Fashion Week: BBJ Backstage at Herve Leger

The finished product!

Lead artist Diane Kendal for NARS created the “strong brow, dewy skin” look at Herve Leger today. Despite the fierceness of the hair, makeup and clothes, three models tripped on the unbelievably high heels. I wound up scoring a ticket through my gal Julia, PR Director of NARS and caught the “front of house” show, as they say in the biz. BTW, everyone clapped for the girls when they got back in the game. I thought it was a lovely show of support. Anywho. Let’s get back to the makeup.

The inspiration: For Fall 2009, Hervé Léger drums to the beat of an urban tribe with a gradient palette of earth tones polished by rich shades of deep ebony. Diane drew inspiration from Helmut Newton photographs, using the concept of a brave warrior – strong and fierce. “The collection is very hard and sculpted so we wanted to keep the skin neutral and show strength through the eyebrows,” said Diane. Here’s how to recreate the look:

Face

· Use NARSskin Hydrating Moisture Cream to moisturize
· Apply NARS Concealer as needed, to cover any imperfections
· Use a minimal amount of NARS Sheer Glow Foundation (NEW for Fall 2009) to even skin tone

Eyes
· Brush brows to define natural shape
· With NARS Single Eyeshadow in Bali, fill in brows
· Brush again for even, natural look
· Apply gentle dusting of NARS Single Eyeshadow in Sophia to entire lid, blending up towards brows for natural shading
· Curl lashes with NARS Eyelash Curler

Lips
· Apply NARS Lip Therapy Treatment in Rain to entire lip
· Use NARS Concealer over Rain to mute color
Diane applies makeup to a model, above.

Hair stylist Dennis Lanni for Bumble and bumble created the hair concept for the show. Said Dennis, “I incorporated two different textures for a wet/dry look.” He used a matte rubber hair band which was “supposed to look like electrical tape,” Dennis explained. The graphic look featured an explosive ponytail (are you noticing that ponies are HUGE for Fall 2009? Get your rubber bands ready!). The sides are slick, but the top is dry, earthy, and slept in. To achieve the crimpy, wild ponytail body, Dennis employed… pipe cleaners. Is that creative, or what? He folded a cleaner in half and weaved through small pieces of hair in a figure eight, then set the hair quickly between a flatiron “to bake it.” Dennis mentioned that pipe cleaners are so easy to use because you can simply secure the ends with it as well. “There’s no need for pins,” he said. Dennis used “a lot of products with alcohol”: Bumble and bumble Holding Spray, Holding Gel, and my favorite hairspray of all time, Spray de Mode. Sounds like someone needs a big cocktail, post-show!

Dennis’ pipe cleaner at work!