All weekend I've been checking out the scenes backstage and tweeting the details from @BeautySweetSpot, but I had to share this look with you here as well, because I'm completely and utterly obsessed. Not surprisingly it comes from the glam squads and brains of Rachel Zoe. I went backstage to her show yesterday at the top of the Empire Hotel to find a surprisingly calm scene, but the look was all about rock and roll. Think Kate Moss leaving a speak easy night club on a Thursday night. I want to look like this every night!
Maybelline Makeup Artist, Charlotte Tilbury created what she called a very classic feline eye complimented by fresh skin and a nude lip. "Any woman will look fabulous in this look no matter what age or race," she commented. The eyeliner was everything! Tilbury used Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel EyeLiner to thickly line the models upper lids. Then, she smudged it out a little and took a brush to line the crease of the eyes for extra intensity. Two sets of false lashes were applied and then tons of mascara.
I love it when I go backstage and see looks I would actually be excited to recreate that night. The hair was something I would also replicate any night out. Kerastase Lead Stylist, Odile Gilbert center parted the models hair and blew out it out using Kerastase Mousse Volumactiv to create texture. Her rock and roll twist was to add what she called "a little girl braid" on the side of the girls "sexy" hair that was about an inch thick. Simple, but I loved it.
Before a fashion show designers have a ton of prep work to do, but most of it gets done just a few days before the big event. A week before the Duckie Brown show I went to a model 
New York Fashion Week is over and while I had a great time checking out the shows and interviewing glam squads and designers, I'm excited to get back to my normal routine. You know – actually have a life. As a reporter, covering fashion week is far less glamourous than you'd think. It's a 25 hour, eight day week that allows for little to absolutely no sleep due to intense deadlines and non-stop shows. I guess you can say it's a bitter, sweet week. Here are the hero products that got me through it without looking like a hot mess.
The Naeem Khan Spring/Summer 2012 show was by far my favorite show of the season. The show opened to a grungy rock and roll version of Marilyn Manson's, Sweet Dreams, which was a beautiful contrast against the glamour of the high fashion gowns that owned the mirrored runway. The energy was electric and the audience, left in awe.
Red beaded gowns with intricate detail, black tulle dresses, printed floral ball gowns, lace off the shoulder gowns, high slit skirts with ruffles, low back beaded tops and an ostrich feather skirt were all part of the collection.
After the show I had the opportunity to speak with Naeem Khan in the American Express Skybox. "With my collection, it's all about the emotional connection," he said. "The moment a woman feels glamourous in my clothes is the connection."
The Blonds are amazing designers known for their eccentricity. This year, the look was all about Playboy. The clothes were magnificently intricate beaded corsets and the nails even moreso.
The New York Public Library isn't just for book worms - it's where Ports 1961 showcased their Spring 2012 collection. I think the library first received major fashion cred thanks to Sex and the City. Before I dish on the backstage beauty I wanted to say thank you to Jeannine for letting be in her shoes for a week! It was so great being a part of SS 2012 NYFW and most of all being able to share my experiences with you!
Tonight I ventured over to Milk Made Studios to catch the Wayne show at 7pm. Typically, shows start late, but this one didn't start until about 7:45 and after a long day running around between shows in 80 degree weather, I was a bit cranky. That is until I saw the first look – of course.
A silk white tuxedo dress effortlessly glided down the runway, (which the designer, Wayne Lee, told me was her favorite look of the show), and all of a sudden I was in a complete trance. This season, Lee collaborated with Benjamin Degen, a painter she always admired to created a blue and white rope print seen on various cotton and silk dresses and tops. Black, leather bomber jackets complimented girly flowy skirts and the color palette used was black, white, sand, bone and sky blue.
My favorite part was that the hair was roughly texturized and mattified into a series of braids that created an updo that created a nice contrast against the beautiful silks and gentle cottons.
I had been told earlier by Jeannine that backstage at Betsey Johnson was one big party and I was not disappointed. The day finally came for me to cover her show and I was ecstatic! There were colorful signs everywhere made by the designer herself, champagne flowed and mini cupcakes by Baked By Melissa were abundant. Models and makeup artists alike were almost too busy dancing to the bumping music to get ready for the show. Somehow they managed.
Sarah Lucero was the lead on makeup for Stila Cosmetics and the watchword for the show was "glam" (sexy and bombshell were also thrown around). The skin was kept very simple using Stila's Perfect + Correct, Brighten + Correct, and Sheer Pressed Powder. The cheeks were contoured with Stila's Sun Bronzing Powder to create some vavavavoom! The eyes were kept fairly simple with a bold, black cat eye (which stayed put thanks to Stila's Prime Pot and Smudge Pot in black) and loooong jet black lashes. (Sarah's tip for those at home is to apply the mascara and then make the cat eye.)
Today at Milk Made Studios I discovered Ohne Titel, which by far was one of my favorite shows of the season to date. Anna Wintour watched without her sunglasses and occasionally gave nods of approval and I sat front row directly across from Anna Dello Russo. The collection was full of strong colors and graphics, all together a feeling of optimism.
I arrived early for the show and hung out at the American Express VIP Lounge where Kenneth Tepper of the Ric Pipino Salon threw some curls in my hair. I swear it was the curls that landed me the front row seat!
Pistachio and buff hues were complimented with bright red, cobalt blue and yellow colors and each look that came out was more jaw dropping than the next. This was the first season the designers, Alexa and Flora showcased prints and really embraced evening wear. My favorite look was a red gown with a winged back worn with red gladiator flats.
Post show I was able to talk to the designers about the collection and they were super excited that they had such a good turn out. Two words: Anna Wintour. "We're going to Paris next," they exclaimed. Turns out, this fashion show was just a preview of what's to come. Vogue and the CFDA is sponsoring Ohne Titel and sending them to Paris for the months of September and October to showcase their collection. Lucky ladies!
Bright colors mixed with pastels and eclectic hairstyles were part of the beauty scene for Alice + Olivia by Stacey Bendet's Spring 2012 collection. The theme: walking through a secret garden during the 60's.
I was lucky enough to check out the Spring 2012 collection of Carlos Miele which had long flowy dresses, vibrant prints and bold gold accents. Miele wanted to create an artificial paradise filled with fluid lines and sculptural forms.
Before we get started I wanted to take a moment to thank the NYPD and FDNY as they are the true heros and that we will never forget 9/11. With that being said, the L.A.M.B. collection was dedicated to the people of New York on the 10th Anniversary of 9/11.
The Tracy Reese collection for Spring/Summer 2012 is full of flowers, pastels, and ladylike skirts. The nails, hair, and makeup enhanced the clothes, giving it all a polished look.
The makeup was done by Mally Roncal, the creator of Mally Beauty. She wanted the look to be fresh and youthful (which worked great with Tracy's pretty play suits). She gave all the model's skin a satin finish, "No translucent powder!" she repeated twice. She then set the skin with Mally's Face Defender. Keeping the brows strong, Roncal went kept to a natural arch. She made the eyes very special. She described the style of eyeliner as that customized style that the coolest girl in class could pull off, but you couldn't, thin with a small kick up at the end. (Everyone nodded in agreement and nostalgia when she said that). The lids were kept naked and the lashes long and spiky. The blush, in 24/7 medium, was placed high and strong, well above the apples of the cheeks. The lips were the most interesting of the entire look. They were very glossy and in two different shades. The top lip was a color called Life is Fuchsia pink and the bottom was Be a Peach orange. The models were instructed very carefully not to roll their lips, but to marry the two colors by going "MA MA MA". Mally's advice to those wanting to try the look at home, "Just go for it!"
Models are sort of like live mannequins and Custo Barcelona took that literally! As he had models in minimal makeup and über glossy side ponytails for his Spring 2012 show. Maybelline Makeup Artist Gato wanted to create a modernistic appeal with a full eyebrows, porcelain skin and juicy coral lips. Quick tip from the pro himself, use an eyebrow pencil to fill in the gaps between hair following the shape of the brow and comb with brush in an upward direction for perfect brows.
