Wednesday, September 19, 2012

NYFW Beauty Round-Up Part 2: The Rest of the Runway Roadkill

I know, I know. I’m totally late on giving you my full New York Fashion Week lowdown. I had some technical difficulties with the site over the past few days. You’ll get over it. I can tell you that London and Milan are already kicking NY’s ass as far as beauty, but we’ll get to that next week. And yes, I promise it will be next week.

The NY shows’ beauty looks got a little more creative later in the week thanks to standouts like the subtle smoky eye at Carolina Herrera and the fun pop of neon yellow on the eyelids at Milly, but overall most of the shows stuck to the Star-Bellied Sneetches mentality, sending bushy brows and bare faces down the runways just because everyone else did.

The Star-Bellied Sneetches were all about mimicking a bare face with unruly, bushy eyebrows bordering on warlock brows. I contemplated showing you all of the biggest designers’ beauty looks but to be frank, all the photos started looking too much alike. I refuse to put a star on my belly so instead I’ll show you some of my favorite looks from this past week and of course I’ll throw in a couple, “Are they f’ing kidding me?” looks for your catty enjoyment.

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Oscar de la Renta, photo courtesy WWD.com

This is by far one of my favorite overall looks from this past week. Hair Stylist Orlando Pita and Gucci Westman, global artistic director for Revlon, said in Women's Wear Daily that they
were both inspired by Audrey Hepburn’s Holly Golightly in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” which happens to be my favorite iconic movie role EVER!!! I love the modern take on Golightly's signature-streaked hair by replacing her white streak with rainbow-hued hair pieces. Westman was quoted in WWD saying she wanted girls to look “naughty but nice — I wanted it to feel colorful and pretty.” Wow, imagine that... colorful and pretty for Spring!

Carolina Herrera:: In my eyes Carolina Herrera can do no wrong. Every season she redefines "classic beauty" in both her collection and the beauty looks she sends down the runways. This season was no different, she showcased a wearable, subtle take on a smoky eye complemented by glowing skin. I wasn't crazy about the hair. It kind of reminded me of tweens attending private school, but I was so distracted by the beautiful makeup I didn't let it bother me. Get the Makeup Look: Use MAC 'Powerpoint' Eye Pencil Industry (gray with pearl) with MAC Eye Kohl Phone Number (silvery grey) blended over. Then draw a thin line with a a black cream liner like MAKE UP FOR EVER Aqua Creamliner Matte Black along the top and bottom lashes and blend with a smudger. Use one coat of mascars and then use highlighter along the cheekbones. Finish off the look by applying a clear semi-matte balm like Dior Crème de Rose Smoothing Plumping Lip Balm (which has the added bonus of smelling deliciously of roses).

Marc Jacobs: Okay I get the Edie Sedgwick reference. I'm sure (as makeup artist Francois Nars insisted) it was a coincidence that he chose Edie as his muse and that his makeup brand NARS is launching an Andy Warhol collection this holiday season. As you can see from the two photos, the blond models could pull off Edie but the too-heavy warlock brows made the brunette models look Cro-Magnon.

Donna Karan: EGADS! Just in time for Halloween, Donna Karan decided to go full on cadaver with pasty white skin and fuchsia rimmed eyes. Not only were the models' eyes outlined in pink but their mascara was even pink, giving a sickly "I'm either dead or going to be dead soon" look against the white powdered skin. Donna Karan told the press her inspiration for this line was "Sunrise, Sunset," but perhaps subconsciously she was thinking "Dawn of the Dead."

milly--michelle-smith-details-spring-summer-2013-nyfw34

Milly by Michelle Smith: MAC lead makeup artist Romy Soleimani went for a "simple, very clean, very modern a little bit minimal" look by swiping fluorescent yellow shadow across the lid and keeping the rest of the face simply glowy by strategically highlighting the models' cheekbones and cupid's bow and neutralizing the lip. I know yellow is a bold choice but you could totally make this look wearable for a night out by using a green or blue. Get this Look: First line the eyes with a matte white pencil like MAKE UP FOR EVER Kohl Pencil Matte White 2K to use as a base and to help the color pop. Then dip your eyeliner brush in a pigment like MAC Pigment Magenta Madness and press color over the white. Don't forget to apply a highlighter like Fresh Twilight Freshface Glow Twilight Freshface Glow from your cheekbones to your temples and a little at your cupid's bow to make your skin look ethereal.

Jeremy Scott: I was as stunned as you must have been to find a sophisticated wearable evening eye (created by the brilliant MAC makeup artist team) at Jeremy Scott, a designer who usually goes more for shock value than pretty. I love the contrast of the navy blue shadow on the lid blended into the rose shadow above the crease makes this look really pop, especially with the gold pigments pressed into the inner corner of the eyes. The eyes remained the focus by giving the models a neutral lip.

Vera Wang: And the award for my favorite makeup look for the NY SS2013 shows goes to Vera Wang! One word -- STUNNING. The perfect skin and rose gold smoked eyes gave the models an ethereal glow. The universally flattering eye palette brought out the color in ALL the models' eyes -- turning brown eyes warm and chocolaty and making blue and green eyes pop. The skin was flawless with subtle contouring and highlighting to make the ladies look every more otherworldly once they hit the glaring lights of the runway. Look for Rose Gold to be the next "it" color this season for eyes!