February 10, 2013
California Cool Backstage at Hervé Léger by Max Azria
By Belisa Silva
Val Garland, for Sephora Pro, set out to capture the drama of nature with a glowing bronze face, nude eye and nude lip. “The look is very much Californian girls,” said Garland, who used three products and three brushes to get a sculptural bronze look. “Think caramel tans, gorgeous glowing bronzed skin. We are working with highlighters, bronzers a beautiful foundation from Stila.” To that end, faces featured Stila Convertible Color in Carmellia, Stila’s All Day Foundation & Concealer, as well as Laura Mercier’s Secret Camouflage. To impart the illusion of glistening skin, Garland used Benefit Watt’s Up and Hourglass Illume Creme-to-Powder Bronzer. “We’re brushing the bronzer into the eye and up into the temples so we get that sun-kissed look,” said Garland, who used a contour brush to “sculpt” the face. “We’re using bronzerlike contour so it’s a lot more sculptural, it’s a lot more three dimensional. In the past what we normally do is we take bronzer [and apply it to specific parts of the face]. All of a sudden you’ve got an orange face,” said Garland. “Here, everything feels a lot more structured, so you’ve created a better bone structure.” Lips were lined in Sephora Rouge Shine Lipstick in No. 01 Honeymoon and lip balm, to combat dryness from the frigid New York temperatures. Eyes were left bare, with only some bronzer, brows were brushed and lashes curled. Tarte EmphasEYES Inner Rim Brightening was used for highlight. Looking to fall, Garland said, “I’m always excited by eyeliner. I think we will be seeing a little bit of eyeliner along the way. I’m always excited about an eye. I think eyes are going to be a big trend this season. Going on from summer when we had a lot of aquatic colors — the blues, the aquas, the greens — I think this time around we’re going to be seeing more plums and earthy tones and colors that are slightly a bit off and also colors that are quite rich as well — the navys, the midnights. I think it’s going to be an exciting time for color.”
Hair, styled by Laurent Philippon for Bumble and bumble, was easy but beautiful.
“The inspiration was a really cool Los Angeles biker who happens to have the most amazing hair,” said Philippon, who used the brand’s upcoming volume-imparting Thickening Full Foam Mousse on wet hair. He then used a blow dryer and hands and brushed it section by section before curling. “We are not using the curling iron in a traditional way. We are caressing the hair with the curling iron to get a very, very soft natural wave. What I like about the iron is that you get that quality of the hair, the shine, healthy looking hair and with the mousse you get that satin finish.” Once the curls were created, Philippon brushed back hair, using his hands to “get the texture back,” he said, adding that the models would be wearing caps. “In the end it is a natural look. It’s the kind of hair that everybody would dream to have; a slight wave and really healthy looking.” About the texture, he said, “it’s very soft, it separates but its also windswept. It’s pieces flying.” Philippon said he used hair powder on a few girls, all of whom were given a center part. When asked about trends for spring and fall 2013, he said,”In spring I always like to do a ‘springy’ hairstyle, which means soft and romantic. It could be softly braided. Maybe a piece of jewelry in there, or maybe a comb It’s totally the kind of hair you can do at home.”
Nails, done by OPI, were rounded into a natural “squoval” shape and given two coats of almost-black aubergine shade, Lincoln Park After Dark. For an ultrahigh-shine effect, OPI’s DS Designer Series Top Coat was used.
