7 posts tagged "Didier Malige"
Considering Crimson, Again
Red lips are a dime a dozen these days. From the runway to the red carpet, and increasingly in the real world, they’ve regained their previous icon status, becoming a—nay, the—culture-crossing beauty statement of the last few years. So how do you update something that has, in its ubiquity, become almost ordinary? You make it complicated—really, really complicated. Or so the thinking went backstage at Kenneth Cole Collection, a comeback show for the designer, where makeup artist Romy Soleimani used not one, not two, but five different products to create a series of diffused “New York urban” mouths. Lining lips with MAC Lip Pencil in Nightmoth, a dark raisin (that’s one), Soleimani filled them in with a blend of its Lipstick in Cyber, a deep blackberry, at the corners (that’s two) and Ruby Woo, a true scarlet, in the center (that’s three). She then framed pouts with another etching of MAC Lip Pencil in Cherry along the perimeter (that’s four), going back in with its Chromagraphic Pencil in Black Black in the corners (that’s five), before using a lip brush to blend the mix of pigments, creating an ombré effect. Add to that hairstylist Didier Malige’s slicked-back coifs that relied on Jonathan Product’s Silky Dirt Shine & Define Crème for a super-sleek finish, and the new-era red lip became the focal point of the face—and our renewed interest in the crimson institution.
She’s Come Undone: “Mean” Makeup And Undone Hair At Prabal Gurung
Prabal Gurung’s Great Expectations-inspired collection made for an interesting backstage beauty muse. “She’s a lovely, romantic girl on her way to becoming a nasty witch,” said makeup artist Tom Pecheux. This meant buffed, porcelain skin and what Pecheux described as a “mean eye,” which centered on a diffused smokiness that was much more concentrated on the inner corners of the eye and dragged up toward the brow bone using MAC’s forthcoming Pro Longwear Eye Shadow in Legendary, a black powder with a hint of gold shimmer. Brows were filled in and left full while lashes were kept natural and devoid of mascara. The finishing touch came via MAC Lipstick in One of a Kind, a nude pink that’s new for fall, which Pecheux applied to models’ mouths and on top of eyelids. “It catches the light and looks romantic, but it could also look like she has an eye infection,” he quipped. Frédéric Fekkai hairstylist Didier Malige was going for something unkempt and “bohemian” with accents of pink or blue streaks buried beneath a mass of texture—a look he made famous back in 2009 when it first premiered at Proenza Schouler’s Spring 2010 show.
Prepping hair with Fekkai’s Coiff Oceanique Tousled Wave Spray, Malige added larger waves up front while keeping the back slightly ratted, as though “she’d slept on it last night.” It was a big departure from last season’s sleek silhouette, but one that worked surprisingly well with the déshabillé feel of Gurung’s clothes.
Backstage At Thakoon, A Sprinkle Of Fairy Dust
Aside from a wealth of chignons and a vacillation between middle and deep side parts, another burgeoning hair trend we’ve been noticing this week is texture. Bumble and Bumble’s Laurent Philippon advocated for his “mix of the season” at Peter Som and Malandrino, saturating tresses with Bumble and Bumble’s Prep and its Surf Spray for matte separation, and at Thakoon, hairstylist Didier Malige headed in a similar direction. It wasn’t as textured as, say, the surfer girl look that he branded at Proenza Schouler for Spring 2010, but rather more of a “natural texture,” he said—with a “fairy element.” Less undone wave-rider, and more mercurial nymph, which Malige achieved using a hefty helping of Frédéric Fekkai’s Coiff Bouffant Lifting and Texturizing Spray Gel at the roots for a slight lift and its Océanique Tousled Wave Spray on the mid-lengths through the ends before diffusing with a blow-dryer. Makeup artist Diane Kendal was going for a similarly enchanted look. “It’s glowing from within,” she said of her face-painting technique, which focused on a strong eye, sculpted cheeks, and full brows. After contouring with NARS’ Laguna bronzer and a dusting of its Etrusque Single Eyeshadow—a gold pigment used to highlight around the cheekbones—Kendal directed her attention to the eyes, using a range of metallic gold and brown pigments that were layered on lids. NARS Soft Touch Shadow Pencil in Hollywood Land, a cream-based pigment, was used to hold gilded shades from its Calanque Trio and Cordura Duo Eyeshadows, before brows were treated to a good filling-in courtesy of the brand’s eyeshadow in Bali. Perhaps most exciting to the lipstick lovers of the world—who’ve had plenty to gush over so far this season—was the nude pout Kendal built using Madere, a new shade of NARS’ popular Pure Matte Lipsticks, layered with Hopi—another new product from its forthcoming Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil collection. We’ll see you at the retail counter in February.
Warhol, Alive And Kicking at Victoria Beckham
Alexander Wang’s Jean-Michel Basquiat beauty reference is getting company this week from another art star: That would be Andy Warhol, whose colorful, silk-screened portraits of Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor inspired makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury at Victoria Beckham’s presentation (and James Kaliardos at DVF a few hours later). Tilbury layered two of Lancôme’s Color Design Eye Shadows in Trendy and Drama for a violet lid of epic proportions—we’re talking full-on lash line to brow ridge coverage. Adding to the Factory-era feel was a precise black liner job with a flick on the end, which she meticulously drew on with Lancôme’s Artline in Noir, and a few brushstrokes of its Hypnôse Custom Volume Mascara. Lips were painted a creamy shade of nude with the French beauty brand’s L’Absolu Rouge Lipstick in Rich Cashmere, topped off with a thick layer of its Juicy Tubes in Pure, a clear gloss. Frédéric Fekkai coif master Didier Malige picked up right where Tilbury left off with a statement sixties middle part (if they’re not deep and to the side, tresses have been split in the center so far this season). Prepping hair with Fekkai’s Advanced Full Volume Styling Whip to add some thickness before tucking it behind models’ ears, Malige fashioned an unexpected crimp across the back mid-lengths using a curling iron. It provided a nice shot of modernity to an otherwise retro look.
Surfer Girls, Still Bro’ing Down At Proenza
The colored hair streaks that Didier Malige created backstage at Proenza Schouler last season have been seriously influential, turning up on runways from Milan and Paris to Brazil, not to mention in countless editorial spreads and at red-carpet events. But apparently, the hairstylist hadn’t noticed. “I just heard,” he said modestly when we asked him if he knew his handiwork had such staying power. While there was no purple or turquoise dye in his arsenal last night, he didn’t stray too far from the surfer-chic styles that were such a hit for Spring. “We’re doing ‘urban surfer girls’ for Fall—surfers in the winter who are off duty,” he explained, coating models’ hair with a combination of Frédéric Fekkai’s Coiff Oceanique Tousled Wave Spray and Coiff Bouffant Lifting/Texturizing Spray Gel before drying it, using his fingers to comb and twist for texture. Makeup artist Diane Kendal worked off an image of Kristen McMenamy in the early nineties, which meant a sculpted cheek (one that Kendal created using MAC’s Studio Finish Concealer in varying shades to contrast with models’ natural skin color), a greasy brown eye, and two different strong lips. Blondes got a deep aubergine shade courtesy of MAC’s Smoked Purple lipstick, while brunettes sported Charred Red, a deep crimson color that Kendal mixed with a black eye shadow for a burnt effect. Don’t be surprised if everyone starts biting off the technique come September.