Introducing Cologne!
Please give a great big Jolie welcome to our brand-new NYC correspondent, Cologne! A recent Berkeley graduate and Big Apple newbie, she’s bravely navigating the choppy waters of Fashion Week, all so you and I don’t have to. (’Tis so much comfier lazily watching from our chairs at home, no?) I’ll let her take it from here!
Being a New Yorker now for a mere seven days, I already find myself backstage in the tents of Bryant Park—the epicenter of New York City’s Fashion Week. Drizzled with paparazzi, celebrities, socialites, and models alike, this really is the glamorous scene for the rich and famous. And, just as the larger-than-life fashion could have made any girl’s heart flutter, so did the beauty. (And by beauty, I mean products.)
First stop, Liz McClean, where the models (minus their scary-skinny frames) looked to die for with smoky eyes, tousled braids, and pale-pink nails.
The leggy models sat cross-legged in their chairs as Bumble and bumble professionals transformed their tresses into abstract masterpieces. Inspired by the line’s contradictory look of masculine army fatigue and feminine flowing dresses, the stylists combined shiny slick-backed sections with disheveled, randomly-placed braids, held tight using Spray Mode hairspray. The final product looked seriously cool, although you’d be far too bold to take this look beyond the runway.
A look I definitely will copy, however, is the MAC eye-popping smoky look and pale pink Dashing Diva nails. Using Scene, Quarry and Retrospect eye shadows on the lid with Smolder eye pencil and Prolash Mascara, every model looked exotic. For a runway ready face, the artists used Uncommon Blush Crème for lighter skin and Lady Blush for darker skin, finished off with neutral eyebrows and lips. Sure these girls may be naturally blessed, but forget the clothes—I couldn’t stop staring at their faces!
Coordinated by the lovely Dark PR’s Sam, and thanks to Alicia, the celebrity manicurist from Dashing Diva, and the amazing Robert Cleary, all the models got the A-list mani/pedi treatment. This season’s nail trend on the runways is Dashing Diva’s flesh tone, like Dizzy Pinky Lizzie, which is a soft pink used to enhance the pink of the nail bed. It draws attention away from the hands and feet and towards the clothing, allowing the models to look polished from head to toe.
After they let the ‘extras’ fill in the empty seats at the show, I got to sit front row watching the models strut their stuff two inches in front of my face. Despite their black combat boots and boyish blazers, they still somehow looked girly and gorgeous!
~Cologne Schmidt
Tags: Bumble and bumble, Cologne, Dashing Diva, Fashion Week, MAC
September 9th, 2008 at 7:27 am
I like seeing how the smoky eye look has evolved over the past few seasons. It’s the same but slightly different each time.