The Best of NYFW Beauty

Season in, season out, designers present their collections for NYFW. What do we see? Well of course, tons of stunning looks, RTW to menswear to gowns. But what I always like to keep an eye out for are the other details to a runway show or collection presentation. And one such detail is the beauty look. That’s right, the makeup, hair, and nails! So I’ve perused thru tons of designer presentations, and here is my list for the top Beauty Looks from NYFW!

SAUNDER

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Some designers, when getting really creative with hair & makeup, tend to go over the top. But for me, the balance still has to be struck. It just can’t be all crazy, be all over the place, with no rhyme or reason. SAUNDER has perfectly struck that balance. Orlando Santiago for Mehron created such beauty here with this artistic makeup look — deep burgundy lip and white-out eyes. The hair look is just as great for me, voluminous, chic updo, a little crimp; it really works well to complete the beauty look. Hair look was courtesy of Nunzio Saviano.

And although not hair or makeup related, I would be remiss if I didn’t draw attention to these totally mesmerizing nails, such boldly dynamic nail art, courtesy of Patricia Yankee. This gal was all over Fashion Week, working unique magic from show to show. And she certainly was up to par here with these black gold trimmed nails, complete with a pearl adornment.

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CALVIN KLEIN

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Such understated beauty here, looks that I can’t ignore! The makeup look is so subtle, yet still bold. The slight cat-eye, leaving a hint of darkness is captivating — not over-the-top and paired perfectly with just a nude lip. The hair here is effortless, such free-flowing waves, creating such movement. I love it!

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JENNY PACKHAM

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The makeup look here for Jenny Packham is such a bronzed, sunkist look, and it coordinates so well with the designer’s full on glam looks. The eye is heavily lined on the bottom, with a little metallic shimmer. To finish the look off, there is a slight bronzed cheek and subtle nude lip.

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For hair, to match with the sunkist makeup look, there are beachy waves, delicate and enchanting. I’m not sure of the hair designer, but I know UNITE hair products were used to create the overall look.

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And another amazing nail look, light pink with jeweled embellishments, so pretty!!

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LEANNE MARSHALL

Leanne Marshall told a love story thru the looks of her F/W 2015 collection. There were 4 parts to this and I love how she then wanted all of the beauty looks to further tell the different parts to this story. The hair & makeup went from pure and natural to deranged as this tragedy unfolded.

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Let’s start with hair, which was all about the curly waves. The hair transitioned from slight curls to full on voluminous curls. As the love story raged on, so did the hair, which was all thanks to the Britt Dion hair team.

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The makeup too aided int his story, going from innocent and pure to teary madness. There was such beauty in each makeup look that graced this runway. So kudos to Aveda team, led by Janell Geason.

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And with more creative nail art, a uniquely blended shade from several Inglot shades, credit to Jami Zoglio.

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ANNA SUI

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For F/W 2015, Anna Sui was inspired by the Vikings and she definitely brought that warrior spirit to her hair & makeup looks. If anyone could make face tattoos look pretty, it’s Pat McGrath. They weren’t on every look, as that would have been too excessive, but enough to captivate the audience. So McGrath was hard at work to create these face tats with Inuit-inspired markings, which were created using sticky tape (for perfect lines) and CoverGirl Brow and Eye Makers pencils.

For the other makeup looks, all of the show’s models got the graphic treatment on their eyes, with two straight pencil lines extending from the outer corners, along with the “golden, glowing skin” and “beautiful flushed cheeks” that McGrath used to prettify the edgy look. For a similarly rosy complexion, McGrath blended a mixture of CoverGirl Cheekers Blush in Rock n Rose and Clean Glow Bronzer in Spices on cheeks.

Hair stylist Garren’s contribution to the show was the “warrior-like” Viking girl hair he created, using R+Co products to bring out models’ natural texture (Rockaway Salt Spray to rough up straighter hair types; the not-yet-released Foil Frizz + Static Control Spray to weigh down curls).

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J. CREW

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For men and women alike, the hair & makeup looks for J. Crew were 100% on point! Troi Ollivierre, the company’s beauty guru (and owner of an eponymous brand sold at the retailer), handles both hair and makeup for its runway shows and lookbook shoots. “We still wanted the girls to look fresh, but we were thinking of them coming back from skiing for this season,” Ollivierre explains.  “So, we kept a hint of color on the lips by applying my new lip stain in Tim. In order to make it more lived-in and natural, I applied it with a brush so it’s sheer and light.”

He perfected the skin with a mix of Laura Mercier primer and moisturizer, and then a sheer layer of foundation (a secret formula, according to the artist). After, he added the cult RMS Living Luminizer to the high planes of the face, corners of the eyes, and bridge of the nose for that J.Crew glow, enhancing the outer corners with a tiny bit of bronzer to add depth and warmth. As for the blush, he dabbed Stila’s Convertible Color in Lillium low on the apples of the cheeks using his fingers in quick, tapping motions “for an after-skiing look that’s very natural.”

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MARA HOFFMAN

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Everything here for Mara Hoffman was AMAZING! The braided looks for hair were all so phenomenal, so great job to Thomas Osborn & Adriana Papaleo for Catwalk by Tigi.

I loved this golden, bronzed smoky eye, such a perfect combination with the sunkist cheek and lovely nude lip — wonderful work from Lottie of Maybelline NY.

And finally, beautiful nail art, courtesy of Alicia Torello for Zoya.

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PEDRO DEL HIERRO MADRID

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Pedro del Hierro Madrid went with a sultry, sexy fab beauty look for his model. Everything was full on glam and I am a fan! The hair was luscious, hint of waves, perfection! And for makeup, whereas other designers went towards focus on the eyes, we have focus here on the bold red lip!

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Francesca Liberatore

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Jorge Luis for Cutler, Redken products — superhero braids they created that swept across the crown and draped down at the back. The look was at once collected and powerful but still flirty, with the braids adding an element of femininity.

Patricia Yankee — The team started by applying Pattie’s Support Base Coat, followed by creating a rounded, silver edged French manicure with Patricia Yankee Nail Lacquer Polish in Divinity. Pattie dished to us that in the theme of superheros, she decided to hole punch small stars out of Dashing Diva Color Effects Appliques. Stars were placed in the middle of the index fingernail and varied in color from blue or red depending on the model. The look was finished off with Patricia Yankee’s “Protect” Top Coat.

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Fatima Thomas, Senior Artist for MAC, led the team to create the only look we witnessed this season without mascara (!!). Thomas told us that in terms of products and colors, the look was relatively minimalist – really only using colors for shaping and contouring purposes (enter: MAC Creme Colour Base, used to match and accentuate models’ natural skin tones), particularly around the eyes, which Thomas described as resulting in an “aerodynamic” feel. Not only did lashes go without mascara, but they were left untouched – aka no curling. Thomas emphasized that they didn’t want the lashes to make any noise – the look was all about the strength and shape of the eye.

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Lupe Gajardo

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Lupe Gajardo had a huge line waiting to get in for the show. The hype was likely worth the wait, especially with such gorgeous hair & makeup to compliment innovative looks.

The makeup was provided by MAC and showed a very neutral look. A little shading was done under and around the eyes, but amplified with a bronze enhancer to create a slight smoky eye. And with a nice change from so many nude lips, here we have a lovely, light pink lip.

The hair was curled at the ends and then was undone a bit, and sprayed with TRESemme Dry Shampoo to give it texture, TRESemme Sea Salt Spray to further enhance the natural texture, then given volume with TRESemme Max The Volume.

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Lela Rose

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This hair look for Lela Rose, is a structured ponytail at its best. The texture is there, the volume is present, such great work!

The makeup is also quite impressive, with a bold, dark smoky cat eye, paired with an understated light pink nude lip. The detail on this eye is quite entrancing though, the shimmer, the shine, it is PERFECTION!

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Sherri Hill

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Sherri Hill was a show I very much wanted to be at, but no such luck this season. Maybe next time! But not only were the looks here superbly stunning, the makeup & hair was top notch as well. The elegant, prom-like updos were enchanting. And I loved the feminine, gorgeous makeup look, the bronzed cheeks to the deep, smoky eye, and of course the bright pink lip. All very fun, girly, and flirty!

And it was great seeing Sadie Robertson of Duck Dynasty taking part in the show! No surprise in light of her recent collaboration with Sherri Hill.

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