What We Learned in September 2017 At New York Fashion Week About Spring 2018
By Annie Mooers and Zoe Hawryluk
Editor’s note: Our More Lovely version of Woodward and Bernstein was Digital Editorial Director Annie Mooers and Associate Beauty Editor Zoe Hawryluk – whose birthday is today; Happy Birthday, Zoe!. They braved the mean streets of Manhattan to investigate all the backstage looks at the top fashion shows – and they didn’t need a Deep Throat. It was, however, their Very First Time at NYFW, so it’s taken them until now to recover from all that fabulous madness. Herewith is their reportage, looks to look forward to after winter’s chill. – Gigi Anders, Editor in Chief
With few exceptions, the “natural look” was a consistent pattern in many of the shows this past season. Spring 2018 makeup focused on bringing out a woman’s natural beauty while highlighting spring tones. Each makeup look was special to the model that makeup artists were working on, accentuating their unique beauty.
One makeup practice that we found particularly interesting was a “no makeup” mascara look that GLAMSQUAD Makeup Director Kelli Bartlett used. She curled the lashes and got the same result that mascara would give, just without the pigmentation. We’re into it.
– Annie and Zoe, aka Woodward and Bernstein
On the terrace of the Gramercy Park Hotel, Nicole Miller’s show featured a wild safari theme against a jungle-like backdrop.
Hair:
The models’ hair was wild, but sophisticated.
“We’re doing a really beachy wave and using a material to tie the hair up,” said Liz Dickerson for Redken. “We’re using a Marcel Curling Iron ($39.99), going in and back out, twisting before you pull it out and then straightening out the end of the hair. We’re crisscrossing the hair and the material three or four times, almost like a braid, and then tying the hair up for a really soft look.”
Makeup:
It only took 30 minutes to get each model’s look finished. Granted, the makeup professionals knew what they were doing and had much practice, but it is promising when hoping to obtain the looks of fashion week.
“We’re using a lot of glow products like Charlotte Tilbury’s Wonderglow Face Primer ($55),” said Kelli J. Bartlett for GLAMSQUAD. “We’re using the stick from Wonder Beauty and a lot of glowy highlighter sticks. We want sort of a ‘lit from within’ and natural glow from underneath and on the top. We want everything to stick so we’re working it in with beauty blenders. We’ve been really liking the coverage from the COVER FX foundation that just came out.”
Nails:
The models were prepped with a new fall color from Essie called “Exposed” ($9), a dark-olive green.
“It definitely reads more green but has that golden brown undertone within it,” said Christina Quercia for GLAMSQUAD. “For the shape of the nail we went with a soft round shape just to elongate the nail. [Nicole Miller] has so many mauves and pinks in her line that it adds the perfect touch.”
Hair:
“Some keywords we were looking for when creating the look were natural, effortless,” said Giovanni Vaccaro for GLAMSQUAD. “The style and texture should be looser, so really playing off of the woman’s and the models’ natural texture to not only go with the clothing, but also to go with the makeup … As far as products go, we’re using products that are natural. Not too shiny, not too matte. We’re priming with Oribe’s Grandiose Hair Plumping Mousse ($39) to give the roots a little bit of lift, and we’re also going in with a blow dry cream Kérastase L'incroyable Blowdry ($40) and Kérastase Ciment Thermique ($43). Then we are rough-drying hair with our fingertips, tucking the hair behind the ear for a softer feel. We are of course applying a little of fashion week’s favorite hairspray, Kérastase V.I.P. – Volume In Powder spray ($20.50 - $37) -- to finish it off.”
Skin Preparation:
“Basically it is exfoliation of the lips, face and eyes,” said Kelsi from Perk Skincare. “There are three target treatments. It’s a hybrid roller-tip exfoliation. We do one treatment and it’s a take-home product as well, which people really like. It has lactic acid so she’s going to feel really clean, and then there are antioxidants. It should last 21 days. Then we recommend coming in for another treatment. It’s a 10-minute treatment for young people. Preventative care. It targets places we’re all concerned about. It’s going to plump up your lips and hydrate your eyes. It takes out impurities while filling your skin with antioxidants.”
We got the chance to receive the treatment backstage at the show. The suction of this machine left our faces feeling nice and clean and fresh and full -- and left us wishing the treatment lasted forever, not 10 efficient minutes. Afterward, we received serums, which ideally you should use every day until your next treatment, which should be about three to four weeks after your first trip. You get three different tubes of serum: one for your face, another for around your eyes, and the last one is for your lips!
Makeup:
Going with an all-natural look for the collection, the products used on the Adam Lippes models were not too matte or shiny. BeautyBlender sponsored the makeup for the show and artists used Cozzette makeup for color. To get the look, foundation was used sparingly, just what was needed to cover red spots. The ultimate secret? Using the BeautyBlender damp. The apply a taupe eyeshadow use mascara only on the top lashes.
This show was inspired by the Victorian era and pornography. Many of the looks showed a lot of skin in a cartoony way, and vaginas were created on the skirts of the dresses and even the shoes. The music had Disney undertones with dance music mixed in.
Makeup:
“On the eyes is ColorFix by Danessa ($18) and her top gloss,” said Kabuki for GLAMSQUAD. “I use matte foundation for show. I have the shadow and the liner and then you put the Glaze ($18) on and you still see the line. [In order to get the look right], I worked with Namilia. They send me pictures of the clothing and I get an idea and send it to them. You can’t do all this in an hour. I just tried to extend the narrative of their collection. I don’t know if I can do it justice but it’s like a baroque, kind of surreal exploration of pornography and sexuality with society and pop culture. There’s a baroque detail of a vagina applique so I did a vagina eye. After then I thought, play on words, so I made some of them a pussycat. Three girls will have that whisker detail. I was super-impressed by the collection. They really took it to this couture level. It’s amazing. I want to try to keep my end up and do the clothes justice.”
Nails:
“We’re doing press-on nails,” said celebrity nail artist Patti Yankee. “The designers sent me a picture of an almond-shaped nail. We used my nail color, Peace, an iridescent pearl. They wanted to pick up on the pearl in the collection and make it look elegant in the midst of everything going on. We didn’t pre-prep the nails before this show because it was only 20 models and one color. But for other shows we pre-prep the nails depending on how many models there are and how intricate the design is. A lot of times I’ll mix colors backstage for the designers.”
Hair:
“We’re using Aveda Thickening Tonic ($29) and Volumizing Tonic ($22) to give the hair a little bit of grip, a little bit of set,” said celebrity hair stylist Jon Reyman. We’re blow-drying with our Olivia Garden brushes and our Dyson Supersonic blow dryers because we think all of those tools are really cool. We’re just sort of smoothing the hair out, doing a very natural look with a very simple bend. After we have it blow-dried, we’re taking a little of Aveda’s ControlForce Firm Hold Hair Spray ($9 - $31)
and we’re spraying it on the surface of the hair. Then we’re taking our flat irons and we just want to put in a natural bend. So we’re doing a flat iron wave. We don’t want it to look too set, we want it to look very natural, very flowy, which we feel is very appropriate for this season. It comes out as a really simple wave so when she walks it flows.”
Makeup:
“The inspiration for this show is all about classic beauty,” said Kelli J. Bartlett for GLAMSQUAD. “We wanted to make sure that the makeup was balanced. There’s a lot of blush tones, a lot of frills, fluff, and textures in the collection. We wanted to make sure that the makeup look was really ethereal and romantic. Since the ʼ70s are also an inspiration, we’re using a feathered brow -- they’re fluffy and big. The eye is one color and that’s it, and it’s Trish McEvoy’s 24-Hour Eye Shadow and Liner in Rose Quartz ($33). It’s very blown out. There’s no mascara, just a curled lash.”
Nails:
“The inspiration behind the Vivienne Tam collection is very ʼ70s soft colors,” said Christina Quercia for GLAMSQUAD. “Nothing too crazy. For the length and shape we just went for a natural round shape to elongate the hands and nails. The color we went to was this antique plush from Essie called Go Go Geisha ($9). Something really soft and neutral to bring out the colors in the line.”
