Designer Rachel Roy has built a following for not only her beautiful designer and diffusion collections (Rachel | Rachel Roy is available in Macy’s stores across the U.S. and on RachelRoy.com) but also her amazing personal style and beauty. Talking Makeup has the scoop on how Rachel expresses her Indian ancestry through her makeup, and as well as her personal tricks to looking bright, fresh and flawless.

BTW- I loved watching Rachel Roy in one of the episodes of MTV’s The City. Are you also a fan?

Q. Have you picked up any great beauty tips or tricks that you can share?
RR: I feel a great mascara can open the eye and instantly make you look as though you’ve have a good night’s sleep, even when that is not the case. I use 2-3 coats of Lancome’s Fatale on the top, bottom, and also on the back of the top lashes.

NARS Holiday 2009 Gifting NEW: Toasting the year and its 15th anniversary, NARS is celebrating with red-hot holiday-packaged gifting that boast a variety of products.

15th ANNIVERSARY PALETTES- $75.00 each

NARS introduces two palettes to celebrate 15 years of color innovation: Everlasting Love contains intense eye hues to create the perfect smoky eye and Wild at Heart featuring bold lip shades for a deeply pigmented pout.

NARS Everlasting Love Palette

I met Tayaba Zehra Jafri the lead makeup artist for Laura Mercier backstage at the Pamella Roland Spring 2010 during New York Fashion Week last month. Tayaba was kind enough to give us a sneak peek to the makeup look and to some of her Laura Mercier must-have products she used on models at the Pamella Roland show.

The Show: Pamella Roland Spring 2010 Collection.
The Trend: A luxurious spring time look that is eye focused. There is definitely a strong amount  of smoky eye, but it is a smoldering smoke. A reminiscent of the cat eye bit a little softer.
The Inspiration: The luxury glam makeup of the 50’s and 60’s and the paintings of Georgia Totto O’Keeffe.

 
Tayaba touch up the lids with a highlight of a special product called the VIP to give a little texture. A little bit of corner lashes are added to lift up the eyes. And as the look is eye focused Tayaba kept the cheeks and lips subdued. On cheeks she used Second Skin Cheek Colour in Barely Pink by Laura Mercier. To highlight the cheeks she used Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer by Laura Mercier. To add intensity inside the lashes Tayaba applied Laura Mercier Caviar Eye Liner with a brush. On the lips: HydraTint SPF 15 by Laura Mercier was applied.

The Office’s Jenna Fischer and her makeup artist Vanessa Scali designed a Golden Goddess look that was easy and sexy: Pale, gold skin and a smoky bronze eye. Here’s how to get the look:

SKIN: “I first applied spot foundation only where it was needed using shu uemura’s Nobara Cream Cover Stick Foundation. It gives clean, fresh, flawless coverage. I then used Lancôme’s Effecernes in Light Bisque and Blush Subtil in Sheer Amourose. I highlighted her cheek and brow bones with Armani’s Fluid Sheer #2. In the T-zone only, I used shu uemura’s Face Powder in Colorless – matte formula.”

“What is attractive in a woman is a certain self-assuredness… it is in her eyes that one senses her strength” -Giorgio Armani

Fashion and beauty synonymously influence each other. While Spring fashion will be in full swing under the tents in Bryant Park come September, the runways of Fall 2009/Winter 2010 will soon be coming to life! While the beloved black smoky eye is coveted by all women, a new twist was added this year to give it a fresh and just-as-chic look – royal purple! As seen on various runways, the purple smoky eye was paired with both nude and intense lips. For Giorgio Armani’s Fall 2009/Winter 2010 fashion shows, feminine, yet intense smoky eyes with hints of purple and bold red lips ruled the catwalk.

Giorgio Armani Beauty Fall 2009/Winter 2010 runway show. The Look: The Purple Smoky Eye

Right on trend, Giorgio Armani Beauty introduces the Eyes to Kill eye shadow palettes in four shades, including Gun Metal Grey – a daring grey center surrounded by gun metal grey wrapped in a royal purple. Tim Quinn, Giorgio Armani Beauty’s Celebrity Makeup Artist, says “Purple is the new black when it comes to smoky eye. It is just as intense as black, but in a more subtle and daring way that still creates the allure of the sexy, smoky eye.”