Kitten Vixen Cosmetics: Austerity Chic

With less money in everyone’s pocket, the economic down turn has brought on a whole new out look to our beauty routines and the ageing process.

It seems vanity is yielding to practicality. Instead of trying to look young with botox and cosmetic fillers women are trying to look good for their age, and instead of being pampered in spas and salons we are opting for the home spa instead.

Mintel beauty research (April 09) astonishingly revealed that the 'Lipstick Effect' had been replaced by 'Austerity Chic, and a recent poll on Glamour.com exposed a whopping 70% of their readers who took part in the poll could no longer afford to get their pedicures done in a salon, and that’s not all:

· 76% said they no longer get massages

· 75% polled said they could no longer afford a facial

· 61% now maintain their own eyebrows

· 51% no longer get their hair blow dried in the salon

· 27% have stopped getting their hair colored altogether

In short, 2009 has become the year of “austerity chic" or looking good for less. As few of us are prepared to ditch our make-up bags and brave the world o’natural, we have stopped splurging on all of our previous beauty indulgences and are getting back to basics.

About me:

I was the kid at school who was always given nicknames. Most were cute but the ones that stuck with me were the cruel ones intended to make the other kid’s laugh – ‘flat face’, and ‘pancake head’ were particular favorites and, although maybe apt at the time, fuelled an obsession in me. I wanted to understand and fix what it was that others found different and funny.   So at the tender age of sixteen I immersed myself in the world of beauty, first as a hairdresser and then as a make-up artist, in a quest to fully understand what beauty was and how I could create it. Eighteen years later, after applying make-up to some of the most beautiful women in the world, I have come to the realization that beauty is in every woman, in the common and not so common features. I believe beauty is an attitude, an air of confidence or radiant energy that comes from within, and it’s the imperfections that make beautiful women the most interesting.  My work has appeared all over the world, from the catwalks of London and Milan to the billboards of the U.S and Australia. I am currently a freelance make-up artist based in Los Angeles. I am the Co Founder and spokeswoman for Kitten Vixen Cosmetics - a brand I launched with my sister four years ago.

Beauty Quote:

It's important for all types of women to know that you don't have to fit a prototype of what one person thinks is beautiful in order to be beautiful or feel beautiful.... People think, Sexy, big breasts, curvy body, no cellulite. It's not that. Take the girl at the beach with the cellulite legs, wearing her bathing suit the way she likes it, walking with a certain air, comfortable with herself. That woman is sexy. Then you see the perfect girl who's really thin, tugging at her bathing suit, wondering how her hair looks. That's not sexy.

JENNIFER LOPEZ, Readers Digest, Aug. 2003

The Kitten Vixen Beauty Blog Promise

At Kitten Vixen the integrity of our word is of utmost importance to us. Our blog is no different. Any product recommendation mentioned by Gigi or reviewed by our team and listed as a “top pick” will be mentioned because we have tried the product and liked it - not because we have received the product for free. In the event that there is a chemical free, natural or Organic product on the market that performs as good as or out performs a top pick - Gigi will always mention that product. We want our readers to feel confident that any information shared on this page is based on Gigi's extensive knowledge in the beauty industry, and is not focused on any particular brand.

Austerity Chic

Sneak Peak behind the scenes -me at work!