
Hello mussed hair, barely there foundation, muted eyeliner and neutral lip colors. We're even advised to embrace the moment and skip mascara. Skip? Mascara? There's a technique worth mastering.
In our new, messy, flawed state, we are instructed to practice restraint so our makeup appears smudged and relaxed - as though our faces were nude. I was practically born smudged and relaxed.
The experts tell us the reason for their innovative outlook is simple: perfection in makeup got boring.
It's about time they noticed.
It's 2012, imperfection is in, perfection is out and I am dancing in my chair. Why? Because there's one thing I know for certain: I am most definitely imperfect.
I don't have to be the only one. I'm willing to bet, with a little effort, you can be imperfect too.
The fashion pros are describing the flawed look as a just-out-of-bed, minimalist approach. I think I can pull that off. I've been practicing the just-out-of-bed technique for years. Just-out-of-bed is as easy as falling out of bed - except without the bruising.
I've saved the best detail for last. In 2012, power brows dominate the runway. The fashion icons who know what they should know because they create these trends are telling us to amp up our eyebrows and go for a strong presence with a willful arch.
Leave the skinny to your jeans. No more plucking or tweezing in pursuit of the pencil-thin eyebrow. This year's brows are as big and bold as any hairstyle from the 1980s - aim for the eyebrows of Katy Perry, Brooke Shields and Madonna.
I've never thought of eyebrows as strong or willful. I usually leave those sorts of descriptions to my kids. Come to think of it, though, I do possess strong brows (if we're defining strong as big and bushy). For years, I've tried to make them take on a certain shape and, in a response that can only be described as willful, they've gone their own deviant ways.
I've never been a trendsetter. Heck, when it comes to trends I can't even follow them, much less set them. Except for this year, when messy is the new vogue, mascara is optional and brows are strong and willful. I may become a fashionista after all. At least for the next 11 months. Afterwards, I'll still be imperfect and flawed: no longer in style, but the same old me.
- Jill Pertler's column appears every Thursday in the Times. She can be reached at pertmn@qwest.net.
