Now is clearly not the moment for understatement. Forget the natural look this summer, because fashionistas are wearing their makeup, hair, and nails loud and proud.
Face Glitter: First it was
war paint that made a debut under hipsters' eyes, then in the spirit of summer,
zinc oxide became the bodily expression du jour. Now, streaks of glitter are being smeared across trendsetters' sweaty summer skin. Whether it's Lily Allen on stage or a neo-slacker girl in Portland, the fashion forward are spreading loads of white shimmer underneath and around their eyes. At first we were disapproving of this trend, as it harkened back to the rave era we'd prefer to leave abandoned in the '90s (if fat pants come back, we might actually step off the ledge). But, as the ladies over at
The Frisky similarly pointed out, the look has the distinct advantage of disguising the dark under-eye circles left behind from our late nights out trendspotting, thus transforming us into Twilight vampires gleaming in the sun. As long as street fashion gurus are pairing the trend with vintage dresses instead of fairy wings and candy necklaces, we'll jump on the glitter bandwagon.
Manic Panic : It was only a matter of time after Doc Martens came back into fashion, that Manic Panic would again enter the fashion lexicon. Once hidden under beds and used in school bathrooms to skirt scolding parental eyes, neon dye is becoming vital to edgier trendsetters' beauty arsenals. But don't mistake these ladies for the supposed drug-addicted
punks taking shelter in Williamsburg's half-built condos . This set of flame-haired ladies is composed of career women of the alternative sorts. With so many people no longer bringing home a regular pay stub and instead freelancing from their kitchen tables, they are no longer held to the worker bee standards of most offices. Either way, we expect to see more fashionable ladies sporting looks reminiscent of our angsty teenage years. Now, if only guys would try and look more like Jordan Catalano.
Gel Nails: Flashy rhinestone-studded nails are just another way you can insert a small amount of luxury into your daily life. While we tend to sport a more au natural look, our trend reporters have been telling us that gel nails are popping up (or maybe more accurately scratching down?) in their scenes. The advantage of gel nails is that the non-yellowing, clear and flexible overlay can be used to embed gem-laden designs into natural nails. That way girls looking for all the glitz and glam don't have to sport inch-long claws that inhibit their daily typing and texting habits. Whether adorned with sparkly hearts or butterflies, we're sure a certain sect of stylish girly girls will be flashing their gel nails this summer.
* trendcentral articles are designed to be trend reports, not endorsements * The Intelligence Group is a trend-forecasting and marketing Consultancy focused on Gen X, Gen Y and Tweens. For more information on our services, or to subscribe to our syndicated studies, The Cassandra Report, Tween Intelligence, Latino Intelligence, and Mom Intelligence, contact Alina Goncalves at 212-277-5299 or via email at agoncalves@intelg.com.
