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Barring a few notable exceptions (howdy, Jason Wu!), the looks backstage at NYFW these past few days have been missing that wow moment we've come to expect from Fashion Week hair and makeup. Now, we're not saying that effortless makeup and second-day hair aren't pretty, we've just been left wondering, where's the drama?
The answer: At Zac Posen. Walking backstage for Posen's spring '14 show was like stepping into a beflowered, fairy wonderland, where decadent gowns and ethereally pretty models frolicked and danced in front of photographers' shining cameras. Or, it might have just been that our fifth latte and our sleep deprivation finally intersected to cause a kind of backstage fever dream. Either way, there was a whole lot of pretty happening up in here.
Working with Kérastase, stylist extraordinaire Odile Gilbert crafted a hyper-feminine coiff that was accentuated by cloth flowers handmade by Posen himself. To get the look, Gilbert applied Kérastase Mousse Bouffante for texture, then curled hair and pinned it up to set. Hair was then let down and pinned up haphazardly into loose waves, then sprayed with "tons" of Powder Bluff Texturizing Dry Shampoo (the unofficial hair MVP of NYFW so far) to add a matte texture and a slight grayish cast. Flowers were then pinned in place and the whole thing was sprayed with flexible-hold hairspray to keep it in place.
For the makeup, MAC's Kabuki cited the ballet as an inspiration, so makeup was kept delicate with muted brows and soft pink hues. As a counterpoint, he chose to focus in on the eye as the one graphic element of the face to juxtapose all of the softness. Liquid liner was applied across the top lash line, while black pencil was smudged beneath the lower lash line. Skin was kept matte down the center, with a champagne, pearly hue added to the cheekbones and the center of the eyelid.
On the nails, Morgan Taylor's Gina Edwards created a girly ombré "faded rose garden" by painting nails with one coat of Coming Up Roses, then blending that shade and Polished Up and sponging it onto nails from the middle of the nail up. Then, while nails were still slightly wet, she applied a topcoat, which helped blend the colors even more to create a seamless fading.
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