Hi, everyone! I’ve been meaning to get this up on the blog, but amidst travels and also my laptop having a nervous breakdown, it’s been rather trying to get this up and live. But it is finally here: my recap of all the beauty trends I noticed during New York Fashion Week for Fall/Winter. Some have been around since the dawn of time, as most trends in fashion are refurbished, reused and recycled. But there are several trends I truly loved and will definitely be partaking in the upcoming season. So without further ado, let’s jump on it and start with the makeup trends spotting around from NYFW.
MAKEUP TRENDS
PINKY PINKS & BURGUNDY WINES
If you noticed one thing about my makeup abilities as of late, I am all for color. The more vibrant the better. Which is what many makeup artists played around with backstage this season. For example, the makeup direction to Kate Spade with Romy Soleimani and Maybelline was filled with vibrant, friendly pink shades ranging from blushing pink to burgundies. Sally LaPointe’s show also displayed heavy wine colors, interestingly applying an iridescent pink liquid highlighter - the Hyper Real FX to the cheek bones which gave such a beautiful subtle quality to the look.
SMOKEY EYES
You know what’s a trickery in eye makeup? Mastering the art of a smokey eye without looking like raccoon eyes! What makes this difficult is the subtlety of the smudge, but not too much where it becomes overkill. Tom Ford always does this technique so well (need to try the Tom Ford beauty line) but my favorite was the intense smokey eye in Jeremy Scott’s Show. Maybelline did the full eyelid smokey, but also carried it down to the inner corners of the eye to give it a more dramatic effect. Rest assured, smokey eyes aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
WATERCOLORS
Another favorite, MUA Cassandra Garcia played with a subtle green smudge for Tibi. Using Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, the look was inspired by the perfectly imperfect look of slept-in makeup and the watercolor green is something cool and different. It looks slightly messy, but in a chic unpolished way. Other shows that really played on watercolors more intently were Eckhaus Latta and Collina Strada where the models’ eyes were a wonderful canvas to blend on. Literally reminded me of Monet’s brush strokes and definitely got my heart palpating.
SHARPLY SKILLED EYELINER WORK
3.1 Phillip Lim’s lead makeup artist for the show, Diane Kendal was all about precision when it came to eye makeup backstage this season. Using only three colors of white, khaki and purple and with the help from a new makeup brand, Unframe the Beauty, their eyeliners are an innovation 1200 years in the making. The brush is created by traditional craftsmen from the Kumano and Nara region of Japan, with custom-made fibers that are entirely hand-blended for firmness, flexibility, and softness. Only seven people in ALL of the world can skillfully do this delicate and precise work.
BAMBI LASHES
Makeup artist Tom Percheux described the beauty as “eyes that wouldn’t lie to you” for the Brandon Maxwell show was very reminiscent of Twiggy’s signature look. And it’s as simple as it can get, but will bring the eyes to life with an added illusion to bigger and brighter eyes. Something I can totally get on board with - the key is to do both the top and bottom eyelashes. I have to say out of all my favorite makeup trends, this will be probably the first one I will want to re-interpret.
HAIRSTYLE TRENDS
BEJEWEL ME, BABY
If you’ve been paying any attention in the hair accessory scene, you know barrettes, bobby pins, clips of any kind are all making a huge comeback. But there’s been a transitioning period here at NYFW where the accessories are more about letting women SHINE. Justine Marajan did the hair backstage for Christian Siriano where we saw chains mixed in with braids, giving it a cool and edgy vibe. Area had a gang of 70s rebels take the runway with likeminded hairdos beaded in jewels, literally. I am really into anything in the rebellious family so this trend is definitely something I would like to re-create for myself!
CRIMPED
Probably my favorite hairstyle that I saw backstage this season, it’s not a difficult hair style to achieve. Nowadays with all the top hair gadgets/tools you can get a heat iron with the shape embedded into the tool that will ease the process of getting the waves in the crimped hair. However, one way to achieve this as well is to braid the hair then flat iron the braid before brushing it out. This gives it a more froofy overall look, leaving it more modern in my opinion. I saw this technique done by Aveda, led by Gary Gill for the 3.1 Phillip Lim Show.
A SPLASH OF COLOR
Or rather a splash of paint, Jeremy Scott’s fake news theme was quite cheeky with the hairstyle to go along with the message behind his collection. The models all wore wigs which were all trimmed backstage before what looks to be a bucket of paint spilled all over the tops of the models’ heads. It obviously was painted on, however. Philipp Plein also used neon green streaks in the models’ hair, giving it that pop of color.
FINGER WAVES
The 30s are back and I couldn’t be happier! Finger waving is the shaping or molding of hair while wet into "s"-shaped curved undulations with the fingers and comb. These waves, when dried without being disturbed, will fall into deep waves. Finger waving differs from marcel waving in that there are no heated irons used on the hair. Prime example was Sally LaPointe’s show, giving the models’ a suitable look to go with the Elvis theme. Zimmerman and Maryam Nassir Zadeh also demonstrated this look but in a more relaxed way either with softer waves with a shorter cut or ruched ponytails. Overall, another favorite hairstyle I need to try and do soon!
NAIL ART TRENDS
ADD SPARKLE
At Kate Spade New York, manicurist Julie Kandalec (for Essie) paid homage to Kate, “she leaves a little bit of sparkle everywhere she goes.” by subtly applying bronze glitter to a nail prepped with a base coat for a naturally shimmery look. Tibi also took an understatedly sparkly route: Jin Soon Choi painted the top half of the nail in a rich toffee beige shade and filled in the bottom half with a mélange of holographic silver flecks. To tone down the shine, Choi finished it with a matte top coat. Which is what is next in terms of trends.
MATTE EVERYTHING
I noticed several other nail looks aside from Jin Soon Choi’s such as Maryam Nassir Zadeh powdery blue matte nails, which were also a favorite. Phillip Lim also worked with Jin Soon Choi to create a peachy nude matte finish as well, bringing a modern woman essential vibe. I love the non-streaky look to a matte nail, as it looks more polished and sophisticated. You can bet you’ll be seeing a lot more of this trend come this fall season.
OVER THE TOP EXTRANESS
Jeremy Scott worked with Ms. Pop to do a monochrome monogramming in an effort to keep up with the graffiti-inspired textiles. She lent her expert brushstroke to write out "New York" in black-and-white lettering, creating a newsprint effect over seven fingers. Definitely made headlines. ;) Other statement nail looks included Alice + Olivia where they literally hand-painted 3-D acrylic butterflies on sets of burgundy nails. And last but not least, Adeam went with gluing pearls of all different sizes on blue and pinks nails, which were definitely delivering something extra to the table.