39 posts tagged "Gucci Westman"
Banana Liner 2.0
Banana liner—or banane, as François Nars often refers to the single arched pencil etching that is customarily drawn through the crease of the eye, en Français—is a classic sixties-era makeup mainstay. You may remember seeing it last season at Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, and Moschino, when the decade experienced its latest resurgence. But there is a way to modernize the popular lid embellishment, as we learned from Gucci Westman at Rag & Bone’s Fall show—and makeup artist Polly Osmond in the new issue of Numéro. “The typical sixties shape starts closer to the nose,” Westman explained backstage in New York, choosing to start her stroke toward the center of the eye and drag it straight out toward the temple, rather than in a more perfect crescent shape. For her part, Osmond went the other direction, starting her line almost on top of model Nadja Bender’s nose and keeping it soft and slightly diffused. “This feels more obscure,” Westman said of the benefits of experimenting with newfangled approaches to old techniques—and making them seem new again in the process.
Backstage At Oscar de la Renta, Four Looks Are Better Than One
Oscar de la Renta gave makeup artist Gucci Westman and hairstylist Orlando Pita a challenge this season: to create four different hair-and-makeup looks instead of the requisite one. “Oscar’s collection has four very different sections, and we really wanted the hair and makeup to reflect that,” Westman explained backstage, giving every girl the dewy, glow-y skin the Revlon artistic director has become known for, with perfectly highlighted contours courtesy of Revlon’s Illuminance Crème Shadow in Not Just Nudes, before starting in on each different look.
First out was the Faye Dunaway-inspired matte-orange lip, which Westman created by mixing Revlon’s ColorStay Ultimate Suede Lipsticks in It Girl and Front Row. “She has a major mouth,” Westman boasted, pairing the mandarin pout with hairstylist Orlando Pita’s extra-loose ponytails with wispy strands that escaped toward the front, “as if the girls have been running.”
Then came the Kate Moss impersonators—a favorite muse for Westman, who often culls reference points from Moss’ nineties-era heyday. “She’s channeling the nineties with a nude, heavily lined lip,” Westman explained, rimming lips with Revlon ColorStay Lipliner in Natural, before double-timing its Illuminance Crème Shadow in Not Just Nudes as a lipstick. Here, Pita constructed perfectly disheveled waves—a Moss signature.
Next up was the “chinoiserie” section—or “East Asian jet set,” as Westman further described the red metallic lip she created using four different shades of lipstick, depending on the model, including Revlon ColorStay Ultimate Suede Lipstick in Trendsetter and Finale, as well as its Super Lustrous Lipstick in Cherries in the Snow and Cherry Blossom. “There’s a fragility to her pout,” Westman noted as Pita implemented a “lazy loop,” which he finished off with an Oscar de la Renta jewel.
Lastly came the “gypsy girls,” according to Westman, who were meant to look sufficiently travel worn with super-dark smoky eyes and mulberry-stained mouths. “The gypsy girl is almost greasy-looking,” she explained, fashioning a wet dark eye against paled-out skin. “I’m making the eye matte at first, then adding a layer of Revlon’s Super Lustrous Lipgloss in Shine City so lids are shiny just before the girls walk.” The greasy finish extended to the hair as well, as Pita slicked back twenties-inspired finger waves that were matted to the side, as though the girls had started a sophisticated style but never followed through with it. If you caught a glimpse of a technique that Pita and makeup artist Pat McGrath made famous backstage at Christian Dior under John Galliano’s reign, your eyes were not deceiving you. That Mr. Galliano, who recently completed a residency in Mr. de la Renta’s studio, was actually standing backstage to take it all in only served to further the would-be homage.
Backstage At Rag & Bone, Sixties Beauty With a Modern Twist
Backstage at Rag & Bone, all of the usual beauty suspects seemed to be present and accounted for: Black eyeliner? Check. Texturized, broken-up hair? You bet. But there was something decidedly different guiding their execution for Fall. “The mood board was all sixties,” makeup artist Gucci Westman revealed, explaining the absence of the grunge-heroine influence that often guides the look at David Neville and Marcus Wainwright’s shows. “We had to evolve someday. We couldn’t do Kate Moss forever,” the Revlon global artistic director joked.
But the classic downtown cool-girl code that has long reigned here was not gone—far from it. “This felt more obscure,” Westman explained of the thin banana liner she was drawing through the crease of models’ eyes with an uncharacteristically elongated stroke of Revlon ColorStay Liquid Eye Pen in Blackest Black and its ColorStay Crème Gel Liner in Black. “The typical sixties shape starts closer to the nose,” she continued, pointing out that in contrast, her etchings began about a quarter of an inch from the inner corner of the eye and extended out toward the temple. “We want [the girls to feel pretty],” Westman continued, insisting that both the top and bottom lashes were slicked with Revlon PhotoReady 3D Volume Mascara in Blackest Black but that no fake lashes were used, to keep things authentic. Arches were groomed with Revlon Brow Fantasy pencils while lips were bumped up a touch with its ColorStay Ultimate Suede Lipstick in Supermodel, a sheer mauve-berry.
Guido Palau echoed the sixties feeling by starting off the Fall show where he left off for Spring and sculpting a super-deep side part. “It’s almost like a comb-over,” the Redken creative consultant pointed out as he prepped strands with Redken Guts 10 Volume Spray Foam Mousse to create grip before applying its Power Refresh 01 Aerosol Hair Powder through the lengths for a matte finish. “A regular side part seems sophisticated, but a deep side part is boyish and also has a rebellious feel,” Palau offered, spritzing Redken Quick Tease 15 Backcombing Finishing Spray through the lengths and gathering them into a ponytail before securing a “spiky bun.” Your classic Twiggy homage, this was not.
“Raw But Beautiful” Hair And Makeup, Backstage At Rag & Bone
“Their girl, she doesn’t do a lot with her hair,” Guido Palau said backstage of David Neville and Marcus Wainwright’s Rag & Bone woman who, truth be told, typically favors a naturally languid, bed-head look. For Spring, the story wasn’t really that different. “It’s masculine/feminine, wet/dry, nineties minimalism,” Palau explained of the slicked-back in the front, rough-dried in the back hair he conceived with the designers. A dual texture was key to the look, which the Redken creative consultant prepped with its Guts 10 Volume Spray Foam Mousse, adding a finger-combed bend with Sultra’s The Bombshell oval curling iron before coating front panels with Redken’s Hardwear 16 Super Strong Sculpting Gel.
Makeup artist Gucci Westman kept things dually natural with “raw but beautiful” skin and an “androgynous” brow. Road-testing Revlon’s forthcoming PhotoReady BB Cream for a breathable application of light, complexion-enhancing coverage, the Revlon global artistic director dabbed her new-for-Spring Baby Stick in Pink Passion, a multitasking sheer pigment, onto models’ cheeks for a barely perceptible flush. Eyes were lined with its ColorStay Eyeliner in Brown before getting a few slicks of Grow Luscious Mascara just on the top lashes, after which Westman focused her attention on arches, which were filled in and brushed up with Revlon’s Brow Fantasy pencils. Mouths were slightly stained and then moisturized with Dr. Lipp’s Original Nipple Balm for Lips.
Westman asked one specific thing of her team as the un-air-conditioned backstage area at the 34th Street post office began to swelter: “No highlights or shimmery stuff.” The objective, she explained, was to get to the heart of old black-and-white photographs of Linda and Christy. “I didn’t want it to feel too cosmetic-y,” she clarified. “Sometimes it’s nice to see just skin.”
Beauty Nostalgia: Reminiscing With…Gucci Westman
Beauty Nostalgia is a new, weekly column on Beauty Counter in which we ask influencers, tastemakers, and some of our favorite industry experts to wax poetic on the sticks, salves, and sprays that helped shape who they are today.
The Pro: Gucci Westman, global artistic director for Revlon
The Product: “When I was 18, I was au pair to a family in Switzerland. I took care of two children, who were 2 and 9 years old, and I lived in the bedroom above the garage. I didn’t speak much French but the mother was a fashion journalist and she was always giving me products. I was just getting into skincare around this time, and I remember she gave me Clarins Beauty Flash Balm. The texture felt rich and luxurious, like a real cream. It had a peach color and smelled a little fruity with a floral undertone. This was my cream and it made me feel like a European woman. After that summer I moved back to Sweden and all my girlfriends wanted it. Anytime one of us was traveling we’d give each other money to buy it at Duty Free. We called it Baume Beauté Eclair to feel more French. Smelling it now reminds me of being 18 again and the feeling of putting it on before bed and having the scent waft around my face when I hit the pillow.” —As told to Kari Molvar