From prim and proper nails, to totally wild eyes, New York Fashion Week was all about highlighting one special area while downplaying the others. Even those who are beauty-shy can be courageous enough to try a pop of color somewhere, while looking sensible and serious everywhere else. Here are our favorite Fashion Week trends.
Sleek Ponytails
It was rare to see a hair look on the runway that wasn’t a ponytail—and a perfect one at that. Keeping with the equestrian theme of the collection, perfect ponies were of course fitting at Herve Leger. Sleek and simple, the trick behind the perfectly trimmed bottom was a pin on extension to ensure the look of no split ends.
Celebrity hairstylist Jeanie Syfu achieved a similar look for the Charlotte Ronson show by using the Tresseme Split Remedy collection and often had three hairdryers working on one girl at a time. She also left a few pieces around the ears loose on girls like Shanina Shaik and Anne-Sophie Monrad to add some movement to the runway, which was a small detail that had a big impact in photos.
Calvin Klein Collection stuck with the minimalist style as well, although his models had a side part as opposed to slicked back, which we’re guessing was an homage to front row show goer, Rooney Mara.
Nude Nails
Of course the bright colors and crazy designs always get the attention, but this season we can’t look past the precision and ladylike look of a nude manicure.
At Altuzarra, Liu Wen, Karmen Pedaru, Joan Smalls and Julia Stegner had their nails painted with two coats of Butter London’s Nail Foundation, which is the brand’s base coat. The formula isn’t overly opaque so the models own nails came through a bit. The foundation acts almost like a makeup for nails that smoothes out ridges and imperfections without adding much pigment.
For both Monique Lhullier and Victoria Beckham, the nail techs at CND kept things natural and stressed the importance of a basecoat. Both shows featured the shade “Putty,” and at Victoria Beckham they layered over a bit with “Marshmallow Rose” to give a bit of shine for a luxe nail look.
Technicolor Eyes
Both Philip Lim and Donna Karan decided that if they wanted to use red in a beauty look, it would be on the eyes, and not as expected on the lips. This is one of those “don’t try this at home” looks unless you practice, practice, practice, so work with lighter shades before debuting a bright lid.
At Donna Karan, Charlotte Tilbury said, “We didn’t want to go too retro with a red lip, so we thought, ‘How do you give it an eccentric, modern twist?’” She used MAC Lipsticks in “Partyline,” a deep burgundy, and “Diva,” a purplish crimson to create the deep shade. At 3.1 Philip Lim, NARS brand ambassador Francelle Daly created her red eyes using NARS Lip Liner in “Jungle Red” and its Eyeliner “Stylo in Nuits Blanches.”
Anna Sui brought out the blues with Daphne Groeneveld and Hanne Gaby Odiele who got the Pat McGrath treatment as she crafted a fat liquid line along models’ upper lash line and then filled it in with shadow. She used CoverGirl Liquiline Blast Eyeliner in Blue Boom and its Eye Enhancers 1-Kit Shadow in Indigo Impact.
