Well, that’s a wrap, folks! The Spring/Summer 2012 shows concluded yesterday, and here’s Ruby (still in full hair and makeup) enjoying a well-deserved sip of champers after Miu Miu. I bid farewell to Pat McGrath, who sped off on the back of a chauffeured motorcycle, slipped off my heels and into flats, and headed straight for a scrumptious dinner at Le Vertbois with Natalie and Hanneli where the bubbly kept on flowing.

I didn’t think I’d stay in Europe for two weeks but here I am, last day, after just that long. Milan was a Dolce-fied, whirlwind forty-eight hours (more on that later), and then Paris came calling earlier than expected. Good thing I packed those fur vests and leather skirts. OH WAIT. It’s been eighty degrees more days than not. No, not eighty degrees in direct sunlight outside at 2 PM. Eighty degrees in the shade, and ninety inside some show venues. No one knew what to wear. And who wants to buy summer-y bits and bobs when all the stores are filled with the best fall boots and jackets? Clearly not me…I splurged on a super useful sleeveless angora turtleneck from Céline.

Now let’s talk beauty. I brought four humongous Ziplocs of all the new products I wanted to try and the only thing I really craved (and did not have) were blotting papers. Bioderma Créaline got me through the stretch as did my trusty Aesop moisturizers and a new standby, Kate Somerville Multi-Active Repair eye cream. A recently acquired Clarisonic was another welcome travel companion...I’m getting used to the electronic-toothbrush-on-your-face sensation. For makeup, I was feeling a copper-tinged smudged eye and NARS shadows in Galapagos and Cyprus blended beautifully (and easily) with a black eye pencil.

But out with the old, in with the new—here are my favorite beauty messages of Spring/Summer 2012:

WET HAIR (or, “the wet hair look”): Thank you, Guido and Paul Hanlon, for making it cool to run out the front door with sopping wet locks. But in all seriousness: this season has been about experimenting with gels and mousses to achieve different undone textures…now, we’ll embark on those “runway to reality” experiments.

CONTOURED MAKEUP: It’s time to learn a new trick, people. The modern, made-up face is officially—for the masses and not just in front of Steven Meisel’s camera—a subtle play on shadow and light, lowlights and highlights, in tonal colors and *creamy * textures. The search for the perfect highlighter is ON.

Today, however, my search consists of locating a Nutella crepe (I know, easy, but can you believe I’ve not had a single one yet?) and buying enough Créaline from the pharmacy to make up the 3 kilos in excess baggage that I prepaid for the express purpose of transporting it back to New York. À bientôt!