Here at EcoSalon, we’d never tell you there are any rules when it comes to looking you’re best. The confidence that comes from choosing to embrace your unique self is what true beauty is. Glamour, on the other hand, is a totally different animal. As Dita Von Teese remarked, “glamour is the process of turning yourself into something.” Admittedly, most of us aren’t heading off to jobs as vintage burlesque performers every morning, but women throughout history have put their “face on” to deal with the challenges in front of them.

Making friends with make-up is key. Wrapping our heads around the fun and creativity of exaggerating the feminine form as an empowering ritual, rather than an oppressive one, is the beginning of our journeys towards authentic glamour.

The other essential part comes down to recognizing there really is an art to it. The difference between lipstick that is quickly smudged on and one applied with a sense of artful delight is always evident. Thankfully, there’s a wealth of knowledge from the cosmetic industry’s top innovators available on every Internet-connected device in your home.  Now that every one has access to the latest insider beauty secrets, it’s up to you to define and create your best face forward.

Here are our picks for the best tutorials on the top seasonal make up trends to enhance and inspire your personal make up technique.

1. Sisters Sam and Nic Chapman, known to over 650K subscribers as Pixiwoo, have made their focus recreating the kind of make up seen on film and on the red carpet. Their popular Bond Girl series are fun looks to recreate, this ’70s shimmer Solitaire Make-up from 1973’s Live & Let Die exemplifies what spring 2013 runways were all about – smoldering eyes with loads of highlights and pointy bow lips.

2. Helping you to finally master liquid eyeliner is Michelle Phan’s goal in this instructive Easy Ways to Use Liquid Liner tutorial. With more than 2.25 million subscribers, she’s the Internet’s most popular make up blogger. Take a look at her tips for achieving the perfect cat eye, an enduring and flattering vintage look.

3. Lisa Eldridge is the talented industry insider providing insight into the world of the editorial make up artist. Her stunning make up applications reveal the art and technical prowess behind the process. In this tutorial, Eldridge shows how two items – bronzer and highlighter – can totally transform by creating the ultimate in ‘no make up’ looks.

Image: Brendan W. Brown

The post Spring Glamour Guide: The 3 Best Video Makeup Tutorials appeared first on EcoSalon.

According to T Magazine’s Sally Singer, her nail art design inspired by taxi cab beaded seat covers “would look good with Burberry’s spring collection.”

When one of fashion’s most cerebral and analytical figures, the New York Times’ T Magazine editor Sally Singer, admits to a passion for elaborate and decidedly unconservative nail art – its clearly time to rethink the basic clear polish. In her NOWNESS collaboration with nail artist Maki Sakamoto, Singer recently unveiled five avant-garde manicure designs featuring decorative 3D patterns with themes that include Powdered Violet Nails, Céline Orange Nails, Mexican Sugar Skulls Nails, Taxi Driver Seat Nails and Kate Middleton Nails.

Nail Art from Tokyo’s world renowned  Nail Expo

Theories abound at the switch, fashion forecasters contend the growing popularity of elaborate nail art is due to our nails being more on show now because of widespread use of smartphones, the influence of Japanese nail art pop culture – the Nail Expo in Tokyo attracted nearly 190,000 visitors last year – and advances in both nail techniques and new products.

The 30’s inspired V French manicure sported by Lana Del Rey in the March 2012 issue of Vogue UK

The first modern manicure in the 1930s was known as the “moon manicure.” Sported now by retro style stars, Dita Von Teese and Lana Del Rey, red polish is applied to the nail but not to the moon and tip, in some cases, edges were filed into points. Red nails continued to be desired by women until the 1960s when the focus moved away from reds and turned to paler, pastel shades to match modish nude lips. The 1970s saw the introduction of the French manicure, the 1980s welcomed bright fuchsia and neon nails and in the 1990s, the hottest accessory was Chanel’s “Vamp.” Created to be the same color as dried blood, the polish went on to gross $1 million in sales in its first year alone and became the most in-demand product in the whole of Chanel’s history.

Chanel’s black-red color, “Vamp” was released in 1994 and sold out world wide

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According to the Queen of retro glamor, Dita Von Teese, “the rule of shopping for me is: If your grandmother would like it, I would like it!” Jewelry designers Kris and Kim Nations couldn’t agree more.

Their latest collection, made from recycled metal and mixed elements, was inspired by their glamorous Granny, a fashion model in the 1940s who, being something of a bon viviant, enjoyed four husbands before finally settling in El Paso with the love of her life. Named “Farrington” – after their grandfather, her fifth and final husband – the collection reflects elements of the vintage Pueblo deco style that so delighted their Grandparents.

The Kris Nations line is known by fashion insiders for being the ultimate source for best friend jewelry gifts (bookmark their site for 2011s special occasions!) for reasonably priced pieces such as their signature cities necklaces and deceptively simple hammered hoops, which perfectly illustrate the line’s handcrafted, filigree aesthetic.

The sisters are based in San Carlos, California and work with local artists in the area to create the one-of-a-kind, handmade limited edition pieces. Using recycled metal and mixed elements such as the 2 pyrite – a.k.a. Fool’s Gold – nuggets and hand dyed silks featured in the Old Town Necklace above. It’s available in unusual color combinations of Navajo coral, turquoise, lemon and slate that reflect the Southwestern style beloved by their Grandmother and Grandfather.

True to Kris Nations easy-to-layer and minimal design, the edgy – but still pretty – line of delicate pieces manage to create a rip-roaring first impression, much as one imagines their gregarious Gran once did. The Electro Social Club earrings, below, made from Hematite beads on a hand shaped and hammered hoop are particularly spiffy standouts, exemplifying the jazz age influence.

After the king of retro-fitting fashion, Marc Jacobs looked to the Jazz Age for his Louis Vuitton pre-fall collection, and with news of Baz Luhrman’s upcoming remake of “The Great Gatsby,” don’t be too surprised if you start feeling a distinctly Deco fashion mood coming on.

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