A Beauty Editor and Fashion Editor Swap One Piece of Spring Advice

Part of the fun of having both fashion and beauty editors atBest Knockoff Luxury Clothing is the ability to swap expertise. As much as I know about what's trending in the makeup world, I'm a little embarrassed to say my knowledge of what's in style-wise leaves something to be desired. In an effort to become better acquainted with what's going on in fashion, I hit up one of my colleagues from the WWW fashion team, assistant editor Anna LaPlaca, and we decided to exchange one piece of spring advice (a fashion tip from her and a beauty tip from me—something that would put the other editor a little outside her comfort zone). Then we challenged each other to apply the tip for a full week. 

Noticing my penchant for skinny jeans, Anna recommended I adopt the rising baggy jean trend—something she's noticed lately on the likes of Kaia Gerber, Victoria Beckham, Yara Shahidi, and other trend-forward celebs. As for my tip, I invited Anna to swap all her matte makeup products (like foundation, powder, and lipstick) with glossy, dewy alternatives, aligning with the high-shine makeup trends currently overtaking Instagram, red carpets, and runways.

We each acquired the necessary materials and put each other's fashion and beauty advice to the test. Keep scrolling to read how the experiment went.

ANNA'S TIP FOR AMANDA: SWAP SKINNY JEANS FOR BAGGY JEANS

The before:

Amanda: The IGs below perfectly represent my go-to jean preferences: I'm in denim most days and 95% of the time it's a pair of high-waisted Rag Bone skinny jeans with tons of stretch or Madewell's Summer Jean. I'm 5'2", so I need all the leg-lengthening silhouettes I can get.

Anna's challenge to trade these more form-fitting, classically "flattering" styles for anti-skinny jeans sort of terrified me, because I was afraid it was one of those looks that only works on models and that I was going to get swallowed whole and end up looking like a male child. Anna calmly quelled some of my anxieties by sending me aBest Knockoff Luxury Clothing story on how to style baggy jeans if you're petite, like by pairing them with cropped feminine tops or tucking them in for more shape, layering on a leather jacket for a contrast in texture, and wearing mules or strappy sandals for femininity and height.

The after:

Anna suggested I try a few baggy styles from Hudson, Reformation, and Agolde. The Ref pairs were a little more straight-legged, while the others were super baggy, like '90s hip hop-status baggy. 

I found that I felt most comfortable styling these jeans with otherwise pretty dainty pieces—my favorite Matiko pointy-toe slingbacks, Le Specs cat-eye shades, a faux-snake trench from I.Am.Gia, and simple little tops from ASOS, Reformation, and Topshop.

I did enjoy the relaxed, tomboyish vibe these baggy jeans brought me—and they certainly made me feel trendier than normal. Out of all of them, I probably felt best in the Reformation Dawson jean above, which had a light wash, softer material, and a narrower leg, which had a lengthening effect, especially when paired with a white top, white pointy toe shoes, and a Yuzefi bag the same shade of blue as the jeans, all of which made for a sort of monochromatic look.

I will admit, however, it was hard to feel totally confident in these baggy cuts, purely because I didn't feel like they made my body look as cute as my normal skinny varieties. This concept actually sent me into a bit of a moral tailspin—it's frustrating to recognize that my style choices are so heavily influenced by what's going to make my legs look longest, my butt look roundest, and my waist look slimmest (aka, what will align me closest with our patriarchal beauty standards), rather than what I genuinely just think is cool. (Not to get too heavy on you or anything.)

In the end, the truth is that I probably won't be permanently replacing all my skinny jeans with baggy ones. But I did appreciate this invitation to think more about what outside factors are informing my fashion choices. And I'm glad to have these baggy styles in my closet, if not for everyday wear, then at least for days when I feel like maybe I want to look less "cute" and more "cool."

Shop Anna's baggy jean recommendations below!

AMANDA'S TIP FOR ANNA: SWAP MATTE MAKEUP FOR DEWY MAKEUP

The before:

Anna: My skin type skews oily, so I was admittedly nervous to swap in all glossy products for my regular mattifying routine. A few months back I learned that my BB cream that I use in place of foundation was making me break out, which was annoying to say the last. So I was terrified to try out all these glossy products.

The after:

I was particularly scared of this tinted face oil. Any oil on my face—not historically a good matchup. That said, when I tried the face oil on its own, just with concealer in a few places over it, my skin was able to breathe really well. And combined with the rest of the products—the Becca cream highlighter and the Kevyn AuCoin eye gloss—I looked super dewy, super glowy. My friends actually went out of their way to comment on how glowy my skin looked. 

I paired this super dewy skin with a matte red lip just because with that much clear gloss on my face I needed a tinted lip just so I'd look like I was alive and breathing and had blood flowing through my veins. This is a makeup look I wear a lot—clean-looking face and a bold lip—and was obsessed with the way the eye gloss and highlighter amped it up just a bit more. I used the Chanel Rouge Coco Lip Colour. 

On the basis that nothing is really that interesting if you stay inside your comfort zone, I took Amanda's advice and leaned full tilt into a high shine beauty look. I opted for a pearlescent eyeshadow that wouldn't be overpowering for a random Tuesday at work and layered on the clear eye gloss on top for that perfectly glossy sheen. When Amanda suggested that lip gloss be a necessary element to achieve the look, I was skeptical—and for good reason. When I swiped on just the clear lip gloss, I definitely looked dewy but also kind of ghostly. I attempted it again, this time layering the gloss on top of my favorite berry lip stain and it was just the addition of color I needed to nail the look.

Overall, these are 100% products I would use again. I've been using the tinted face oil, just not as an everyday product because of how slick the finish is. But when I use it right, it provides a nice base for a going-out look when I want to look really glowy. Also, the Kevyn Aucoin eye gloss is perfect on days when I want to do a super-simple everyday makeup look and run out the door. I just put a little dab on, it takes two seconds, and it catches the light nicely.

I'm such a makeup novice; I only do a few things, and they have to be very simple. I'm not interested in getting technical, so in that sense, I loved these creamy products because they were hard to mess up. 

Shop Amanda's dewy skin recommendations below!