4 Fave Fashion Week Beauty Looks
Photo by Norman Wong for Essie.
1. THE LOOK: THE BALLET CARDIGAN NAIL AT RACHEL SIN
The Backstage Intel: “The collection was inspired by dance, ballet and ballroom, with a really subdued neutral palette, so we chose Topless and Barefoot as the main shade and then with this bone colour called Between the Seats, I made this kind of lowercase Y to look like a wrap dress or a ballet cardigan. It’s a take on the chevron look, which Rachel really liked. Each nail alternates—I hate symmetry. Something about the nails all going in a line is very geometric and I wanted it to feel more random.” —Rita Remark, Essie Canada global lead educator
The Pro Tip: Go matte. “With two colours like this with such low contrast, if you put a shiny coat overtop of it, the design is lost in the reflection. So we put matte on top—it makes for a softer nail-art look and it really shows the contrast and more definition between the two colours.”
Tool Kit: Essie Topless and Barefoot polish, Essie Between the Seats polish, $10 each, Essie Matte About You Topcoat, $12, at salons including Trade Secrets, and Shoppers Drug Mart.
Photo by Norman Wong for Maybelline New York.
2. THE LOOK: WINE-STAINED EYE AT STEPHAN CARAS
The Backstage Intel: “This look is all about wine. (Wine! Merlot!) We layered on the shades—a plum shadow on top, layered with the fuchsia colour over it. We did a gold highlight on the inner corner—instead of a silver highlight, we did a gold because I thought it would look richer with the burgundy.” —Grace Lee, lead artist for Maybelline NY
The Pro Tip: Get lippy. “I’m not gonna lie, we used this metallic lipstick as a base, because we needed the colour to really pop.”
Tool Kit: Maybelline Expertwear Shadow in Humdrum Plum 170s, $7, Maybelline Expertwear Shadow in Fierce Fuchsia 180s, $7, at mass-market retailers.
Photo by Norman Wong for Maybelline New York.
3. THE LOOK: OMBRE LIP LOVE AT MIKAEL D
The Backstage Intel: “The makeup look at Mikael D was 1920s inspired, with an ombré twist. We created a heart shape, starting with deep wine, moving into red and then with nothing at the edges. It matches the eye look—we put an extra line of eyeliner in the crease to represent the super thin brow line of the ’20s.” —Grace Lee
The Pro Tip: A vintage shape gets a modern upgrade thanks to a two-tone colour combination. “It’s retro shape, but it’s a new take.”
Tool Kit: Try Colour Sensational Lip Color in shades like Are You Red-Dy and Blissful Berry, $10 each, at mass-market retailers.
Photo by Stephanie Hicks.
4. THE LOOK: HALF UP AT DICARLO COUTURE
The Backstage Intel: “We wanted this look to be very earthy and we didn’t want any logic behind it. We went for balance and texture, with movement, to be very organic.” —Jorge Joao, international Redken artist and Toronto Fashion Week lead stylist.
The Pro Tip: Long loose curls are complemented by interwoven twists that differ from model to model. “We have the same technique but we are letting the hair texture guide it. The journey’s the same but the destination’s a little bit different.”
Tool Kit: Redken Windblown 05 Dry Finishing Spray, $30, and Guts 10 Root Targeted Volume Spray Foam, $24 at salons.