Wednesday, February 29, 2012

New Anne Klein optical ad

I had an amazing opportunity to be a part of beautiful new campaign for Anne Klein. Here is first shot from the series
I had fun mixing lipsticks together to create perfect dusty coral as well as bright fuchsia that will be coming out.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Beauty breakdown: Elle STYLE360 Bebe Black F/W 2012

I love drawing reference from cult movies, historic eras and beautiful art work. Luckily for me, so does super sweet and talented Charles Benton from ever popular Bebe label.
His inspiration for this year was combination of 40s girl meet Blade Runner.



Naturally, I had to pay homage to noir girl by playing with color red.  There is nothing more beautiful then sharp, classic red lipstick!




Not to go into period make up and still preserve contemporary and fashion touch, I have played with textures and left little bit of unfinished feel to the look (not adding mascara for example, for more powdery open eyes).
Another textural play came in combination of new beautiful shade of red from Beauti Control called XOXO and placing of pure red pigment on the top of it.

I did this to create very mat, velvety mouth that, when it started to separate, created bit bloody, unexpected and little dangerous vibe of  modern Blade Runner heroine.

Their eyes were framed with Au Naturel palette from BC, more in the contouring fashion then traditional eyeshadow application. Lightest matte color from the trio was used inside waterline in their eyes, to give them very intense gaze.

I have framed their faces with BC bronzer but opted out of using color on the cheek.


It was so wonderful seeing the girls marching like confident women down the runway. They were total Betties (as I called them) with their awesome Victory rolls (great job Linh Nguyen and his team) and line stalkings.
I was especially proud to see Charles taking his bow down the runway and being celebrated for his talent and vision. Rock on girls!!

Beauty breakdown: Elle STYLE360 Emu Australia F/W 2012

Emu Australia, makers of famous cozy footwear delivered much more than boots in the beautiful palette fit for easy going girl.



I wanted to preserve that chill, fresh Aussie beauty, that mimics color palette of the Outback.
Hello earth tones!

Unlike some of the other looks I have created for Fashion week that required more even look and more coverage; this one was all about feel and look of natural skin.

Model's foundation was kept minimal, with just spot concealing.  I wanted to expose model's beautiful freckles (which many had) and preserve that youthful glow.
Just, as I like to call it (and my team delightfully chuckles as I utter it "DELICIOUS SKIN").

Two eye shadow palletes were used in this look (both from our wonderful sponsor, Beauti Control).

Earth colors from "Au Natural" were most dominant part of the look and were smoked out in circular motion all around the eye.
To ad definition, I used darkest color from "Drama Queen" palette to press into the lash line and softly defuse it.

I wanted deconstruct the look and ad freshness to it by applying eight hour cream (by Elizabeth Arden)  in the center of the eye.
That dissolved some of the make up, for more worn in look and added beautiful shine.
To create that wind/sun burned look, TAN blush from BC was used in the center of the apple of the cheek.
Tops of their cheekbones were highlighted by the same cream used on their eyes.

I finished their look by keeping their lips natural color, beautifully hydrated by new delicious Beauti Control lip moisturizer.


 This was probably most wearable and mistake proof look I created for the runway and it can be easily translated into everyday wear. Just beautiful, effortless nature girl.

Beauty breakdown: Elle STYLE360 Sachika F/W 2012

We had an amazing range of looks this season and it was so much fun flowing from one mood to another.
I am starting my back stage report with delicious spy girls from Sachika line.
Sachika twins To-Tam and To-Nya drew their inspiration from strong, mysterious, world traveling spy girls, who despite all of the action still manage to be classy and playful.
What a great combination!

When I think of spy girls, I always instinctively go to more polished femme fatale women of classic silver screen. To compliment beautiful hair creations by key hairstylist Linh Nguyen, naturally, I went there.
I find Sachika's style very happy and playful, just like their creators.  That is why I wanted to ad some of that coy humor and flirtatiousness in the look itself, by making it little more bold and exaggerated.





Quizzical brow,






Super sharp eyeliner liner













 and wine stained lips










When doing this kind of look, you need to be extra attentive to skin.
Use little bit extra coverage if need it, with such dramatic statement, canvas itself requires flawless look.

I have used our makeup sponsor's Beauti Control pen liquid liner to line up eyes in very high arch.
Instead of following natural curvy contour of the eye, I have drown more of the upward thick line, that goes straight across the eye.

It gives it more dramatic and little bit superhero vibe.
We have used individual lashes applied very generously, to create thick, butterfly like lashes and coated them with black mascara.

Primary blush used on most faces was called PINK. It was very clear blue toned pink color that was  perfect for achieving that very girly, coy cheek.
I have finished the look with staining the lips with Beauti Control new hydrating lipstick Hypnotic. Something our girls certainly were, strutting down the runway looking mysterious and seductive.
So there it is, you can't go wrong with little bit of playfulness and you can, with a flick of an eyeliner transform yourself into hypnotic spy girl!

Friday, February 17, 2012

Back stage interview by SerafinoSays from Fashion Week F/W 2012

While I come down from all of the excitement of Fashon Week, here is awesome nod from my dear friend Kristan at www.SerafinoSays.com. Her and I practically grew up together on photo shoots.

Besides being amazing hairstylist, she is very successful blogger and was written about in magazines, such as Elle and more.
 So for all of the fresh news from the industry make sure to check her out at www.Serafinosays.com
Here is beauty breakdown for Bebe Black, stay tuned for much more to come!


Monday, February 13, 2012

Fashion Week SS/2012 recap

So on the eve of the whole new round of shows, here is little re-cap of last season shows. Stay tuned!

My First Assistants recap from last season fashion week SS12

While we are getting ready for another round of FW excitement, here is my first assistant for last shows, amazing Crystal Johnson recap of behind the scenes.
She could not make it this year, and I will miss her very much, but she is always with me in my heart.


Sunday, February 12, 2012

Countdown Begins - Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2012

I have been honored with another round of keying shows for Elle Magazine Style 360 and I am super excited.
This week I have met with all of the designers and along with hairstylist Linh Nguyen conducted look tests for their shows.
Creating the look with the designers is an amazing experience, it makes me feel like we are helping them put final touch on something they put hard work and love into.
Being a part of their final vision, it is truly rewarding.
I am spending this weekend creating run down of make up looks for my team, and making sure everything runs smoothly.

So, stay tuned! Back stage report to come. Have a happy Fashion Week!
xoxo
V.