18 posts tagged "Derek Lam"
Bohemian Beauty Rhapsody, Backstage At Derek Lam
“The buzzwords were bohemian, minimalism, structural architecture,” Orlando Pita said backstage at Derek Lam, rattling off a list of inspirational terms the designer had provided him with as a beauty directive for Fall. To Pita, that immediately meant texture. “We’re braiding hair and setting a wave,” he explained, adding extensions to ensure a uniform thickness at the bottom while prepping three-inch-wide sections with Phyto Workable Holding Spray before weaving them into plaits and pressing them with T3′s SinglePass Flat Iron. Nodding to the freewheeling feeling of the late seventies, Pita center-parted strands to “make the face more symmetrical” and ran his fingers through the crimped plackets. Then, taking two pins, he secured front sections behind models’ ears to give the shape a sense of uniformity.
Estée Lauder global Creative Makeup Director Tom Pecheux was speaking to Lam’s aptitude for giving incredibly rich fabrics a sense of casual comfort, which he also related to a bohemian sensibility—one that is rooted specifically in California. “You know when you ask people on the West Coast why they live on the West Coast and they say ‘quality of life’? It’s that kind of feeling,” he explained of the “very minimal” makeup that still managed to have a few complex twists and turns.
Following a massage with Estée Lauder Idealist Even Skintone Illuminator and its DayWear Advanced Multi-Protection Anti-Oxidant Creme, Pecheux created a base with Lauder’s Double Wear Light Stay-in-Place Makeup. “There’s no brow, no mascara, no contours, no highlighting,” he was quick to point out, turning his attention instead to a “stripe of eye shadow” in varying shades of lavender, rose, silver, and gray from Est—e Lauder’s forthcoming Pure Color Instant Intense EyeShadow Trios in Smoked Chrome, Steel Lilacs, and Sterling Plums, concentrating the sheer, shimmering pigment in the center of lids to catch the light on the runway. Lips were slicked with a blend of Lauder’s as-yet-unreleased Pure Color Vivid Shine Lipstick in Burnished Bronze, a sheer caramel, and its Pure Color High Intensity Lip Lacquer in Electric Wine, a deep garnet, before Pecheux pressed them with his fingertips to create a stain. As a finishing touch, he took another finger-dab of its Pure Color Stay-On Shadow Paint in Sinister, a dark black, which he patted onto the center of mouths to simulate “voluptuousness.”
Simple, Soft Beauty Backstage At Derek Lam
Maybe it was the fact that last season’s big, sixties-era undone bouffants met with mixed reviews—or that Spring’s general, minimal-minded beauty mantra is spreading. Whatever it was, Orlando Pita kept the hair backstage at Derek Lam incredibly simple—”relatable,” even, he offered.
The technically gifted hairstylist was more inclined to blame the move toward minimal on the wavering economy—”it’s not really the time to be flashy”—not to mention the state of fashion. “There are all these people now who are practical in the way they design,” he said, running off the list of sartorial stars responsible for the marked change, in his opinion. “Raf Simons is at Christian Dior now; Hedi Slimane at Saint Laurent—and Jil Sander is back at Jil Sander.” Then, of course, there’s Lam—a master in his own right at the simplicity of sportswear. “Derek wanted something that wasn’t referenced,” Pita shared, as he coated hair with Phyto Intense Volume Mousse, blowing it dry for texture and then coating his hands with its Workable Holding Spray before slicking down front pieces from an imperfect side part. Pita used T3′s straightening and styling iron to create loose waves through the lengths, deconstructing them a bit to ensure that the hair never looked “worked on.”
Estée Lauder creative director of makeup Tom Pecheux was going for a similar light-handed approach, despite using a bounty of product. “The only thing we’re not using is mascara!” he said of the fully made-up face that still managed to avoid looking heavy, thanks to Pecheux’s focus on a “see-through,” transparent finish. Prepping skin with Lauder’s Re-Nutriv Intensive Age Renewal Creme, his trusty bottle of its Idealist Even Skintone Illuminator and the new-for-spring Advanced Night Repair Eye Serum Infusion, Pecheux created a base with its Double Wear Light Stay-in-Place Makeup. Contouring with Lauder’s Pure Color Blush in Brazen Bronze instead of a sculpting product, Pecheux moved his focus to the eyes, which were layered with a selection of the brand’s forthcoming Pure Color Stay-On Shadow Paints in Cosmic, Extreme Emerald, Halo, and Steel, a sheer teal/sandy-gold palette Pecheux described as “aqua—like the reflection of sunrise on a lake.” Lips were toned down and arches were beefed up, in accordance with Pecheux’s preference for big, full brows—”I can’t help it,” the face painter joked. As Lam made his way around the room, checking on the pre-show progress, he stopped by Pecheux’s station for a quick hello. “The girls look pretty!” he said. Indeed.
Two Mascaras Are Better Than One
Last season at The Row, Tom Pecheux let us in on a little secret. Rather than stick to one shade of mascara, Estée Lauder’s creative director of makeup prefers to use black on the top lashline, typically only at the roots, and brown on the bottom. “All black is too dense,” he explained, producing a dual-ended prototype product he had designed for the beauty giant that had both lash-amplifying hues in one slim tube. Five months later, that prototype has been given a fancy packaging makeover and an even fancier new name. Lauder’s Sumptuous Two Tone Eye-Opening Mascara debuts in April, but it has already been making a splash backstage, where it was instrumental in creating the “twisted dolls” at Derek Lam. “Black opens the eye and lifts it up, but when you put it on the lower lash, it kills the lift and drags everything down,” Pecheux elaborated yesterday, reserving the glossy, chocolaty pigment for bottom lashes only. Available for preorder on Estée Lauder’s Web site now, there are two other shade combinations for your eye-opening pleasure, including Black and Rich Blue and Black and Rich Plum. We haven’t spied those backstage yet, but with the season’s early influence on eyes, we imagine they’re bound to show up—and soon.
“Twisted” College Coeds, Backstage At Derek Lam
“She’s a little naughty—she likes to break the rules a bit,” coiffing star Orlando Pita said backstage at Derek Lam of the designer’s sixties-era, college coed muse. What kind of rules does she like to break? The decade’s rigid coiffing norms, for starters. “It’s a little bouffant, but not perfectly done,” Pita explained of the high hair, which he slathered with Phyto Professional Intense Volume Mousse and spritzed with its Workable Holding Spray before blowing dry, back-combing, and crafting two different variations on the style, including a faux bob and a low, messy ponytail. “There’s no uniformity,” Pita reaffirmed.
“She has a twisted mind,” Estée Lauder creative makeup director Tom Pecheux said, adding to the character profile. Like Pita, Pecheux chose to keep things almost perfect—creating a flawless base with Lauder’s forthcoming Invisible Fluid Makeup and carving out an “oval” eye using the burgundy and black shades from its new-for-fall, limited-edition Pure Color Eye Shadow Palette, which he emphasized with black mascara on the top lashes and brown on the bottom using his brand-new, dual-ended Sumptuous Two Tone Eye-Opening Mascara. Cheeks were given a pretty wash of rosy-beige pigment with a mix of Estée Lauder’s Pure Color Blush in Alluring Rose and Brazen Bronze, which was dusted below the apples of the cheeks, rather than on top, to slightly contour and prevent a feeling that was “too teen,” according to Pecheux. Lips were painted a similar shade using a blend of its Pure Color Crystal Lipstick in Crystal Pink and its Pure Color Long Lasting Lipstick in Vanilla Truffle that Pecheux matted down—as he’s been wont to do this week—with a finger patting of white powder. But there was one slightly “off” element that helped convey the bad-girl directive Lam had given his glam squad: Pecheux drew lashes onto the skin below the lower eyelid so that the models looked like dolls—”twisted dolls,” he asserted.
Cara Delevingne Takes Manhattan
Since signing on as the face of Burberry a few seasons ago Cara Delevingne has gone from Poppy’s little sister to the girl with the mega brows—in our book at least. Delevingne opened Christopher Bailey’s Spring show in London in a world exclusive for Burberry, but that was last season. And, well, this is this season. After turning up on the Chanel couture runway in January, the 19 year old Brit has officially crossed the pond and is getting ready for a Fall coming out party. “This is my first time in New York. I haven’t done any other seasons ever,” she effused at Rag & Bone after making a runway turn earlier in the day at Jason Wu. “Im so happy to be here—I’ll be doing Paris and Milan, too,” Delevingne explained—after her Burberry exclusive in London, of course. As makeup artist Gucci Westman touched her up last night, we asked Delevingne what she brought with her from home to help keep her complexion in shape for the long road of shows ahead. “I’ve never been very good at taking care of my skin,” she insisted (although her radiant, completely blemish free face suggested otherwise). “I just use Simple Face Wipes and Skinceuticals serum,” she told us. “And my eyebrow gel. I need a shit load of that! I either use MAC or Anastasia—the clear one. I don’t need any more dark in my eyebrows.” Look out for more of Cara and her enviable arches at Carolina Herrera and Derek Lam this week.