Source: style.com, stylebistro.comMore Dungeons & Dragons, Less Kim Kardashian, Backstage At Rodarte
September 12, 2012
“A modern-medieval face” is what the tip sheet James Kaliardos was passing around to his team backstage at Rodarte said, but there was more to it than that, of course. “The collection feels Dungeons & Dragons to me, not Joan of Arc,” Kaliardos elaborated, referencing the austerity of old religious paintings and “getting rid of the Kim Kardashian look—forever.”
That meant skipping those familiar, heavily bronzed contours and focusing instead on a paled-out complexion that was treated with NARS Skin Optimal Brightening Concentrate and a light-handed application of its Sheer Glow Foundation just in the center of the face, “because once it gets on the cheeks, it actually looks like foundation,” according to Kaliardos. There wasn’t much visible product on the face at all, really, save for NARS’ Triple X Lip Gloss, which was swathed onto mouths and eyelids and applied through girls’ brows as well, including show-opener Jessica Stam’s. “Can you fix me,” Stam beseeched Kaliardos, who added a little fullness, too, at the model’s request.
Odile Gilbert was working off the proportions of Kate and Laura Mulleavy’s designs. “When they showed me the clothes, I thought [the girls] needed something long,” Gilbert said, referring to the hair, which she made “strict and straight” to accommodate a dragon earring cuff clipped onto models’ left ears. “It’s like the girls are shaved,” she explained, slicking strands with Kérastase Ciment Thermique for a pre-blow-dry polish, and dividing them into three sections: two in back—one hanging straight down over the other—and one in front, which was combed all the way over to one side and coated with its Elixir Ultime for added shine.
The finishing touch came from the most conceptual neutral nail we’ve seen this week. “It took 200 man-hours,” CND manicurist Michelle Huynh said of the three-dimensional polish-on-polish basketweave tips that showcased a blended base of its varnishes in Desert Suede and Frosting Cream. Nude, it turns out, doesn’t necessarily mean boring.
Source: stylebistro.com, wwd.comSeptember 8, 2012
Backstage at Nicole Miller Spring 2013
James Kaliardos, for MAC, was inspired by technology and nature for the beauty look at Nicole Miller. The focal point was the eye, a “soft smoky” blend of four purple shades from MAC’s Spoiled Rich palette — launching in the spring — housed in “Archie”-comics-inspired packaging. “I’m trying to restrain myself this season,” said Kaliardos, who used Haute & Naughty Too Black on lashes. “I’m using color in a natural way.” To give skin contour and highlight, he utilized Prep + Prime Highlighter pens, Taupe Shape Blush, new for spring, and Mineralize Moisture SPF 15 Foundation, which launches in fall 2013. Lips were kept neutral, with Posh Tone Mineralize Lipstick, also new for fall 2013.
Hair was kept “futuristic and modern,” with a feeling of “things moving faster,” according to the lead stylist, Kevin Ryan, who parted hair in the center, then applied Aveda Volumizing Tonic before infusing two tight “Avatar”-referencing fishtails, which Ryan said “feel like zippers.” Hair that “wanted to fall” was pinned back, and the remaining style was straightened and left to fall along the neckline. “It’s a nod to graphics,” said Ryan, who used tiny black elastics from Ricky’s NYC to hold his intricate braids.
Nails were given a “galaxy glam manicure” by Candice Manacchio, lead artist of CND. Inspired by Eighties sci-fi geometric shapes and diamond patterns, Manacchio created a customized mint shade, which referenced Miller’s spring collection. That shade was given a holographic coating of Sapphire Sparkle effects polish, and white “stars” were added with a detail brush. The inverted diamond — created by uniting two French-manicure Vs — featured Black Jack and supershiny Air Dry topcoat. Manacchio said it took 40 hours to make the 22 sets used for the show.
Source: stylebistro.com, beautyhigh.com18th-Century Meets Williamsburg Hipster at Ruffian Spring 2013
Posted by klaudiakaczmarekk September 08, 2012 2:30 pm
It’s only day three of New York Fashion Week and the trends are already building up. Yesterday at Rag & Bone, Global Artistic Director for Revlon and Fashion Week veteran, Gucci Westman, opted for bold brows as a major focal point of the makeup look. Now, it looks as though James Kaliardos got the statement arches memo. Backstage at Ruffian, James led the MAC Cosmetics team to create a look inspired by “a Bouchet painting from the eighteenth century and Williamsburg hipsters.” The models wore a soft gray shadow on the lid and plenty of contour on the cheeks to compliment the brows. The lips were painted with none other than two shades of MAC Ruffian Lipstick from the collaboration between the design house and makeup brand. Most of the models wore Ruffian Naked, while just a few models wore Ruffian Red.
Over in the hair department, Neil Moodie and his team of Bumble and Bumble stylists created a cool, rockabilly coif that meshed with the “couture meets street” collection perfectly. He started out by layering Bumble and Bumble Prep Spray and Styling Cream from roots to ends and power drying “so hair is a little matted and textured.” To create the fun pompadour, Neil dried the hair with a large bristle brush to get some height and back-combed the bangs for that rock and roll look. He stayed away from blowing it all the way through so hair isn’t too smooth at the ends. The sides were sleek so the pouf received all the attention.
Our favorite part of the look was definitely the nails created by Keri Blair for MAC Cosmetics. Models wore pink, blue, yellow, or white polish with nail “jewelry” on the ring and pinky nails. Keri glued small, gold filigree right on top of the color. “I actually sat and hand bent each filigree to fit the nail bed,” said Keri. “It took me two hours.” Just don’t go searching for the nail colors yet. The four shades with a subtle reflection are a new texture MAC is testing out. “We are hoping that they come to life at some point,” said Keri. Us, too!
Source: stylebistro.com, beautyhigh.comRichard Chai Love Brings Subtlety to the Graphic Eye
Posted by Rachel Adler
September 06, 2012 4:00 pm
With New York Fashion Week under way, we can’t wait to see what trends will be hitting the runways to inspire us for the Spring/Summer 2013 season. James Kaliardos, the key artist for MAC Cosmetics who led the team at Richard Chai Love, said that he hoped to see stronger colors on the eyes this season — and we couldn’t agree more.
For the look for Richard Chai’s show, he created a “soft, 60s eye with clean sporty skin.” Using a new MAC Fluidline Liner in “dirty blonde” that he described as “brow-friendly” he created a very graphic, 60s line in the crease of the eye and a “floating line” on the top, so that the liner wasn’t quite hitting the eyelashes but floating around the shape of the eye. He noted that he liked the idea that it wasn’t a black shadow, making the look a bit softer. For the “sporty skin” Kaliardos created a “perfect” base using foundation and concealer where needed, but noted that the look for spring is subtle and sheer — you don’t want to layer on the makeup. To finish the makeup look, he used MAC lip conditioner and a bit of Dim Lip Erase to “beige out” the lip look.
On the hair, Kevin Ryan led the team for Aveda, stating that the look was “fairly streamlined with a sporty feel.” The look was a simple yet sleek, something that could easily be pulled off on the streets. Each boy and girl had a deep part that was put “in the wrong place” and moved around so that the look wasn’t too retro or too modern. Ryan combined a mixture of gel and Brilliant spray to give the hair a shiny look (and stay in place) and slicked it back.
To complete the looks, the nails were polished with Julep’s Sienna gold polish and a matte top coat, giving them a texture that you couldn’t quite place, yet complimenting all of the pale neutrals in Richard Chai’s line.