18 posts tagged "Aaron De Mey"
“Futuristic Maharaja” Eyes And “Skater Boy” Strands, Backstage At Kenzo
Black cat-eyes—thin flicks of dark pencil drawn across the upper lash line—are a pretty standard maneuver for makeup artists hoping to incite a feeling of classic glamour. But what if you want to accentuate the lids while steering clear of that feeling entirely? “It’s all about the under eye,” according to Aaron de Mey, who used an elongated uptick of MAC Eye Kohl in Smoulder underneath the lower lash line, inside the water line, and in the root of the lashes to get the reverse effect at Kenzo—or a “punky” vibe, as he put it.
“It’s very futuristic maharaja,” de Mey said of the look, citing references ranging from Stanley Kubrick to India as he topped his hand-scrawled stroke with MAC Eyeshadow in Carbon to intensify the darkness of the pigment and its Fluidline in Blacktrack, which was used on the outer corners only to define the straight shape. “It looks strong, direct, and purposeful,” he continued of the graphic element that contrasted with Humberto Leon and Carol Lim’s incredibly rich, colorful collection—as well as skin that de Mey described as “icy” as he used a blend of its Cream Colour Base in Pearl and its Iridescent Powder in Silver Dusk to create dimension on the high planes of the face. Slicking MAC Gloss Texture across lids for a high-shine finish, de Mey concentrated a small dose of it on the center of mouths as well, which had been made slightly smaller with a finger-pressing of foundation around the edges. “It’s like the girls were sucking on ice,” he explained of the technique—which wasn’t too hard to imagine, considering the subarctic chill backstage at La Samaritaine.
“There’s a lot going on,” Anthony Turner confirmed of the bounty of prints and patterns in the clothes, not to mention the large enameled Delfina Delettrez Fendi-designed earrings that dangled from models’ ears. “We wanted to make sure we brought the girls back into the young Kenzo world,” he elaborated of the “cool, downtown, nonchalant” hair he fashioned by coating strands with Moroccanoil Curl Defining Mousse, drying them with his fingers, and then carving out messy side parts. “I was inspired by skater boys—you know, how they put too much product in their hair,” he continued, slathering lengths with its Intense Curl Cream before tucking them behind the ears and simulating a soft, piece-y frizz around the hairline and the crown, so the style felt more organic. “I live in New York,” Turner declared. “I know what this looks like.”
Backstage At L’Wren, Starring Theda Bara
When we arrived backstage at L’Wren Scott this morning, there was a large black-and-white picture of Theda Bara taped up to the wall. “She was one of the first sex symbols,” Lancôme artistic director Aaron De Mey said of the silen- film star. “She’s the person the word ‘vamp’ was coined for—and the woman Scott assigned the title of beauty muse for her Fall show. Working off a sepia image of Bara that boasted a blue tone, De Mey chose to build the screen legend’s classic, round eyes with midnight blue instead of black shadow. “We’re using it as a neutral,” he said of the steely shade of Lancôme’s Le Stylo Waterproof Long Lasting Eye Liner in Minuit, which he drew close to the lash line and up through the crease and then dusted with its Color Design Sensational Effects Eye Shadow in Garment, an equally deep navy, around the edges. To give it a “lived-in” feel, De Mey dotted a clear gloss on the center of the lid. “It’s really all about the eye,” he concluded, beefing up brunettes’ brows with Lancôme’s Le Crayon Poudre in Sable and bleaching blonde models’ arches accordingly.
“It’s one of L’Wren’s favorite colors,” De Mey continued of the prominent blue-black eye pigment—which manicurist Yuna Park capitalized on as well. “It’s custom-made for her show,” Park said of the almost-black, navy polish that was inspired by one of the dresses in Scott’s collection and painted onto both fingers and toes. (Park also hinted that the designer might produce the lacquer if there’s “enough of a demand”).
To finish off the gothic tribute to the twenties, hairstylist Serge Normant created side parts that he treated with a hefty dose of his Meta Lush Volumizer and Meta Luxe Hairspray before back-combing, ironing in a soft Marcel wave and pinning the lengths underneath themselves. Fall’s faux bob strikes again.
The Duchess, Deconstructed Backstage at L’Wren Scott
“It’s a forties-era woman who’s traveled to the French Riviera and has been kissed by the sun,” Lancôme artistic director of makeup Aaron De Mey said of the L’Wren Scott face for Spring. “She’s pretty but she’s not too cosmetic or perfect—she’s a rock ‘n’ roll duchess,” he added. De Mey achieved this ideal by dipping heavily into tawny, earthen tones—mixing shades of Lancôme Teint Miracle Foundation two shades darker than the models’ own skin tones with face moisturizer and sweeping its Star Bronzer in Solaire across the high points of the face to catch the light. On eyes, De Mey drew Lancôme Le Crayon Khol in Black Coffee into the roots of lashes and directly onto the crease, blending it up toward the brows for an I’ve-been-out-all-night smudged effect. He cut the intensity of the liner with dazzling shadows from Lancôme’s 5 Pan Palette in Golden Frenzy, placing metallic pigment into the inner corners and smudging clear gloss (Lancôme Juicy Tubes in Pure) over the lids for a luminous, “deconstructed” effect. A coat of Color Design lipstick in Bronze Show on medium skin and L’Absolu Nu in Satin Toffee on darker complexions provided a rich, chocolate-rosy lip.
Coiffing star Serge Normant played to the deconstructed theme, too, spinning strands into a French twist that looked like it had been hit with a strong gust of wind. “This woman is just getting off the boat,” Normant said (read: yacht). “Her hair is disheveled but it still has an air of sophistication.” He struck that balance by pinning the back portion of hair into the twist but leaving the front out to create finger waves around the face that he misted with his Serge Normant Meta Revive Dry Shampoo, teased, and then brushed for a gauzy texture. “I want to look at the models and still feel the wind blowing through the hair,” he said.
Lancôme Gets All Dolled Up
I try not to play favorites when it comes to products because a big part of my job is to remain open to the countless new lipsticks, blushes, face cleansers, shampoos, and the like that cross my desk on a daily basis. But there are, of course, certain things that have secured permanent places in my makeup bag. Lancôme’s Hypnôse Drama mascara is one of them. As the brand’s artistic director of makeup, Aaron De Mey, pointed out as he swiped stroke after stroke of it onto models’ lids backstage at L’Wren Scott’s Fall show, a “luxurious expensive” lash requires a a dramatic, almost sixties feel—”otherwise, what’s the point?” The slender, curved tube has been my go-to ever since our conversation; panic actually sets in when my supply of the dark, glossy pigment runs out. The last time this happened was a few months back, the same day, ironically, that I was scheduled to review Lancôme’s Fall offerings, which happen to include a new iteration of the trusted original. Hypnôse Doll Lashes employs a patented fiberShine formula that coats, sculpts, curls, and volumizes each individual lash. While it doesn’t thicken quite as well as Hypnôse Drama, it makes up for it with a crazy lengthening ability thanks to a newly designed conical brush tip that allows you to easily maneuver around the little hairs on the inner corners of the eyes and amplify the longer hairs on the outer corners. The result is a flirty, wide-eyed look that is, well, doll-like.
The Pretty Reckless, Backstage At L’Wren Scott
“She wanted something a little disheveled and deconstructed, so I imagined an exaggerated version of her,” celebrity coiffing star Serge Normant said of the texturized, side-sweeping strands he created for L’Wren Scott’s Fall show. “I’m using a lot of my dry shampoo,” Normant added, referring to his recently launched Meta Revive Dry Shampoo with Cedar Bark, which joins a full lineup of eponymous products he now uses exclusively when tending to the tresses of Sarah Jessica Parker, Julia Roberts, and Gisele Bündchen, among other famous heads of hair. Normant’s Meta Lush Volumizer and Meta Sheer Dry Oil Finishing Spray were also in heavy rotation backstage, ensuring that his “loose, second-day hair” didn’t appear too stiff or too dry. “It’s girls who just roll out of bed in the morning—or at night—and just go.”
Lancôme artistic director of makeup Aaron De Mey took a similar inspiration and added Scott’s request for a “dangerous eye,” which yielded, well, Taylor Momsen. “It’s nice to see a teenager experimenting with makeup,” De May said as he sculpted the Gossip Girl‘s signature raccoon eyes onto models’ lids using Lancôme’s Le Crayon Kohl eyeliner in Black Ebony smudged outwards to hold a hefty helping of the black pigment from its Gris Fatale eye shadow palette due out in the fall. “I wanted them to look like femmes fatales—rich, luxurious, and expensive,” De Mey continued, piling layer upon layer of Lancôme’s Hypnôse Drama mascara onto lashes for a clumpy sixties feel. To tone down the Momsen effect just a little, De Mey dabbed Lancôme’s L’Absolu Rouge La Base lip balm onto the tops of models’ cheekbones for a “girly sheen” before swiping it across pouts and blending it with a bit of concealer to make the look “realistic and cooler.” The Pretty Reckless front woman was back in full force with manicurist Yuna Park’s black shimmering nail, though, courtesy of Lancôme’s forthcoming lacquer in Noir 29.