28 posts tagged "CND"
R.I.P Nail Art?
Much to our chagrin, the Spring manicure mania that persisted through the Fall shows in New York and London died down a bit in Milan and has been nearly nonexistent in Paris. Save for a few Sophy Robson sightings (at Loewe and then at Emanuel Ungaro this morning—more on that in a bit), it’s been a pretty polish-less week. Nude doesn’t have to mean nothing, though—nor does it have to mean a return to the days when ballerina pink varnishes were the benchmark for nail creativity. Over the past few days, we’ve spied a few standout flesh-toned lacquers that are worth your consideration as far as looking chic is concerned—a word that has become one of the season’s definitive descriptors. Yesterday at Jean Paul Gaultier, nail techs were busy applying two coats of Dior Vernis in Beige Safari, a creamy sheer sand that completed the designer’s quest for frigid, bourgeois beauties. Next up was CND’s Cream Washed which, as its name suggests, added a hint of uniform lightness to nails at Giambattista Valli, where the designer gave his glam squad three inspirational buzz words: “graphic, sculptural, and androgynous.” Tonight at Yves Saint Laurent, it was much of the same. To add subdued sophistication to Guido Palau’s boyish buns and Pat McGrath’s super saturated violet lip (violet! Stay tuned for the full report), nail artist Anny Errandonea employed two coats of YSL La Laque No. 14 Transparent Pink for a minimal, but beautifully lacquered nail. (The color is unfortunately not available in the States but the brand’s Nail Touch Lacquer Pen Brush in Beige Touch should do you just fine.) We’re not quite ready to usher in the end of the nail art movement in favor of a full-on embrace of muted colors, but we will admit that these polishes looked pretty damn good on the runway.
Karlie Kloss Talks Lacquer Love
Karlie Kloss is probably best known for those brow-tastic Marc Jacobs campaigns and her impressive stature. At 5′ 11″, the Midwesterner towers over many of her cohorts, kicking her long legs out in front of her body for one of the most mind-boggling walks in the biz. Believe it or not, Kloss is also one hell of a good hand model. “I love nail polish,” Kloss revealed to us backstage at Donna Karan yesterday, where we snapped her in Deborah Lippmann’s Shape of My Heart, an opaque pastel pink lacquer, only a few short hours after she was spotted showcasing CND’s Dark Ruby at Carolina Herrera. “I love a bright red,” she said of her color of choice—”like an obnoxiously bright red. It’s like red lipstick; no matter what you’re wearing it makes you feel like Jerry Hall!” Kloss’ crimson wishes came true this morning at Rodarte’s prairie girls-inspired show, where Lippmann made a repeat appearance toting Jessica Rabbit, a scarlet sequins varnish that only Kloss and Kansas-born Lindsey Wixson were treated to. When we asked Kloss about her thoughts on nails’ newfound importance on the runway, she gushed. “It’s genius. It makes so much more of a statement than plain polish.” Her favorite ten-piece statement so far? CND’s deep bordeaux manis with extended gold smile lines at Jason Wu. “I saved them!”
Things Get Opulent Backstage At Jason Wu
Makeup artist Tom Pecheux told us that metallics would be huge for Fall when we ran into him this morning, and they’ve already made two appearances today. The first was courtesy of Pecheux himself on cheeks and lips at Peter Som; the second came a few short hours later in the models’ hair at Jason Wu. “We are working on simplicity and elegance,” coiffing star Odile Gilbert said of her sleek updos, which featured a wide paintbrush-stroke of gold leaf pigment, designed to resemble a feather. Prepping hair with Aveda Smooth Infusions Style-Prep Smoother, Gilbert parted hair down the center before securing it in a ponytail above the nape of the neck with a clear elastic. Gathering the lengths, Gilbert twisted two sections together, folding them back into the base for a looped effect. “Jason was really inspired by the restoration of Versailles this season,” makeup artist Diane Kendal offered up as the reason behind Gilbert’s gilded hair streak and her own “rich, opulent eye,” which was the focus of the face. On clean skin, Kendal smudged MAC’s eye shadow in Smothered, a creamy blue pigment that’s new for Fall, across lids before blending it with MAC Through The Night eye shadow, a navy powder, on the inner and outer corners. Then, to add a bit of drama, she dragged its eye shadow in Carbon, a velvety black, downward at the outer corners. MAC eye liner in Marine Ultra sculpted both lash lines, while a dollop of Pigment in Old Gold in the center of the eye and in the inner corners added a luminescent glow. A few strokes of MAC Haute & Naughty mascara and a round of brow-bleaching kept things super-luxurious, but still modern. The same sensibility translated to nails, where CND’s Jan Arnold was on hand to show off pre-painted sets of deep burgundy polish accented with almond-shaped, gold-painted tips. That’d be one coat of CND Dark Ruby, topped off with one coat of Bloodline, followed by an elongated stroke of its Gold Chrome across the “smile line,” for those of you looking to play Jason Wu at home.
Grammy Beauty: And the Nominees Are…
Fashion week may be dominating the style set’s attention right now, but come Sunday, the spotlight will shift to the music world as the Grammys get under way. A grandiose excuse for overexposed pop stars (and their labels) to pat each other on the back, the awards show does offer up a welcome and amusing respite from the serious styles of the Oscars and its film-focused cohorts. Glitter makeup, elaborate nail design, and a lot of wigs will presumably hit the red carpet. In anticipation of the big event, we tracked down some of the nominees’ go-to primping experts to get an insider’s look at what we can expect to see this weekend. All you have to do is press play.
Nails’ New Naked Ambition
Sand, flesh, taupe—whatever you want to call it, the nail color that cropped up on many a fingertip at the Spring 2011 collections wasn’t much of a color at all. At Marc Jacobs, Creative Nail Design crafted foundation-hued manicures; at Narciso Rodriguez, Deborah Lippmann topped beige nails with a coat of shiny shimmer; at Erin Fetherston, the polish of choice was Dashing Diva’s Chelsea in the Buff; and at Prabal Gurung, the glimmering nude Without a Stitch from the designer’s collection for Sally Hansen was accented by a narrow stripe of coral. This new breed of nail lacquers is a big departure from Spring’s traditional candy colors, but after many months of crimsons, purples, and grays, it’s a welcome palette cleanser. Along with go-to barely-there shades like NARS Candy Darling and Butter London’s Yummy Mummy (Alexander Wang’s backstage favorite), there are three new options to consider. Deborah Lippmann’s Naked is, as the name implies, a clean beige; it graced nails at both ADAM and Richie Rich, where it received a black accent nail (obviously). Creative Nail Design’s Perfectly Bare Pair is a limited-edition duo of perfect, peach-tinted lacquers in cream and shimmering finishes that can be worn alone or in tandem. And Essie’s Sand Tropez is a warm limestone that will no doubt prove to be an easy transition for all you greige devotees. Sometimes, it’s the most subtle statements that speak the loudest.
Deborah Lippmann Naked lacquer, $16, www.deborahlippmann.com; Creative Nail Design Perfectly Bare Pair, $20, www.cnd.com; Essie Sand Tropez, $8, at salons nationwide.