Fall ’09 Beauty Trends – NY Fashion Week Wrap-Up

At Michael Kors (pictured), makeup artist Dick Page went for a sooty, gunmetal gray on the upper lids, and rimmed the inside of the lower lash lines in black liner for extra contrast. At Richard Chai, makeup artist Gucci Westman created a mousy gray eye, mixing matte brown and steel gray shadows. And at J. Mendel, makeup artist Tanya Cropsey created what she called the “the modern smoky eye” by diffusing matte, dark gray shadow from the lash line to the crease, with no mascara or liner.

At Christian Siriano (upper right), makeup artist Polly Osmond used gold pigment on the models’ lips. For mere mortals, she suggested applying a natural shade of lipstick and dabbing a little gold pigment on top. At Rodarte, (lower left) the lips stayed neutral (bordering on grim) in grayish nude. And at Tuleh, Osmond created a grayish mauve stain on the lips by layering black lipstick (new from M.A.C for fall) under a berry-tinged color. The overall effect was reminiscent of a faded photograph.

Francois Nars indulged Marc Jacob’s 80′s nightclub inspired collection with bold, bright makeup (pictured) that channeled everything 80′s, from The Palmer Girls to Girls Just Want Have Fun-era Cyndi Lauper to the cover of Duran Duran’s Rio album. At Tibi, Makeup artist Makky did color-pop turquoise eyes. “The look is very Christy Turlington circa Vogue in the late 80′s, said Makky. “When bright blue eye shadow was really in.” To make the look very fresh and modern, and not too Barbie, he cut off the end of the eye color for a very graphic, square shape.

At Behnaz Sarafpour (right), hairstylist Ashley Javier created a squared-off pompadour that spliced early 80′s Grace Jones glam with a dash of Blade Runner cyberpunk. “In trendy neighborhoods like London’s SOHO and New York’s Williamsburg, I feel like women are adding more grandeur to their day wear,” said Javier. And at Richard Chai (left), hairstylist Kevin Ryan conjured up late 80′s Tompkins Square Park, creating model-fied mohawks, with hair that was slicked back on the sides and teased at the top.

At Max Azria (left), hair stylist Laurent Philippon created a tousled, twisted bun. “I wanted the hair to look tight but nothing too slick and finished,” he said. “I wanted it to look very organic.” At Carolina Herrera (right), Orlando Pita created ornately pinned buns — studded with copper roses – to juxtapose the high collars shown on the runway. Dry conditioner was worked through the hair, which was pulled – not slicked – back.

At Behnaz Sarafpour, makeup artist Gordon Espinet created black rimmed eyes, using “eyeliner from every direction.” By smudging the lids with black liner and shadow, and leaving lips nude, the look was a little androgynous, a little punky, and played off the graphic clothing with natural ease. At Max Azria, Gucci Westman shined the kohl-rimmed eyes up with a dab of clear gloss on the lids. The look also ruled at Zac Posen, Richard Chai, Chris Benz and Narciso Rodriguez.

At Isaac Mizrahi, makeup artist Tom Pecheux confirmed our suspicions said “It’s true that women wear red lipstick during recessions,” he said. “When you don’t have enough money for a new outfit, handbag or shoes, you can still buy a new lipstick. But when you do spend the money, you want it to be impactful, and red lips change everything!”

Our favorite was spotted at J. Mendel, where Odile Gilbert created a crazy combination of ponytail and chignon. “From the front, the sides and the back it looks like different styles,” Gibert noted. At Christian Siriano, Jon Reyman created a modified ponytail chignon to jive with the show’s Egyptian inspiration. “We wanted a hair style that’s bold, geometric, sculpted and strong.”