RAFW Follow Up - MAC Speaks!

I thought I would share with you some of the information I was just sent by MAC about some of my favourite looks that they created for RAFW.  It's great to know the inspiration behind the looks and the products used, just in case something caught your eye!



Show:     Ginger & Smart
Key Make up Artist:  Natasha Sevorino for M.A.C
Inspiration: “The inspiration for this collection comes from inner feminine strength and self-awareness.  I wanted the make up to be naturally sexy for this show. Skin has been left raw yet made luminous, concealing only minor imperfections. Eye's are defined and sculpted and gold pigment has been used on the eyes and peak of lips to give a 'futuristic goddess' feel to the make up. Soft cream coloured paint has been used as future tribal war paint in the centre of the forehead and temples, to relate directly to ones ‘third eye’ and one’s own self-awareness.  

My take:  I LOVE the gold accents on the inner corner and cupid's bow of the lips.  Such an easy look to recreate at home.  Those of us not blessed with model skin might need some coverage, but keep it as light as possible.

Show: Zimmerman

Key MakeUp Artist: Linda Jefferyes for M.A.C

Linda said the “Inspiration behind the look: Cool and modern. Nothing is overdone or underdone. Strength yet soft. Balanced. Fresh creamy pure skin is highlighted by a strong deep plum lip”.
Description of the look: Perfectly manicured creamy skin. Eyebrow are slightly defined and lips are painted a matt deep plum colour.

Key Products used to create the look:
Face: prep + prime skin, prep + prime lip filler, face & body foundation, set powder invisible and porcelain. Select moisture cover in light colours.

Contour face with sculpting powder pro palette bone beige and shaping powder Lightsweep.
Eyes: Brow set clear, impeccable brow pencil taupe, black dirty blonde. Pro long lash barelash.
Lips: lipmix Burgundy and I mixed some red into the plum lipmix which made it more red/plum

My take:  Those lips are outstanding.  I would be using a lipliner to ensure a crisp edge that stops the colour bleeding throughout the day.  I totally agree with the 'strength yet soft' comment by Linda - exactly what this look projects.  This is also a look you can rock for winter, rather than holding back until warmer weather begins.

Show: Manning Cartell
Key Make-up Director:  Natasha Severino for M.A.C The direction for make up in this collection is one of a polished, modern Spanish woman.

We wanted the make up to be in tonal hues of warm, coffee like colours. The skin is flawless and polished, highlighted in areas to reflect the summer sun. Eyebrows are strong and sculpted to give the make up a sophisticated sexiness.

My take:  Brows.  Make them strong and proud.  As you can see on the image (oh, so Cassie from ANTM did go into modelling...) you don't have to follow your own brow.  Create the shape that you want.  I really like the sweep of the shadow towards the temple too.

Show: Romance Was Born

Key Makeup Artist: Natasha Severino for M.A.C

Natasha said that the “Inspiration for Romance Was Born S/S 10/11 is Renaissance Dinosaur”.  The collection has been broken up into a ready to wear section and 11 Haute Couture, one off pieces.

The RTW section consists of beautiful, ethereal sirens that are adorned with lace body art. Faces are polished and eyes are lined to create mystical beauties.

The 11 one off creatures has had make ups specifically created to be an extension of their magnificent gowns. They are:

Nail Dress

Dino Bird

Crystal Dress Volcano Girl

Snake Guts

Dino Tail

Kate Tribute

Renaissance Dino

Dino Slut

Renaissance Bride

Scale Girl

My take:  Dino Slut!  LOL!  Just looking at this pictures makes me sigh with delight.  And readjust my creative boundaries.

RAFW - Gary Bigeni, Kate Sylvester, Konstantina Mittas

Gary Bigeni - I know I've said it before, but I love it when the looks are varied within a show.  These models were either 'aqua' or 'peach', and it consisted of a colour wash over the eye up to the brow bone.  Interesting tidbit - no mascara was used.  Apparently there was a 'black ban' for the whole show.  Weird.

Kate Sylvester - this picture is extra large because it is extra gorgeous.  Feast your eyes on your new makeup look.  That is if you want to look young, sexy and amazingly feminine.  It's all about cheeks and lips here - colour stains provide a softer edge and a more subtle flush than lipstick or straight blush would supply.  Eyes are gently defined with mascara and undetectable (well, maybe a little) liner.  Hair is straight, but not ghd-straight.  Just... natural straight.  Men will be putty in your well-manicured hands.

Konstantina Mittas - Super fun!  I had never heard of this designer, but I love the styling here!  Pastel blue temples, bright pink cheeks, massive hair that looks like you were caught up in a cyclone?  Why on earth not!  This is fashion after all!

RAFW - Anna and Boy, Dhini, Dion Lee

Anna and Boy - this is adorable!  The freckles, the coloured eyes... cute as a button!!  Super soft lips and a curled updo reminiscent of orphan Annie add to the youthful look.  Black liner and lashings of mascara keep it from being too doll-like and add a hint of grown-up sexiness.  Retro playful fun.

Dhini - look at that hair - clearly volume is in vogue.  I'm loving the mushroom cloud explosion of teased goodness.  I just want to poke my finger into it.  Is that weird?  You can see the white pearl highlight across the forehead and stretching to underneath the eyes.  Dewy skin again... trend alert!

Dion Lee - the hair is slicked back on top and straight from the ears down.  I don't like girls with wet-look gel in their hair unless it's short enough to cover all their hair, otherwise it just looks dirty and greasy.  But the makeup is barely-there and glowy.  Glossy lips are prominent, and I swear they go way over the lip line.  Don't try that at home, kids.

RAFW - Romance Was Born

Ugh.  Adore.  Divine.  Magic.  Sigh.

It's theatre in motion.  Just... enjoy.

 

RAFW - Bianca Spender, Alice McCall, Friedrich Gray

Bianca Spender - let's get the obvious out of the way.  There are feathers on the brows.  I assume you won't be doing that yourself, so let's see what else is there.  The inner corners have a divine bluish/teal colour that is kept quite defined, and the rest of the eye is soft neutral-browns.  The cheeks are softly contoured and the lips are bare.  It's all about the eyes here.

Alice McCall - love this look!!  Clearly it's not a street look, but the colour on the temples is fabulous!  The eyes are really drawn to the temple area, which is usually not very interesting.  If you look at the inner portion of the face the skin is dewy, the eyes just have mascara and the lips are soft (what colour is that?  Must... have... it...) so there are no elements competing for attention, yet it is fresh and youthful.  The super-fun braids in the hair are a great and easily-replicated summer look - the key here is keep the ends long and with a bit of a kink - don't plait to the very end of the strand, and don't straighten your hair first.

Friedrich Gray - this is all about the inner corner of the eyes (again!  Seeing a trend emerge is fascinating, no?).  The silver started in the peak of the crease and drawn in a straight horizontal line until it is in line with the inner corner, then drawn down.  This creates light where usually there is darkness and shadow, so the eyes open up and the model looks fresh.  Hooray!

RAFW - Little Joe Woman, Nicola Finetti, Alex Perry

Little Joe Woman - I've been rocking the 'pop-of-colour-on-lower-lashline' look for a while now, and Gail Elliot has validated my love by using this in her debut parade for Little Joe Woman.  It's a super-fun look but can be as subtle or as out-there as you like.

Nicola Finetti -  Oh, this is my style.  All over.  Eyeliner is strong , starting in the crease and finishing with a 60's flick at the end.  White shadow on the lid helps to highlight the contrast.  Modern-day Twiggy.  Hair is teased into a massive beehive but the finish still has texture and life rather than drowned in hairspray and rock hard.

Alex Perry -  I know I'm all about makeup, but it's the hair that got me here.  Look at that height!  The volume screams glamourous and ends in soft, sexy curls that look like they were set yesterday (and the movement is amazing on the runway).  Eyes are a sexy, feline shape that extends until the temples with a gorgeous pewter in the inner third to highlight and add some metallic interest.  Glitter is then flicked over the top half of the face, cementing sparkles as a major trend already emerging from RAFW.  Peachy cheeks and soft lips ensure that the attention stays nose up.

RAFW - Rachel Gilbert, Aurelio Costarella, Zimmerman

Rachel Gilbert - Strong brows  are an easy look that almost any woman could pull off.  Napoleon took this to the next level at Rachel Gilbert and literally painted on thick, shapely brows.  Yeah it's OTT, but this is fashion!  Lips were oh-so-soft pink and cheeks had a hint of colour but it was the skin that was a standout for me.  Dewy and fresh, and illuminated to the nth degree.  Rumour is that Napoleon slathered on his new Suto Pilot Skin Renewal Serum onto all the models for hydrated, plump skin.  Gotta get me some of that.  And there's that high bun again - well, we all know how we're wearing our hair this season...

Aurelio Costarella - Now THIS is what I call catwalk makeup!  Wearable is great, but you see that in fashion magazines every day.  Catwalk is the chance to step out of the ordinary and into the realm of fantasy and aspiration.  Gold leaf stuck to your temples?  You'll look like a crazy person.  Gold shimmer on your temples?  Now that's achievable.  Adding to the look is slicked back hair that erupts into a crimped explosion of fabulousness.  This is a low bun on steroids, and I love it.

Zimmerman - strong lips ahoy!  This gorgeous burgandy is a custom blend from three MAC colours - Crimson, Burgandy and Brown (thanks Bella Sugar!).  Strong brows and bare eyes kept the look balanced.  And what about the hair caught in the metal neck cuff?  I would have to keep fighting the urge to pull my hair out.  And I'd sink to the bottom of the pool... oh, you can take it off?  Nah.  Fashion is sacrifice, darling.

(all images from Bella Sugar)

RAFW - Leona Edmiston, Ginger & Smart, Seventh Wonderland

Leona Edmiston - oh dear, I'm in love.  A statement lip is what I'm (trying to be) all about, and Leona Edmiston pulled it off to perfection.  Keep the eyes pale and add a rose blush and I'm in red lip heaven.  The forward knot in the hair was just genius - very high-fashion, not sure if I could do this in real life.  But I may use it for a photo shoot.  The side curl adds a quirk which I love.

 

Ginger & Smart - I hate to say it, but I didn't like this hair look.  This reminds me of my own hair after I've lazily straightened it and pulled my growing-out-fringe back out of my eyes.  Poker-straight hair is out in my book - volume is much more flattering on most people.  I like the golden eyes that get a bit dark and smokey in the outer corner, with some false lashes adding extra drama.  Cheeks are softly contoured and the lips are coated with a pinky gloss.

 

Seventh Wonderland - yay!  Creative hair!  Wet-look gel is generously applied before the hair is flattened to the scalp and shapes are sculpted over the face.  I assume it's a more stylised version of your own hair as you emerge from the ocean and you casually swipe it out of your eyes.  Minimal makeup is used - but as we're looking at beachwear that's kinda fitting as you're not meant to wear makeup to the beach (although I do).

 

RAFW - Camilla, Lisa Ho, Marnie Skillings

Three different looks, three very different designers.

Lisa Ho (by Linda Jeffreys - MAC) - holy natural, Batman!  Barely there, soft bronzed makeup with gorgeous skin.  But the hair was a clear winner for me - it's the J-Lo beehive but moved to the back of the head, making it instantly wearable.  The sheer volume creates drama but is yet easy to create and would work for most people.  Next time you go to twist that ponytail, stop and give it a quick tease before you pin.  You'll be so cool your 15 year old neighbour won't even have anything to say.

 

 


Camilla (by Napoleon Perdis) - the kaftan queen.  This was a colour explosion!  Bright fabrics floated down the catwalk with even brighter makeup and crazy headpieces.  I loved the variety of the looks - it's nice when it's not the same makeup on every model.  Napoleon says they reflect the four different looks in the show - (left to right, top to bottom) Fluro, Atlantis, Pastel and Tribal.

 

 

To bring this back to the street, take note that the colour is on the eyes and the lips and cheeks are nude.  Pick a colour that features in your outfit but tone it down and think about coloured liner instead.  If you're feeling brave try using a bright colour in the outer corners and into the crease - if you use it all over you run the risk of looking cartoonish.

Marnie Skillings - this will be my winter look.  Pale eyes and gorgeous plum lips.  I love the colour here (will let you know when I find out what it is!) because it's not too dark and gothic (which can be easy to do when it comes to purple lips).  Skip the gloss to keep the lips more flat and velvet-like.  Soft hair and feminine dresses make this vintage look one of my favourites of the day.

(Photos from Marie Claire and Primped)