London calling

 

The M.A.C face chart for the Nicole Farhi show

 

 

Check out my beauty reports from London fashion week on stylelist.com!

Nicole Farhi : beautiful skin and berry lips.

House of Holland : deep purple lips and smoky eyes.

Todd Lynn : Grim, grayish lips and peach-rimmed eyes. Eek.

Vivienne Westwood Red Label : Cat eyes, pretty lips, and goth lips…each on a different model.

Giles : Traffic-stopping red lips.

Peter Jensen : Coppery flushed cheeks.

-Lisa

Sister sister

 

Rodarte designers Kate and Laura Mulleavy

In a nutshell, Rodarte=genius. The Mulleavy sisters put together a fall ’09 show that totally rocked. The makeup (M.A.C) and hair (Aveda) may have been runway-only, but there were plenty of trends to be interpreted for mere mortals. The beauty takeaway is clear: perfect satin-matte skin, subtle contouring, nude lips and sleek chignons are must for fall. See my backstage report on stylelist.com formore details. In the meantime, more pics below…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thigh-high bandaged boots required two dressers to strap on to each model!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The finished look. Ladies, start your lunges now—the skirts are short and the boots are skin-tight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-Lisa

Mulleavy sisters image courtesy http://www.telegraph.co.uk. Runway image courtesy http://www.style.com.

Black eyes and nude lips

No, I’m not talking about a boxing match. You can go ahead and stash your classic red lipstick and girly gloss for next year, because Fall ’09 is all about nude lipstick and dark eyes. Oh and there’s lots of perfect matte skin, too. 

Check out my beauty report on stylelist.com from yesterday’s Chris Benz show. See backstage pics below for more color:

The pot of Lancôme indigo cream shadow on the right formed the gorgeous deep base layer of the eye look...and I want it. Sadly I'll have to wait for it to hit the shelves in fall '09.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-Lisa

Backstage pass

 

Check out my backstage beauty coverage of Fall 2009 Fashion Week for stylelist.com: 

Alexander Wang: Sweet ‘n vicious

Pep-talk poster for models at Alexander Wang—hands down the funniest thing I've seen backstage. Oh, and Hooters catered the snacks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vena Cava: Rockabilly chic

 

That's Vincent Longo applying nude lipstick.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And there's Ted Gibson working on rocker hair.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VPL: Supernatural glow

 

A shot of the venue for VPL's show, entitled "Exquisite Corpse."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-Lisa

Brace yourself—it’s Fashion Week

It’s that time again, when editors, buyers, celebrities and loyal fans flock to the tents at Bryant Park in addition to countless other venues all over the city. There’s a frenzy for certain shows (MJ) every season and then there are the newer more up-and-coming designers who garner buzz around town. I wonder how it will feel the first time I walk into a venue or the tents this week with recession on the tip of everyone’s tongues. I’m guessing the clothes, hair and makeup will be a bit more restrained than in seasons past. It’s amazing that designers can even afford to put up a show (which costs upwards of $50,000, and that’s in an alley on the LES) at all in times like these. Actually, some of them can’t and have downscaled to formal presentations or have canceled altogether. The Fall shows are supposed to rev everyone up, inspire big ideas and set the tone for the coming year in retail and all the other industries that feed off of the trends. I’m still looking forward to Fall ’09 Fashion Week as a source of creative inspiration.

Of course, it wouldn’t be fashion week without a Barneys Warehouse Sale. I remember when the sale was cause to queue up at 7:30AM on West 17th Street with all the other die-hard shoppers. Bargains could be found after a thorough excavation of sweater bins and jam-packed racks. There would be a fabulous shoe lurking on the top (why always out of my reach?) shelf. Those were the days. Now it seems like the sale is filled with mass-produced weird merchandise that never graced the loft-like vignettes of the Madison Avenue store. Fortunately, men can still find some really good buys in the way of suits and overcoats and cashmere sweaters. 

I’m staying hopeful and I’ll be blogging about beauty for stylelist.com from behind the scenes at a bunch of shows in the next few days, so please check back for updates on hair, makeup and whatever else happens in the trenches.

-Lisa

Image courtesy http://www.forbestraveler.com

Forget mascara?

I probably have 4 mascaras in rotation at the moment—one for everyday use, one for sleepy weekend days, one for when feel like navy and one for big events. The thing is, I’ve got nothing to complain about in the fringe department. They’re longish and fullish, but blond. I certainly wouldn’t turn my nose up at some lash enhancement that doesn’t require a hammer and chisel to remove before bed. The smart scientists over at Allergan (a.k.a the Botox people) discovered that Lumigan, their eye drops for glaucoma patients, have the welcome side effect of longer, fuller lashes. At the end of January, they’re launching the FDA-approved, prescription lash-lengthening version (it’s 5% of the strength of the glaucoma drops) of the drug under the name Latisse. Allergan’s clinical trials showed that daily application for 16 weeks yielded longer, thicker, darker lashes. That’s scientific proof that this stuff works…I know, I know, you’re waiting for the bottom line. Here it is: Latisse will set you back $120 for a one-month supply. That’s $4 a day, which is at least what my favorite redhead spends on Starbucks! These are tough times and while some of us may be cutting out mani-pedis and facials, this could be the next big thing. If I were a gambler, I’d put my chips on Latisse. I think we all know at least three people who would trade their daily no-foam, non-fat lattes for seriously amped lashes.
-Lisa
Image courtesy of sephora.com