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subscribe to beauty counter blog via RSSByron Williams Loves Lashes, Lips
November 6, 2009 5:02 pm
If you live in L.A. and are remotely beauty-centric, Byron and Tracey is no doubt on your radar. The Beverly Hills salon is a favorite with Jennifer Lopez, Cameron Diaz, and Nicole Richie, among others, and is the brainchild of Redken’s creative consultant for color, Tracey Cunningham, and Byron Williams, who pulls double duty as hairstylist and makeup artist. Williams counts Rachel Zoe as client numero uno and boasts a glossy list of other fans like Amber Valletta, Demi Moore, and Eva Mendes. We caught up with him in New York this week right off the red-eye, after he had primped and primed Valletta for her Spring 2010 Monrow lookbook. “Me and Rachel [Zoe], right now we’re into red lips and a clean eye,” Williams told us, giving a shout-out to NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencils in either Cruella or Dragon Girl. “But it’s all about the lashes.” Williams said he typically eschews the full fake lash in favor of applying single hairs individually. Unable to resist, we asked about Latisse. “I can tell you that it works 100 percent, and that it’s very popular with my clients. I don’t know how it affects everyone, but there are definitely side effects.” (Like it’s reported ability to leave dark skin pigmentation around the eyes and permanent brown color change to irises, yikes.) Before we parted ways, he let us in on what’s next for him and Cunningham. In addition to repackaging their product line, they’re in talks to expand into makeup. Two guesses as to what the collection will focus on.
tags: Byron Williams, Hair, Makeup, Tracey Cunningham
Nail Art, The Show
November 3, 2009 5:18 pm
When I first met Brooklyn-based photographer Molly Surno two years ago, we bonded over being ambiguously ethnic-looking Jewish girls with freckles and a mutual love for nail art, subsequently sharing secret nail salon locations all over Brooklyn, where the manicures are cheap and the nail design is exceptional. On November 5 at Capricious Space in Williamsburg, she’ll be showcasing a host of images and ephemera from the trips she’s taken across the borough, exploring the deep and sometimes spiritual relationship that women have with adornment on the smallest of canvases. In collaboration with seven other artists, Surno has curated NEFER/NFR, a display of photography, sound, sculpture, and installation that takes its name from the Egyptian word nfr, meaning both good and beautiful. The overarching theme is dedicated to unearthing how different beauty rituals help shape cultural identity—and yes, there will be a nail artist standing by on Thursday night to help you further “define” yourself while Luiza Sa from CSS mans the decks.
NEFER/NFR opening reception, Thursday, November 5 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Capricious Space, 103 Broadway, Brooklyn, N.Y., (718) 384-1208.
tags: CSS, Molly Surno, Nails, NEFER/NFR
Winterize Your Hair With Philip Kingsley
November 3, 2009 1:53 pm
Having recently gotten a handle on our winter skincare regimen, we felt it was time to direct our attention due north and deal with matters of the hair. With seasonal issues like scalp flakiness and lack of movement plaguing us lately, we decided to call for reinforcements, i.e., renowned trichologist Philip Kingsley. “Flaky scalps are always at their worst during the winter months,” Kingsley assures us, “but it seems that all types of scalp flakiness are given the generic term ‘dandruff.’ ” According to Kingsley, there are three entirely different causes for the universal issue. First, there’s stress. “There are specific physiological reasons why stress can cause flaky and itchy scalps,” he says, “and since stress levels are higher [in the winter] due to the miserable weather, they definitely influence the degree of flakiness.” Food can also be an issue, maintains the coif master. “Too much dairy, white wine, or highly spiced foods can aggravate the tendency as well,” he explains. And last but not least, environmental stressors—like an unbearable wind chill factor—and using the wrong product can exacerbate your symptoms as well. You don’t have to relocate to a more relaxing, warmer climate or stick to a macrobiotic diet to remedy the problem, though. “Eating oily foods like salmon, sardines, mackerel, and olive oil can help,” Kingsley offers, but for a quick fix, try a scalp treatment, like his Scalp Tonic for Flaky, Itchy Scalps, and switch to a more moisturizing conditioner and styling aid, like his Elasticizer, which, when used on a weekly basis, will help minimize dryness and restore shine and bounce. Consider us on it.
tags: Elasticizer, Hair, Philip Kingsley, Scalp Tonic for Flaky Itchy Scalps
Hair’em, Scare’em, And Flip The Page
November 2, 2009 3:03 pm
Forget oil pastels and watercolors. Hair is emerging as both artistic medium and muse of late. Between architectural experiments on the runway and recent films like Chris Rock’s Good Hair, shiny, frizzy, straight, and curly strands alike are taking center stage. Hair’em Scare’em (Gestalten, 2009) will be released stateside this month and aims to add to this increasingly popular discourse with 224 pages of artistic expression in graphic, interior, fashion, and jewelry design as well as photography and illustration. Particularly entertaining are an image of a horse head with Bettie Page-style bangs and a curled-under mane, a necklace with false eyelashes as charms, and an intricately arranged bouquet of extensions, perched in a crystal vase and displayed as a centerpiece. You’ll never look at your own mop top the same way again.
tags: Chris Rock, Good Hair, Hair, Hair'em Scare'em
A Streak Of Genius?
October 30, 2009 5:56 pm
Ever since I saw Proenza Schouler’s show back in September, I’ve been secretly contemplating dying my hair green or purple for the day. Forget that the last time I entertained similarly questionable thoughts, I was still in high school; the surfer-girls-gone-bad who walked the Proenza runway looked so groovy with their rainbow-colored streaks that I’m almost convinced that showing up at the office in a shade of aubergine instead of my usual, more low-key highlights is totally legit. But then reality sets in and I lose my nerve. Today, however, the voices in my head are back. “Halloween is quickly approaching,” they’re saying. “Don’t you want to match your daughter’s purple tutu with a splash of color of your own?” And I do! So tomorrow, I will be purchasing a can of Fun Colors Hairspray and giving it a go. Whether or not the streaks stay in on Monday remains to be seen.
tags: Fun Colors Hairspray, Hair, Proenza Schouler
Studio Beauty Channel: All The Cool Kids Are Watching It
October 29, 2009 5:56 pm
When Studio Beautymix at Fred Segal went digital earlier this year, bringing its well-edited stash of cosmetics, skincare, and fragrance to the Internet masses, beauty junkies living outside the Santa Monica area rejoiced. But founder Robin Coe-Hutshing and newly named CEO Nicole Ostoya weren’t content to stop at e-commerce. Tired of what they’ve termed “plasticized beauty,” the women wanted to broadcast the store’s quirky retail experience worldwide. Introducing Studio Beauty Channel, a Web portal that goes live today and offers a window into the undeniably cool products for sale at Studio Beautymix and the painfully hip people who are wearing them. Produced by New York-based documentary filmmaker Crystal Moselle and writer/blogger Aviva Yael, the site is essentially a series of video vignettes that feature New York and L.A. scenesters playing with makeup. In “The Kiss Off Series,” author and Chloë Sevigny bestie Lesley Arfin tests out the opacity and wearability of DuWop’s new Dark Red lipstick during a PG makeout session with boyfriend and rapper Machine; “The Mascara Cry Test” features aspiring actress and imboycrazy.com blogger Alexi Wasser, challenging Stila Lash Visor to the emotional roller-coaster that is the movie Closer. Aside from innovative product testing techniques, the site will also offer a cultural collision of makeup and music, showcasing backstage face-painting rituals with up-and-coming girl bands and insider interviews with artists like L.A. Ladies’ Choir, a women’s singing collective that counts model Frankie Rayder as a member. It sure beats plain old online shopping.
See more videos at Studio Beauty Channel
tags: Alfred Hitchcock, Arrojo Studio, DuWop, Frankie Rayder, Makeup, Robin Coe-Hutshing, Stila, Studio Beautymix
Beauty Booty: Get A Lashing From YSL
October 27, 2009 5:45 pm
What: Personalized holiday beauty makeovers courtesy of YSL Beauté in celebration of the launch of its new Mascara Singulier.
When: Monday, November 2, through Saturday, November 7, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily
Where: Bergdorf Goodman, 754 Fifth Avenue, Beauty Level, between 57th and 58th streets
Why: Since parting with our lash extensions last summer and facing the grim reality that Prescriptives Motor-Eyes is now discontinued, we’ve taken solace in this gold-encrusted tube. It comes in four shades and makes for some seriously long, dark, prescription-free fringe (with no adverse side effects). As an added bonus, if you go on the 6th or 7th, your face painter will be YSL national makeup artist Dell Ashley. A $25 reservation fee redeemable in product is required and space is limited, so call (212) 872-8654 to schedule an appointment.
tags: Dell Ashley, Makeup, Mascara Singulier, Prescriptives Motor-Eyes, YSL Beaut�
Alex Box, In Pictures
October 26, 2009 11:01 am
As the creative director behind Illamasqua and Gareth Pugh’s go-to makeup artist, Alex Box isn’t really known for her way with the “natural look.” Case in point: For Pugh’s Spring presentation, Box sent ashen gray faces onto the runway, with red eyes for that extra touch of creepy. Her unique ability to turn cosmetics into conceptual art went on display at Kentish Town’s newly opened Annroy Gallery last week, where Box, clad in a black-and-white sequined Pugh number—with top hat— was on hand to celebrate the launch of her eponymous book with famed photographer Rankin. Shutterbug, publisher, film director, and co-creator of Dazed & Confused, Rankin collaborated with Box on a large-format glossy hardcover devoted to exposing the line where makeup and art are blurred. Box uses paint, pigment, brushes, pens, and pencils to create everything from three-dimensional monochrome faces to precise geometric designs, sculptural clown makeup, and everything in between. Each page is more shockingly beautiful than the next, and will definitely liven up your current coffee-table offerings.
Alex Box (Turnaround, 2009), £50.00, www.turnaround-uk.com
tags: Alex Box, Gareth Pugh, Illamasqua, Makeup, Rankin
The Citizens Band Finds Beauty In The Recession
October 23, 2009 2:03 pm
The Citizens Band’s performances have come to represent more than just an opportunity to see well-choreographed political satire in cabaret form. The singing, dancing, and acrobatic extravaganza that stars a rotating cast of a few of our favorite fashion and Hollywood notables has become something of a beauty showcase as well. Backstage, James Boehmer, international lead stylist for NARS Cosmetics, is frequently charged with crafting dramatic makeup schemes to help further the plot line of each show. For “The Debt Rattle”, the Citizens’ eighth original show, which premiered last night at the Henry Street Settlement and runs through Saturday, Boehmer transformed the likes of Sarah Sophie Flicker, Karen Elson, and Zoë Kravitz into Depression-era ragamuffins who have taken shelter from the economic storm in an auditorium promising food, warmth, and prize money if they can best their competitors. To translate all of that into cosmetic form, Boehmer took inspiration from illustrations of 1920’s Paris burlesque girls, Weimar Berlin, and a little Jane Fonda. “The show borrows from the Jane Fonda movie They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? about a desperate dance marathon during the Depression, so we decided to make everyone a bit tired around the eyes,” Boehmer explained. This meant starting individual eye makeup applications with a black base using NARS Cream Eyeshadow in Zardos and adding definition with a black pencil. To sculpt and highlight the area, Boehmer then added shimmery and glittery colors on top so they would “pop,” like NARS new Soft Touch Shadow Pencils in Aigle Noir, a gold-flecked onyx, and Goddess, a glistening pink Champagne. “I’m obsessed with Biba,” Boehmer added. “So there are elements of that in the makeup, too. It’s all about reinterpreting great heroines of the past—Theda Bara, Garbo, Jean Harlow—but with a late-1960’s spin.” As for the skin, Boehmer did a lot of shaping and sculpting with NARS Multiple Bronzer and opted for Velvet Matte Lip Pencils over lipstick for added staying power. The rest is just showmanship. “Add some glitter, sequins, rhinestones, false eyelashes and then it starts to feel about right!” Click here for show times and ticket information.
tags: James Boehmer, Jane Fonda, Karen Elson, Nars, Sarah Sophie Flicker, Weimar Berlin, Zo� Kravitz
Halloween Makeup For Minimalists
October 20, 2009 2:52 pm
Halloween is quickly approaching, and with it the anxiety of what to “be.” For us, the thrill of dressing up wore off roughly ten years ago, although due to peer pressure from other, more passionate revelers, we still try come October 31. Doing something conceptual—wearing a foreclosure sign and going as the Recession, for example—earns you clever points, and putting together a sexy insert-anything-from-devil-to-nurse-here gives you clearance to try out next season’s hot pants trend early. But working a face full of high-art makeup can also be a simple way to avoid being branded a pumpkin party pooper. The backstage look at Threeasfour provided us with some early inspiration, and now Shu Uemura has stepped in with a few of its own face-painting ideas courtesy of principal makeup artist Jason Hoffman. One such “costume” is Hoffman’s Lorelei, an interpretation of the German folklore legend of a beautiful maiden who threw herself into a river due to a faithless lover and spent her afterlife luring sailors to their death along the Rhine. A thorny floral eye patch might not be sufficient for the fake-blood wearing set, but it’s A-OK by us. Watch Hoffman create the look here, and head over to Shu Uemura’s Web site, where you can score a free set of lashes through the end of the month with any purchase of $75 or more. Just enter the promo code “Halloween” and head to all forthcoming fright fests knowing that you’ve made an effort.
tags: Jason Hoffman, Shu Uemura, Threeasfour
