Helmut Lang Creates A Head Banging Party

As soon as I stepped into Pier 57 for the Helmut Lang show, I knew I was in for a treat. The studio looks like an abandoned warehouse and Helmut Lang took full advantage of it. There was loud music blaring before any of the guests walked in to set the tone for the day. The hair and makeup played right into the very cool atmosphere. The makeup look was thought up by Lisa Butler and executed by Cory Bishop, both from Temptu. Their watchwords were "sporty chic."  The duo wanted to create a face forward aggressive girl with attitude. To make the brow and eyes strong, they airbrushed the girls from the eyebrow (blonde) to the eyelid (brown).

They finished the eyes with black, waterproof mascara. To keep up with the active feel, they kept the face and lips dewy with sunset glow on the cheeks and a hydrating lip balm in VIP.

Paul Hanlon, the adorable hair genius for TIGI, wanted to invent a look for the girl who had spent the whole night headbanging at a concert. Definitely a little bit sweaty and greasy with plenty of spunk. The finished product was an unkempt, deconstructed knot. He began by spraying the whole head with TIGI Session Series' Salt Spray to take out the softness. Then, section by section, he ran Session Series' Styling Cream through the hair (an entire bottle per girl!). The hair was then fingercombed back into a messy ponytail. From there it was split into two big sections and tied like a shoelace. Right before the girls step foot on the runway, they got sprayed with Session Series' shine spray.

Definitely a fun look to try, especially on humid days when my hair won't do anything right. Word to the wise; to avoid looking dirty instead of cool, skip the styling cream and use mousse instead. It creates the same look without being too greasy.

Castello Tagliapietra Created A Walk Through the Rainforest

 

A quiet sophistication blended with romanticism while strolling through a dewy environment like the rainforest was the theme for Castello Tagliapietra's Spring 2012 New York Fashion Week show.  To complement the collection all it took was minimal make up, wet nails and sleek hair.

Nail guru, Deborah Lippmann for Beauty.com wanted to create a neutral feeling with a point of a view for a sophisticated, chic woman.  Combing two colors Fashion and Waking Up in Vegas to create a perfect nudish-grey hue with a high gloss top coat to create that wet look.  During the interview I confessed a beauty sin... I sometimes skip the base coat when I do my own nails.  Deborah simply stated how it's imperative to use both base and top coat for a manicure to not only protect the nails but not to allow color to seep through and for a longer lasting manicure.  My new beauty promise to myself is to not rush and start using base and top coat - thanks Deborah!

I use a lot of different colors when applying makeup especially for my eyes (you should check out my makeup case!).  When I saw that there was only one, yes just one, color used to create this romanticized look I was floored!  Lisa Butler, Lead Makeup Artist for MAC Cosmetics, wanted to emulate an elegant, romanticized look that reminded her of the 30's.  All she used was a cream based eyeshadow in Burnt Coral for eyes and cheeks.  She dabbed on the cream shadow all around the eyes and the apples of the cheeks.  For the lips she used a big, fluffy brush, as opposed to the pointy ones typically used for definition, to dab on the lips and wiped off the excess for a clean edge.  You don't need to be a professional to recreate the look, but make sure you don't use powder since it's harder to correct if you make any mistakes.

Lead Stylist, Nelson Vercher for Redken may have found a solution for the humidity challenged hair calling sleek, wet hair chic.  He used a layering tecnique in this order - cream leave-in conditioner, silicone based product such as Redken's Glass and lastly with thickening lotion.  To create the elegant bun in the back by separating the hair top and bottom and created a french twist on the bottom and one on top.  A great addition to your rainy day 'do arsenal.