Backstage beauty at Elise Overland Fall 2010 show during New York Fashion Week. Photo: Laura Kenney for StyleList
HAIR: David Cruz for Phyto
SNAPSHOT: The bold and the beautiful
Photo: Laura Kenney for StyleList
THE SCOOP: "The clothing is feminine, but it's also quite powerful," said hair lead David Cruz. This feeling of strength spliced with softness carried through to both hair and makeup, with looks that that were conceptually graphic, but executed with a soft, caring hand.
Cruz created a hairstyle that pulled double duty: seen from the front, it swept into a small pompadour, reminiscent of "a man's haircut from the 50s," said Cruz. From the back, it was a ladylike chignon, strategically mussed with a tooth brush for a perfectly imperfect look.
The star facial feature was a smoldering purple eye, with a graphic punch -- the inner eye brows were extended by a subtle purple triangle that ran down the bridge of the nose. On the face charts, the effect looked decidedly 80s, in a Duran Duran Rio kind of way, but in person it was soft and chic -- the triangulation read more contour than it did color.
GET THE LOOK - MAKEUP: All makeup by Napoleon Perdis. Eyes were lined with China Doll Eyeliner Equinox, with Color Disc #27 Charcoal at the outer corners for extra definition. Lids were dusted with Color Disc #13 Periwinkle and Colour Disc #13 Periwinkle. Lips were nude with Luminous Lip Veil Cherchez La Femme.
GET THE LOOK - HAIR: All hair products by Phyto. Cruz first blew out the hair, spritzing in plenty of Phytovolume Actif volumizer spray for extra lift. He then backcombed the front of the hair and smoothed the top, loosely pulling it down to one side. Next. he pinned hair into a figure eight chignon, and sprayed it with Professional Holding Spray.
THE EXTRAS: Perhaps because it was one of the later shows in the day, or maybe because she's just a nice person, Elise Overland brought a few extras to her backstage arena for the added comfort of the models. Upon entering the show space, cat-walkers were treated to mini-facials by Skyn Iceland; makeup was removed with Cleansing Facial Clothes, irritated skin was calmed with Cloud Cream and models then enjoyed a 10 minute eye depuffing treatment. "One model almost fell asleep," said founder Sarah Kugelman. "Since this was at the end of the day, it helped them look refreshed." Foot Petals was also brought in to line the precipitous heels, thus making the models' runway strut more comfortable, not to mention safer (no double Aggie falls here, thank you very much!).