Models Sport Heavy Makeup & Texturized Buns at Vena Cava

This morning I headed over to Milk Studios to take a peek backstage before the Vena Cava show.  Ted Gibson was on hair, MAC on makeup and Butter London on nails.  It was show one of day one and all of the talent, models and journalists looked refreshed and ready to take fashion week for all it's worth! "These girls aren't afraid of a strong look, they're walking for Vena Cava," remarked Lloyd Simomonds of MAC cosmetics.  The makeup was heavy to say the least.  Inspired by Michelle Pfeiffer in Scarface, a full face of metallic navy blue shadows complimented by coral lips and cheeks gave off an ultra glam effect.

To my surprise, Butter London of Beauty.com was doing nails backstage and word has it, they're doing tons of shows this year.  To make sure all of the manis were perfectly uniform, they used press on nails that were self adhesive.  "We created a new twist on the 1/2 moon manicure by making it more graphic and less vintage," commented Creative Director Nonie Creme.  With two coats of grey and one of stark black, they were crisp, short and bold.

One of my fave stylists of all times, master mind, Ted Gibson of Beauty.com was working his magic on hair.  I caught Mr. Gibson explaining the look backstage on video.  Check it out:

Conquer the Bright Lip

Bold, bright lips are in. Even though I’m a huge beauty geek, I’ve never felt confident enough to try rocking the look.  My eyes are my best asset anyway so I tend to always play them up. Bright lips can be intimidating, but if you follow these simple steps from makeup artist Victoria Stiles as told to DailyMakeover, you can easily create a bombshell lip that will last the night away--and the morning after!

• Be bold and choose a color that is matte in texture. Matte lasts longer than satin, cream, frost, or shimmer formulas. One of my all time favorite red shades is MAC's Ruby Woo Lipstick. If you are nervous about wearing red, this may be a great choice because it has a subtle pink undertone. For warmer skin tones, try a shade with a slight orange undertone such as Nars' Heat Wave.
• Instead of using a traditional lip brush, stain lips with your choice of color by applying the lipstick with your fingertip. Simply rub the top of your index finger on the color and press into the heart and pout area of your lip, avoid a sweeping motion.
• To ensure your lip color lasts, avoid placing gloss on top. Gloss makes it easier for the lipstick to transfer on to your wine glass, or your date.
• If a straight stain is what you seek, try CoverGirl's Outlast Lipstain. It's not your traditional lipstick as it looks and operates more like a magic marker, making it very easy to use. Simply apply one coat to your lips for a softer appearance or two for a bolder look. When applying two coats, be sure to let the first coat dry completely before applying the second.

My Top Beauty Buys

Being in the world of beauty has been far from boring.  Every day I receive packages of new products to try, test and share with you.  I receive emails, tweets and facebook messages from friends and fans (even guys) asking questions about their skin concerns and what I'm using.  So I decided to dedicate a post to share some of the products I'm using right now.  Even though this may seem like a lot to you, this isn't even half! Fragrance: Pure DKNY

Makeup: Mally High Shine Liquid Lipstick Pens in Super Natural, MAC Zoom Lash Mascara,Nars Blush in Orgasm

Skincare: ROC Multi Correxion Skin Perfecting System, Mario Badescu Enzyme Revitalizing Mask

Hair: Moroccan Oil Restorative Hair Mask, Pssst Dry Shampoo, Blow Hair Spray

Body: Degree Natureeffects Invisible Solid, Vaseline Sheer Infusion Body Lotion, St. Tropez Self Tanner, Schick Intuition Plus

Nails: Sally Hansen Continuous Treatment Hardening Formula

VIP Pass to 'The Industry': Gwen Flamberg, US Weekly

She works at one of the hottest celebrity focused magazines on the news stands. Guaranteed you eagerly run to grab a copy every Wednesday. Check out what US Weekly's Beauty Director, Gwen Flamberg, has to say about 'the industry.'

What’s your favorite part of working at US Weekly?

My favorite part of working at Us is being in the know on everything! I love that I’m a walking pop culture blog and that I can get on the phone with the top top top hairstylists and makeup artists when I need to — I mean, I’ve got Harry Josh on speed dial!  I know exactly how Gisele gets that hair and I was probably the first beauty editor in the biz to know what lipstick Sandra Bullock wore at the Oscars (Chanel Rouge Coco in Paris #22 for those still in the dark!)

Who’s your celebrity crush?

The guys I’m digging right now: Alexander Skaarsgard from True Blood and Charlie Hunnam from Sons of Anarchy. And then there’s SNL’s Will Forte...

What are your must-have beauty products?

Skincare by Tracie Martyn and Skinmedica. Couldn’t live without either. MAC Greasepaint Sticks are the most perfect eyeliners to smoke out. And I’m a sucker for any slightly sheer red lipstain.

What advice would you give to people trying to into the industry today?

Build your unique voice and love what you do and be kind to others! Quoting the incredible Conan O’Brien: “If you work hard and you’re nice to people, amazing things will happen.”

Confess!  Your biggest beauty sin:

I want my hair to be lighter and brighter, but I don’t want to give up my “virgin hair” status (I’ve never colored it, and don’t want to start now!) - so I refuse to wear a hat at the beach – I TRY to get sun on it, even though I know the scalp is a hot spot for skin cancer!

What’s your guiltiest pleasure?

Travel! Relaxing on a beach in Brazil is where I feel prettiest... There’s nothing quite like a getaway glow!

Go Backstage at Badgley Mischka

This was by far my favorite overall look of New York Fashion Week this season.  The talented backstage team consisted of Redken, MAC and Deborah Lippmann and the collaboration resulted in a warrior princess inspired theme.  Think Avatar.  Known for the signature ball gowns and evening wear, the two designers behind the brand, Mark Badgley and James Mischka, were introducing a new collection predominately for celebrities that is much younger. With these two looks in mind, Charlotte Tilbury lead the MAC team in contouring and highlighting, which created a look that worked for both collections.  Using a thick eyebrow brush she dragged MAC's eye shadows in Taupe, Harmony and Shadester from the top of the cheekbones up into the temples.  The swept up look helped to create the warrior effect.  On top of the cheek bones and in the bow of the lip she used MAC eye shadow in Crystal Avalanche to highlight.  MAC Lip Conditioner was used on the lips.

At home, this look can be recreated but toned down.  "The most important areas of the face for a woman to highlight would be the inner corners of the eyes, bow of the lip and upper cheekbones," she remarked.  You can use the same highlighter for all of these areas.

Since there were two collections, Redken lead stylist Peter Gray decided to change the look half way throughout the show.  The first look for the classic collection was all up. The top was loose and back-combed, sides were tightly pulled back and bottom was made up of two twists that intertwined and interlocked secured by about three hair pins.  For the warrior effect of the newer collection, as the models came back from their first walk, the pins were taken out, hair was let loose and straightened so it was half up, half down.

Deborah Lippmann used a metallic silver on the nails called Marquee Moon.

Go Backstage at Timo Weiland

Elegance and classic beauty was the focus this morning backstage at the Timo Weiland Fall 2010 show.  Not necessarily on classic looks from the past, but how they have evolved over the years. It was supposed to bring back nostalgic memories of being a little girl trying to play grown up with your mother’s clothes and make up. Modern versions of the French twist and fresh complexions showed how the style has grown with the memories. Lead stylist, Leonardo Manetti from ION Hair Salon wanted to revisit the 1960’s but with new techniques.  A classic French twist would typically start from the bottom but Manetti decided to create a bun in the middle.  He back-combed the top and bottom using a Mason Pearson brush.  “I like to call it a controlled mess since it’s not a finished tease,” Manetti commented.  His secret weapon? Davines Mousse, which gave him the foundation he needed to build upon.

This organic elegance of this modern twist was complimented by fresh makeup from Lead Make Up Artist, Nadine Luke, from the MAC Pro Team.  "The look is about opulence, elegance and understated chicness,” she commented.  The focus was on the eyebrows, long lashes by using two different mascaras, nude eye liner on the bottom rim of the eye to create a bright eye look. The lips were all contrasting  between models with either nude or red.

My favorite part of being backstage was being reminded of my first memory of trying on make up when I went to visit Saks Fifth Avenue with my sister and she bought my first lipstick which was Mocha from MAC.  Just another example of how beauty can be inspired from the past but it's how you create it in the present that represents your style.

-MK

Go Backstage at Catherine Malandrino

Yesterday's Catherine Malandrino Fall 2010 Presentation held at the Chelsea Art Museum was strong and the look was stunning.  The inspiration was "the earth as seen from above," which explains why the models hair was gathered up into a tree.  A slew of celebrities attended including Whitney Port and Mena Suvari.

(Photo below of Whitney and Catherine).

Lead MAC makeup artist, Tom Pecheux, created an Asian inspired look on each of the girls by lengthening rounded eyes with Tarnish Bronze and Club eye shadows, and extending the eye even further by bringing it all the way into the inner nose area.  He also rid any arch in the brow with powder.  The lip was a new MAC color launching this fall that Angelina Jolie is already wearing, I'd share the name with you, but it's unnamed!  

"The key to getting all of the hair to stand up on top of the head is texture," commented Odile Gilbert, the lead hairstylist.  She used Phyto Matte Fiber Paste along with Phyto Workable Holding Hair Spray and combed the hair up onto the top of the crown before securing it with two elastics. 

My favorite part of the look was the nails.  Jan Arnold lead the Creative Nail Design team in creating a nail that was "reminiscent of leather."  By combining Dark Ruby and Popper Shimmer, she created a taupe milk chocolate shade then added Creative Nail Designs Super Matte on top.  To take the nail art further, she continued to texturize it by dabbing each nail lightly with a fiber free makeup sponge.

Go Backstage at Twinkle

Remember when you were young and read some dark stories such as Hansel and Gretel?  That was the inspiration behind the look at Twinkle for the Fall 2010 season.  The dark childhood theme carried through from the backdrop of the runway to the textured shirts that appeared to be lace, but up close you noticed they were forest patterns, all the way through the look to the fingertips.  

Roxanne Valinoti of Creative Nail Design lead a team of four nail artists backstage to pressing on pre-painted nails of CND's Dark Ruby, which is a maroon based dark red with their Super Matte over it to create texture.  "I don't believe matte is a trend, instead I look at it as a way to play with texture," Valinoti stated.  She chose to use press ons because it allowed for all of the models to have uniform nails tailored to the same length and shape, short and natural.

The hair was lead by John Ruidant for Redken who created a style that looked like it had product in it, but wasn't wet.  Using Redken's Fabricate 03 Heat Active Texturizer, he blow dried with his fingers and created a half-up half-down look to start.  Then, he secured all of the hair in a big pin curl to the bottom right side of the head.  

Gianpaolo Cecilato, a lead makeup artist for MAC created a very wearable look with emphasis on the eyes.  He contoured the cheeks using MAC's Mineralize Blush in Laguna, filled in the brows with with MAC Eye Kohl in Smolder using a brush and blended grey shadow on the upper lid before applying black mascara.  The lips were kept neutral.

 

Go Backstage at Cynthia Rowley

The Cynthia Rowley fashion show was held at Gotham Hall this year and backstage was surprisingly calm. There were two strikingly different things about the look that caught my attention, beauty was an accessory in these cases: straight eyelashes and jewel-toned extensions.

The Lashes

Inspired by a girl gang look, two layers of real lashes were blended together and accentuated with eye liner to create an almond shaped eye. Before applying lashes, MAC Makeup Artist, Val Garland, said the team straightened the lashes with a hair straightener.  "The straight lashes act like a double viser over the eye, bring back lashes in a fresh, modern way," she commented.  Tip: Don't try to straighten your synthetic lashes at home, they'll melt!  

The Extensions

Instead of using extensions to add volume or length to the models hair, Antonio Prieto who created the look for Wella used jewel-toned pieces as accessories.  "They're a modern twist to extensions," he stated.  The pieces were dyed, crimped and curled to create texture before being placed into the models hair.  

MAC & Milk Collection

Almost every time I check my inbox I have another announcement from MAC regarding a new collection and each time I feel the same excitement as I did when I was 16 years old getting my make up done at the MAC counter for my junior prom.  I'll be the first to admit it, I'm a MAC addict.  

This announcement amped me up even more than normal because it was for their MAC & Milk Collection, which I'm going to be able to experience first hand backstage next week at New York Fashion Week.  The collection is made up of select MAC makeup artist staples that are needed to create the upcoming trends we'll be seeing during fashion week.

Do you have all of your MAC basics covered?  The backstage essential MAC & Milk kit includes:

• Strobe Cream
• Fast Response Eye Cream
• Fix +
• Kohl Pencil in Smolder
• Brow Set in Clear
• Eye Shadow in Copperplate and Brown Down
• Zoom Lash Mascara in Zoomblack
• Mineralize Skinfinish Natural
• Clear Lipglass
• Lipstick in Fleckletone and Fleshpot
• Brush #187 

 You can purchase the MAC makeup artists backstage necessities at MAC.com.