Backstage Beauty Report: Zac Posen

Throughout my 14 seasons of reporting, I've never missed a chance to cover backstage Zac Posen.  The gowns are so beautiful it hurts.  This time, I followed Zac around backstage and watched as he inspected some of them one last time before they made their runway debut.  Special.  The look immediately reminded me of a modern day Marie Antoinette, delicate floral appliques placed into texturized updos and a soft ballerina inspired makeup.

Even though the look is very romantic, Kerastase's Odile Gilbert described it as, "f*ed up hair," explaining that no two updos were alike.  After loosely curling the model's strands, she used K Powder Bluff Texturizing Dry Shampoo to give it the texture it needed to artisticly pin it up with no rhyme or reason.  Finishing by pinning in the florals.

After seeing the clothing, Kabuki, MAC's lead makeup artist, knew the look was going to be romantic, but wanted to have one element of contrast, but have the feel of a ballet - a graphic element to the eye.  Using MAC's #43 lashes and Haute & Naughty Too Black Lash Mascara, his goal was to give the top lashes volume, but not length to add dimension to the eye.  "There's something very feminine about the movement of the eye," he explained. "It's simple, but holds up with proportions of the clothes."  An elegant, but precise line was also drawn on top and black pencil was smudged underneath to complete the eye look.  The face was kept nude and lip color was enhanced.

Two colors were used to create a faded nail look.  Morgan Taylor's Coming Up Roses and Polished Up. First Coming Up Roses was applied and then Polished Up was sponged on by rocking it back and forth to create the faded effect, lead manicurist, Gina Edwards explained.

The backstage scene is always my favorite.  Of course, I love covering backstage beauty, but there's something about Zac Posen that makes me want to stay. Here are some more pics I just had to share with you!

Zac Posen Backstage Beauty Report: Deconstructed Chignons with Aubergine Lips & Tips

There's nothing classier and more New York than attending a Zac Posen fashion show.  It was the first show I've ever attended in my six plus year career in beauty and the one show I'll never miss covering backstage beauty.  This season, the show was held at the Palace Hotel's Terrace Room.  Picture crystal chandeliers lining the runway, intricate paintings on the backstage ceiling, mirrors lining the walls and famous models like Crystal Renn.  Artists from John Frieda, MAC and Essie created a look that a complete contradiction from last year. "There's a lot of construction in the clothes so we wanted to make sure the hair was relaxed," explained Luigi Murenu, John Frieda's Global Creative Consultant. "We wanted to create an art deco, 2013 chignon with volume and personality."

Before drying or in some cases, on dry hair he combed John Frieda Luxurious Volume, Volume Building Mousse through the hair to build up the hairs texture and bring it to life.  Once dry, the team began crimping the top of the hair in a "clap, clap, clap" way so the iron didn't leave an imprint on the hair, but just made it look "as if they had more hair."  Keeping volume on the top, he flattened out and tightened the sides, sealing them with a serum, and secured a ponytail at the nape of the neck.  Separating the pony into two sections, he twisted them around each other and pinned it up into a deconstructed chignon.  The key pieces were two side fly aways that were purposely pulled out and crimped to give the look a sense of lightness.

Kabuki, the lead makeup artist for MAC Cosmetics, was inspired by the snow falling outside during the makeup trial and explained how the makeup was "minimal and snowy in the eye, but brought back into the jewel colors of the collection by doing a rich, burgundy stained lip."

The skin was highlighted and eyes were soft, but the lip was special.  "The look needed a moment of a strong moment, which brings out the dellicatecy of the eye," Kabuki stated.  To create the lip look, he first used Vino Lip Liner to define the outer shape and applied lip balm only to the center of the lips.  This prevents the color from spreading.  Then, taking a single tissue, he touched it to the lip and put loose powder through it to set the pencil without changing the color.  Finally, he applied Lip Mix in Burgundy to the center of the lip and thinned it out as it got closer to the outer corner.  "This way, you don't have to worry about color bleeding or running, but you still have the dense coverage in the middle," he concluded.

"When you put a dark lip with a dark nail it keeps it really dramatic and gives it a bit of an edge," comments an Essie manicurist.  The shade used was Carri On, which is their darkest aubergine.

Red Lipstick that Stays Put When You Pucker Up, Secrets from Backstage 'Anything Goes' & MAC Cosmetics

Wednesday night I had the pleasure of joining MAC Cosmetics at Anything Goes on Broadway to celebrate the launch of their new collection inspired by the show, Hey, Sailor. An hour before the show we had a private meet and greet with the Lead Makeup Artist, Angelina Avallone.  The look embodied the 1930's classic theme of the show: romance, hope and happiness, but what caught my attention was that every woman in the cast wore an effortless red lip that lasted through all the kissing and didn't transfer onto the man.  Here's how and a peek at the new MAC Hey, Sailor collection. "We use the Prolong Wear Lipcolours from MAC, because they stay on and come with a gloss," commented Avallone.

First, Avallone uses the Pro Longwear Lip Pencil to outline the lips creating a 1930's shape.  Then, she fills them in with using the MAC Pro Longwear Lipcreme.  As a finishing touch, she adds a tiny bit of Pro Longwear Lipcolour to the center of the lip.

"It's [Pro Longwear Lipcolour] a gloss designed for that particular lipstick so it doesn't break down the intensity of the color.  So a girl can have nice glossy, pimented lips and when she kisses the leading man, it doesn't come off onto him."

Check out the Hey, Sailor collection inspired by the play.  You can literally duplicate the 1930's look with the collection!