Shock of all shocks as I walked into the backstage area at Jeremy Scott, I noticed the beauty look this season was going to be minimal. Kabuki, leading the MAC team for the show, said “We thought that a natural-looking makeup would be the most appropriate as well as an unexpected twist for a Jeremy Scott show.” I’ll say! In speaking with Wella’s Eugene Souleiman, I mentioned that the collection must be especially wild this season given how much things are being toned down on the beauty front. He laughed and said, “Have you seen the pieces? Lingerie mixed with sportswear!”
Makeup-wise, eyes and cheeks were contoured with creams and powders, a coffee colored pencil was smudged under lower lashes, brows were brushed upwards, mascara was applied and lips were neutralized to match the warm nude palette.
Hair, however, while not as over-the-top as one might expect, was very interesting. Souleiman said the look was “post gym shower hair.” He started by treating the models’ hair with a conditioning treatment to make it easy to comb through. Hair was then combed back, as you would after stepping out of the shower, and mousse was applied – not gel – and, because Souleiman wanted there to be a stylistic element to elevate it beyond your basic wet hair look, a rake comb was used to create lines throughout the hair.
When I asked the stylist why he opted not to use gel, he told me that unlike gel, mousse only takes about 15 minutes to dry. It’s also a safer texture to work with. “If the collection was full of knits and denim, that would be one thing, but there are a lot of white leather pieces – we can’t have water or oily products dripping on white leather!” He also added that the Wella Extra Volume Mousse that was used has great hold and is easy to wash out.
As I walked out, I bumped into Kelly Cutrone, whose PR firm was once again running the show. She was surrounded by a camera and crew, dressed in all black and wearing sunglasses (indoors in the middle of winter)…another reality show in the works?
