... Erin Fetherston's collection was inspired by Juliet (of the Capulets), so Nars senior makeup artist James (Boehmer) came up with a subtle, innocent face for the show.
Fresh, young, dewy skin is essential to this look. James and his team used concealer only where absolutely necessary, letting the texture of skin show through. A light dusting of loose powder kept foreheads from looking shiny under the lights. (For most models, the shade Snow was used). The eyes were deceptively simple. James used a soft brown pencil to highlight the crease, helping to define the eye without leaving that color visible when the model's eyes were open. A few false lashes near the center of the eye were coated with mascara, but lightly—so that you see long lashes, not obvious mascara.
Cheeks got glowy with a little Rosebud Salve on just the apples, and then the artists added color by blending red lipstick into it. For lips, James dabbed color on the inside of the lip, moving outward. When watching the show, Fab specifically mentioned the makeup—something she doesn't always do—so I was glad to see that she loved the look as much as I did.
SARI GUERON | “Sari’s clothes have a lot of volume this season,” explained makeup artist Gucci Westman. To counteract this, she opted for “Grey, smudgy, and slept in - very real girl” eyes with nude pink lips. “She’s the girl we all want to be,” laughed Westman. “She doesn’t take hours to do her makeup and she still looks good.”
RUFFIAN | It was all about the eyes as James Kiliardos designed the look for the show. He smeared eyes with a pale gray mixed with violet, followed by gloss “for a hollowed wood nymph effect.” He did focus on the lips by adding a bright pop of a semi-matte red and purple that showed up as a shocking fuchsia. He skipped mascara as well as sculpting the cheeks, so the lips could stand out even more.
THREEASFOUR | Gordon Espinet describes the fall look as “radiance,” which inspired his look for the ThreeAsFour show. The skin is no longer powdered or shiny, just flawless. He applied MAC’s new mineralized blush to give a look of “faces on a cold winter day” and used a rose lip color that was high glossy in finish and yet not at all frosty. He used MAC’s #20 lashes along with Royal Wink fluidline to make the eyes really pop.
ALEXANDRE HERCHCOVITCH | “Think Bauhaus and pop art,” Philppe Chansel said as he described his inspiration for the looks of the show. He used bright pops of colors in various uses from blue to green or pink or orange from MAC Chromacakes. They were created in dome shapes with black liner and false lashes. He went for a beigey pink gloss on the lips and natural cheeks.
COSTELLO TAGLIAPIETRA | Makeup artist Kabuki was responsible for the makeup seen at the show, where he layered burgundy, pink, and beige pigments to give faces a romantic appeal. “Think Mary Shelley and Frankenstein,” he described as influences. “She’s a little bit witch, a haunted woman straight out of the 19th century romanticism.” She used MAC’s Burnt Burgundy paint stick around the eyes with Taupe over it and adding a coat of gloss.
HERVE LEGER | “She’s mean,” is how Val Garland described the tough sexy woman who prances in Herve Leger bandage dresses. “The Leger lady is severely sexy — not obvious sexy.” She threw out the smoky cat eye and instead did a liquid sparkly gold eye with a very chalky pink matte lip complimented by a matte cheek with a subtle shine like wetness.
DKNY | Charlotte Tilbury opts to go for a fresh, wide-eyed kind of look. She used MAC’s to-be-launched mascara for dazzling lashes, while the lips were a mixture of Lush and Rapturous mattene lipsticks. Cheeks were sculpted and painted a soft pink.
PREEN | James Kaliardos went for a colorface that is reminscent of Kim Basinger in “Nine and a Half Weeks.” He created a grey, taupe rounded eye using regular powder shadows in combination with cream shadows, and he contrasted it with a red lip. It wasn’t a scarlet or blood red, but more like a blue based red that borderlines fuchsia with a touch of gold opalescence.
TULEH | Polly Osmond thought of Charlotte Rampling in the 70s for inspiration, which meant a shiny metallic eye that dominated. She used bronze pigment on the eye with a chocolate shadow in the crease. Emote blush was used to shade and sculpt the cheeks. Polly went for tofee lips using 4N lipstick with 2N lipglass.
JOHNATHAN SAUNDERS | Val Garland mixed and layered warm wine tones; claret, tawny port, merlot — and even a little champagne — to add to the list of fall 2008 faces that are romantic, flushed, wind-touched, with both matte and shiny elements. She calls it “sexy texy.”