14 posts tagged "Ashley Olsen"
EXCLUSIVE: Talking Shop With Mary-Kate And Ashley’s Mane Man
“I was away for the weekend so I raced over to her apartment to see it this morning,” Mark Townsend told us last night, referring to the fresh brunette dye job that Mary-Kate Olsen debuted at the CFDA Awards. “I think she was just ready for a change,” Townsend surmised, gushing over the chocolaty brown shade Olsen chose with celebrity colorist Harry Josh. “I don’t think Mary-Kate or Ashley ever makes really rash decisions. They have really clear ideas. [No one] is more aware of their own sense of style. That’s why they’re nominated for a CFDA.”
Now they’re CFDA winners. The sister duo took home top honors at Lincoln Center, beating out Marc Jacobs and Proenza Schouler to snag the Womenswear Designer of the year prize—and they looked good doing it, thanks in part to Townsend, their longtime hairstylist. “They are blessed with some really good hair naturally. I can’t sit here and take credit for it,” Townsend said humbly. But it’s his well-trained hands that often help the girls realize their coiffing potential.
“I think this was the first time I’ve really pushed Mary-Kate,” Townsend determined of the pin-straight, middle-parted down do Olsen wore with her black The Row ensemble. “I wanted [her hair] to reflect the light,” he continued, explaining that he simply coated her strands with Dove Nutritive Therapy Nourishing Oil Care, applied heat, and flat-ironed just the mid-lengths. The secret step to ensuring a super-sleek finish? A few spritzes of Dove Extra Hold Hairspray on a wooden toothbrush. “It takes out any flyaways around the part or hairline,” he says.
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EXCLUSIVE: Ashley And Mary-Kate, The Hair Breakdown
Last night, at Barneys’ launch party for The Row handbags, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen showed up armed with their own designs in matching aqua crocodile—and their go-to coiffeur, Mark Townsend. The sisters, who are blonder than usual for summer, wore similar hairstyles as well—long and languid, with identical middle parts. But there was one distinct difference: “I styled Ashley’s hair in a way I very rarely do,” Townsend reports. “Straight.” Coating Olsen’s damp locks with Dove Nourishing Oil, Townsend applied heat using a large round brush (“I swear by Spornette porcupine brushes,” he told us). Once moisture was removed, Townsend flat-ironed the bottom six inches of Ashley’s corn-silk strands, spritzing her roots with Suave Dry Shampoo to add texture and volume. As for Mary-Kate, who rocked her signature beachy waves, Townsend used the same Dove Nourishing Oil treatment, adding a dollop of Dove Body and Lift mousse during the blow-out phase. Next, he wrapped a one-inch curling iron with hairspray-doused sections before finger-combing for piece-y definition. The finishing touch came by way of scrunching from the ends to the mid-lengths with a hefty helping of dry shampoo and a halo of Oribe Soft Lacquer hair spray to “keep it frizz-free on a hot and humid Manhattan evening.”
NYFW Backstage Beauty Alert: MAC’s Latest Coup
We’re waiting on a few key invites, but we’d say 60 percent of our backstage show schedule is already confirmed—and there are some noteworthy developments. Topping the list is news that The Row has signed up none other than Tom Pecheux and MAC for its September 14 show, replacing Lancôme, which sponsored the Olsens’ runway debut last season. If precedent proves correct, the Tom + Ashley + Mary-Kate equation will likely produce some makeup magic. MAC has an even bigger coup in the making, but we’re not presently at liberty to discuss it. When we are, though, you’ll be the first to know.
Mark T Beauty: All The A-Listers Are Doing It
If you ask us, there are two kinds of blogs in the world. The essential—those would be of the fashion, gossip, and cooking varieties, natch—and the gratuitous, i.e., those devoted to personal vacation pictures, cat diaries, and hard news (just kidding). Hairstylist-to-the-stars Mark Townsend’s new online destination belongs to the former for two reasons: It’s beauty-centric, which makes it instrumental to our lives, and it provides the one thing that a lot of other, similar sites can’t: access. Townsend’s roster of clients reads like a paparazzo’s dream come true. He’s the one who gave Glee star Lea Michele her face-framing bangs, and he cut Ashley Olsen’s flaxen locks into the asymmetrical bob that she sported to last year’s CFDA Awards (which we promptly copied). Jessica Biel, meanwhile brought him to the MTV Movie Awards and to the Today show just this week alone. And the Revlon spokeswoman returned the favor last night, by showing up at the Smyth Hotel in Tribeca to toast the official launch of his digital endeavor, Mark T Beauty. “Online is the future,” Townsend told us. “I’m doing approachable beauty and making sure we’re talking to the absolute authorities.” Authorities like makeup artist Rachel Goodwin and stylist Estee Stanley, both of whom have worked on original editorial shoots that are now available for viewing on Townsend’s site. “We’re trying to create the fantasy, and then show how it can be featured in real life,” he noted, pointing out that hair and makeup how-tos and product recommendations are provided for every photo shoot he posts. It’s his blog that most interests us, though, as it’s filled with first-person accounts from the red-carpet front lines that provide the instant gratification of knowing right away exactly how Ms. Biel gets her bouncy blow-out. For those of you craving more behind-the-scenes footage, video vignettes start next month.
Ashley Olsen’s Thin Black Line
Despite occasional experimentation with lipstick and hair dye, the Olsens’ beauty mantra has characteristically been eyes-only—specifically smoky, smudged, and usually framed by some seriously bushy brows. Last night at the Belvedere Pink Grapefruit pop-up shop party in New York, Ashley demonstrated her affection for black liner, which she took all around her lids to make her blue/green doll eyes appear even bigger than they actually are. The effect was simple and chic with a tiny bit of an edge—in other words, vintage Olsen. What do you think of the look?