Instant Prettifiers: Seasons Best Backstage Tips

Easter egg colors are your friend

We're loving this cheery remix of the smoky eye. Just swap your charcoal shadow for the grown-up pastels makeup artist Dick Page used on models at Michael Kors. He lined their eyes with black pencil, then added gold shimmer in the inner corners. Next, he applied light blue or purple shadow along the lower curve of the eyes and from the lash line to just above the crease, then smudged, smudged, smudged. He finished with black mascara.

Instant Prettifiers: Seasons Best Backstage Tips

Pretty eye shadows to try

Wearable pastels Shiseido Makeup Luminizing Satin Eye Color in Bone, Fondant and Provence ($25 each, available at Macys.com)

Instant Prettifiers: Seasons Best Backstage Tips

An allover skin soother

Dashing from show to show and getting makeup done and redone can leave a model's skin dull and sensitive. The cure: an ultrarich moisturizing balm. Makeup artist Sarah Lucero used one to prep models' faces behind the scenes at the Lela Rose show. The bonus? "It creates dewiness before you apply makeup," she told me. Smooth it on and let it sink in. "You can also use it on the lips," Lucero said.

Instant Prettifiers: Seasons Best Backstage Tips

Fab skin and lip savers

A one-minute way to glow?
Darphin Aromatic Renewing Balm ($70, available at Darphin.com) For a cheaper moisturizer alternative that's easy to track down, check your medicine cabinet-a bit of petroleum jelly works too.

Instant Prettifiers: Seasons Best Backstage Tips

Orange is the new red (lipstick!)

We saw this again and again backstage and learned the trick to pulling it off: Just pick one spot to play up. Makeup pro Lucia Pica chose the cheeks at the Erin Fetherston show. She rubbed creamy orange blush onto the models' cheekbones with her fingers-a nice, bright contrast to their smoky brown eyeshadow.

Instant Prettifiers: Seasons Best Backstage Tips

A lipstick to love

At Rebecca Taylor, makeup artist Rie Omoto used MAC Lipstick in Lady Danger ($14, available at Maccosmetics.com) on the models' lips. Apply it with a lip brush for more control.

Instant Prettifiers: Seasons Best Backstage Tips

A cure for tarantula lashes

In between primping models at BCBG, vice president of MAC makeup artistry Gordon Espinet taught me his secret for keeping lashes defined and clump-free: Apply mascara with a fan brush, above. Just rub it over your mascara wand, then brush it onto your lashes-the stiff bristles are great for separating. How genius is that?

Instant Prettifiers: Seasons Best Backstage Tips

Try a textured mani

Think of your nails as a showpiece accessory (they're jewelry, but cheaper), and apply a polish with sparkle-like chunky glitter or gold flecks-built in. "It's all about texture," manicurist Elle told me at the Reem Acra show. Another way to wear the trend: Try a dark, opaque shade, with a sheer, shimmery layer on top.

Instant Prettifiers: Seasons Best Backstage Tips

For blingy nails

Try, from left: Tracy Reese for Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Hidden Treasure and Midnight in New York ($7 each, at drugstores), and Shades by Barielle in Falling Star ($8, barielle.com). One more tip? Finish with a topcoat-glitter polishes are
chip-prone.

Instant Prettifiers: Seasons Best Backstage Tips

Do an unboring decorated bun

Classic chignons are a runway staple, but the best ones this year got dressed up with fabric. At the Tibi show, hairstylists Kevin Ryan and Frank Rizzieri confessed that they used leftover fabric to frame the models' updos. And at Jason Wu, hair pro Odile Gilbert used sheer black cloth to add drama to the models' hair. "It's fresh and spontaneous," she said. To DIY, twist your hair into a bun, wrap fabric around it and make big loops with the material, pinning them into place as you go.

Instant Prettifiers: Seasons Best Backstage Tips