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subscribe to beauty blog via RSS“More Punky Than Lady” Backstage At Oscar de la Renta
September 17, 2009 3:26 pm
Like most of his devoted fans worldwide, we have come to associate Oscar de la Renta with a demure, elegant woman who appreciates the finer things in life. And for the past few seasons, the beauty looks devised for his shows have followed suit: dark (but not too dark) eye contouring; nude lips; clean skin; and high, architectural hair in different incarnations of the French twist, a.k.a. the preferred style of the over-60, ladies-who-lunch set. Arriving backstage at his Spring presentation yesterday only to see heads with coronets of braids woven with pieces of colored fabric and graphic black cat-eyes was, therefore, somewhat shocking. That combination of a very luxe aesthetic paired with a funkier sensibility wasn’t completely unfamiliar, though. “Grace Coddington,” makeup artist Gucci Westman informed us, as she drew “kicked out” lines on models’ upper lash line with Revlon’s Colorstay Liquid Liner in Blackest Black. Inspired by an old Norman Parkinson image of Vogue’s famous red-haired creative director (and the star of The September Issue), Westman’s de la Renta girl was “more punky than lady,” with a defined brow; slight pink flush on the cheeks; and a 1960’s, Sofia Loren-style matte beige lip. The punky element was present in the hair as well, and stylist Orlando Pita mentioned that his wraparound plait was intended to be an accessory as much as the waist-cinching belts and colored clutches, which were grasped by fingertips painted in Essie’s Capri, a nearly neon orange lacquer. A welcome change from the status quo.
tags: Essie, Grace Coddington, Gucci Westman, Hair, Makeup, Nails, Orlando Pita, Oscar De La Renta, Revlon
