27 posts tagged "Stella McCartney"
Stella’s (Second) Signature Scent
Stella McCartney is as hands-on as they come. Rather than remove herself from the pre-presentation hustle and bustle at her Spring show this morning, McCartney was in the thick of it, talking with stylists, exchanging pleasantries with models, and checking in on how the hair and makeup look was progressing. As she passed through a particularly crowded aisle that we happened to be standing in, a fragrant aroma lingered in her wake. “It smells like gardenia,” a photographer said to a makeup artist. “It was probably Stella,” she responded. We’d be willing to bet that the sweet floral essence that hovered in the tight space was actually lily of the valley, the heart of McCartney’s latest fragrance, L.I.L.Y. “It’s a pet name my dad had for my mom,” McCartney told a room full of editors in New York a few months back of the acronym that stands for Linda I Love You. “He was P.I.L.Y. and I guess that makes me S.I.L.Y.,” she joked.
The perfume is a personal one and an ode to one of McCartney’s favorite flowers, which she has fond memories of growing up around on the lush, garden-filled farm in Scotland that Paul and Linda’s brood called home. The version used here, however—a green, more modern incarnation of a smell that, according to Stella, is “not particularly contemporary”—was masterminded by perfumer Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud, he of McCartney’s first signature scent, which debuted in 2003 to rave reviews (and who will reportedly front the newly restored Louis Vuitton fragrance house that will release its premier offering next year). The perfume ultimately exists as a series of contrasts: It boasts a feminine floral tinge that is paired with darker, earthier, more masculine hints of black truffle and oak moss so that there’s a dichotomous nature to it, much like McCartney herself. One of the world’s most well-known rock progeny, the mother of four could not be more down-to-earth. Even her clothes boast a certain polished but easy wearability that makes her a favorite among the style set’s boldest-faced names, as a quick peruse of her front row can attest (devotees like Gwyneth Paltrow and Naomi Watts were not in attendance at Paris’ Palais Garnier opera house today, but Kate Moss and Natalia Vodianova sure were). Following a series of limited-edition and seasonal riffs on her eponymous eau over the last nine years, this marks just the second flacon from McCartney to date. It’s well worth the wait.
Available October 2012 at www.sephora.com.
Green With Envy, Backstage At Stella McCartney
If there’s one thing you can say about Stella McCartney’s woman, it’s that she’s got great skin. “Very clean skin and beautiful, groomed eyebrows,” confirmed Pat McGrath, who has been on face-painting duty here for quite some time. And that much was still true for Spring, as McCartney ordered up on-site facials for all the girls courtesy of a steam-cleaning with Sunday Riley’s Ceramic Slip Cleanser and a mask of the clay wash mixed with its Good Genes fluid followed by a few drops of its extra-nourishing Juno Serum. “They’re all coming in and they all look so gorgeous already,” McCartney said as she wove in and out of aisles inspecting Anja Rubik and Joan Smalls’ makeup.
Natural beauty was only part of the story here today, though—despite Priti NYC’s Kim D’Amato’s “fifty shades of neutral” nails painted with a trio of her organic lacquers in Sweet Pea, Mediterranean Belles, and Fairy’s Petticoat. “Normally, we do nothing,” McGrath deadpanned, “but we’ve gone back into color.” They sure have; true fashion aficionados will have fond memories of the blue eyelashes the designer and the makeup artist collaborated on last March. This season, they’ve gone green. “It’s just on the inside rim of the eye,” McGrath explained of the CoverGirl Queen Collection Vivid Impact Eyeliner in Jade, which she topped with a few swipes of black mascara on top lashes only. There was some talk between McCartney and McGrath as to whether or not the pencil was working—”it might register too much,” the latter explained of the pop of color that required a certain subtlety. But after a quick inspiection in the bright lights of the pre-show rehearsal, McCartney gave it the OK.
Eugene Souleiman stayed the simplicity course to complement Stella’s clothes with hair that was “quite cool and not too conceptual.” Rehydrating lengths but not ends, Souleiman dried hair while twisting it to impart a slight texture. “It’s a little dirty,” he explained of the intentional rawness he left through the tips before “squashing” front sections of a middle part down and behind the ears. “We’re not reinventing the wheel here,” he joked, although there was a deliberateness to the ease. “If we did a small head, it would have looked too graphic, too futuristic,” the coiffing star explained of why he steered clear of an updo. “This,” he said, motioning to the super-natural style, “is the real future.”
Drugstore Discovery Of The Week: Maybelline’s Color Code
Tinted eyelashes got a major boost at the Fall shows courtesy of Stella McCartney, who asked long-time face-painting partner Pat McGrath to create a custom blue gel mascara for her presentation in Paris. Swept in multiple coats onto models’ top and bottom lashes and showcased against clean skin, the Ceylon accent was a huge hit—and has inspired many a makeup company to dream in Technicolor. We fell hard for YSL’s Mascara Volume Effect Faux Cils Waterproof in #4 Majorelle Blue when it launched in May, and now Maybelline has debuted a budget-friendly alternative. The mass beauty giant just released a collection of limited-edition haute hues of its classic Great Lash mascara, which is now available in Go Go Green, Totally Teal, Pop of Purple, and the Stella-esque Blink of Blue. The foursome will only be on shelves through the end of the month, though, so best to get while the getting’s good so you can stock up for fashion week; we hate to be the ones to remind you of this, but the New York shows start in a month. Best to start readying your makeup arsenal now.
$6.40 each, available at drugstores nationwide beginning August 2012.
Lining Up For Resort
After a Fall show season full of colorful cat-eyes (blue at Anna Sui, chartreuse at VPL, red at 3.1 Phillip Lim) and abstract interpretations of graphic black etchings (Tom Pecheux’s double line at Altuzarra and Andrew Gallimore’s “floating” triangles at Erdem immediately come to mind), eyeliner appears to be continuing its backstage domination well into Resort. To reflect the cruise season’s textures, bold prints, and pops of color, designers like Acne’s Jonny Johansson, Antonio Marras, and Roksanda Ilincic have been requesting inventively lined lids rather than more obvious bright lips, when it comes to statement-making face painting.
It all started at Acne, where Lisa Butler used Sunday Riley’s forthcoming Velvet Gel Pencil in Pitch Black to create thick geometric wings on the inner and outer corners of models’ lids. The technique, which she completed by filling in the shapes with Riley’s Eye Color in Little Black Dress, was something of an optical illusion: At first glance, girls appeared to be sporting a perfectly normal flick, but a subtle blink of the eye revealed a much more detailed design. Jeanine Lobell followed suit at Stella McCartney, adding “a little bit of an edge” to McCartney’s normally fresh-faced vision with a black line along the lower lash line only.
Then Isabella Sabbioni took things Technicolor at Antonio Marras this week, cashing in traditional black kohl for a flash of jade green pigment, which she thickly scrawled along both the upper and lower lash lines, dragging her brush outward and upward toward the temple. At Roksanda Ilincic, Lauren Parsons stayed the colored course, blending MAC Pigments in coral and fuchsia with its Mixing Medium gloss to create a blurred red half moon through models’ creases. “It’s a different effect from every angle,” Parsons noted of her handiwork that was meant to look as though “it wasn’t too thought about. Effortless beauty rules,” she says—a boon to amateur makeup artists looking to experiment with pro liner techniques in the comfort of their own homes.
Spray-Tan Danger: What You Need To Know; Lauren Hutton, Scissor Sister; And More…
In what can only be described as a power move to end all power moves, Elizabeth Arden has purchased the fragrance licenses of Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj from Give Back Brands LLC. Coty Inc., which holds licenses for Beyoncé’s scent empire, not to mention the as-yet-unreleased Lady Gaga perfume, has no doubt taken note. [WWD]
Bad news for the sunless tanning industry—and lovers of glowing skin the world over: A panel of medical experts has revealed that the active chemical used in spray tans—dihydroxyacetone (DHA)—can potentially damage DNA and cause genetic alterations if inhaled. Perhaps it’s finally time to embrace the pale. [IBT]
Lauren Hutton revealed a short crop at Stella McCartney’s Resort presentation on Monday, and apparently, the American Gigolo star cut it herself! “I was closing up a house, and it felt like I needed more closure. I guess I was depressed. I’d been doing that thing where I read The Economist too much. You know, reading it front to back for weeks on end isn’t always good for you. Instead of suicide, I ran into the kitchen and grabbed a pair of poultry shears. I grabbed one half [of my hair] and went whack, and then I grabbed the other side and went whack again!” [The Cut]
Also in the crowd at McCartney’s show was a newly shorn Anne Hathaway, who, as it is widely known known, cut her hair to play Fantine in Les Misérables. But even though she snipped her long strands for a role, Hathaway is considering keeping them cropped. “I’m just so pleased with how I look, so I now quite like having short hair.” [NY Mag]