This season, the Alice & Olivia presentation was held at the McKittrick Hotel and the backstage space was so narrow that models, Stila makeup artists, Tresemme hairstyles and Essie manicurists were squished into tiny diagonal spaces around a long, rectangular table trying to get ready without getting aggravated. Try to be the only beauty blogger who had access, trying not to get in the way. Like a snake, I slithered in and out of their chairs and got the scoop. The lip look alone was worth the craze.
This was the fourth season Sara Lucero for Stila took the lead on the makeup for Alice & Olivia. Heavy liner was complimented by false lashes, the skin was left radiant skin with a youthful, pinkish glow on the cheeks and the lips were the focus. "Depending on what the girls were wearing, they had different lip looks," Lucero stated. One was to resemble a "forbidden poison apple," which was a layering of candy apple like colors from Stila including a mix of Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Fiery and Merlot Vinyl, topped off by Lip Glaze in Cranberry, which acted like high shine top coat for your nails. The other was a super glossy opaque nude that, "knocked out their natural lip tone and gave it coverage." The shade: Banana Lip Glaze, which is a golden shimmer.
Matthew Curtis of Tresemme lead his team to create, "big, crazy brushed out curls." First he sprayed Tresemme 24 Hour Body Finishing Spray, because the heat from the curling iron works with the alcohol to contract the hair, making it hold. Using 1" tongs, he curled all the way up to the root, but left about 1" from the root straight. The inspiration was vampish victorian, dark but feminine. Left pin curled until the models were dressed, he then teased the hair back and brushed out the curls. To create a "fantasy-like lift," before he finished it off with hairspray, he used hair nets around the bottom of the hair to lift the curls up and sprayed.
Essie manicurist, Miss Pop applied two coats of Essie polish in Licorice and created small dots with Good as Gold.
