ZAC POSEN
Zac Posen is always about utter sophistication – and the look James Kaliardos created for Posen’s wheat and gold themed clothes was simple, urban, refined – and utterly unique. Using bronze, gold and taupe eye shadow powders, he created a crescent in the eye crease that had width and drama – and dragged all the way out into the browbone area. A little bit of taupe contoured the face, and pearl was dotted on top – and the lip was left totally nude. Powder was actually used to nude out the mouth. It was a quiet look – that packed a lot of power.

HEATHERETTE
Makeup freaks wait all year to see what kind of wonders super makeup artist Kabuki will whip up out his vast imagination for Heatherette. For Spring/Summer, he came up with two looks; one was a black metallic sparkly eye socket with a heavy line of winged white eyeliner over it, with shine on the cheeks and brow bone – the other a very powdered white face with juicy orange lips and eye lashes so long they nearly swept the ceiling – all hand applied over hours. Realism is not what it’s about at Heatherette – fantasy is.

MONIQUE LHULLIER
“It’s a 1930′s contour aerodynamic face,” is how James Kaliardos described his look for the Monique Lhullier Spring/Summer show. Using MAC Taupe
Powder Blush as a facial contour and on the temples, he created a field of high and low lights. Patina Eye Shadow was placed on the eye sockets and Pearl Cream Colour Base was dotted on the inner corners of the eyes. The focus; a silvery beige pigment powder whipped up especially for the show that swooped out from the brow bone out almost to the ears. A pale peach lipgloss was applied to finish the look. But not before the all-important concealer was dotted on lips. There was not one makeup artist was didn’t mention concealer on the mouth all week.

CARMEN MARC VALVO
Sure, there’s been a lot of contouring this week – but generally the tanned bronzed goddess of Spring/Summers of yesteryear has been replaced by paler dewier skin – and in the case of Carmen Marc Valvo, it’s a whiter shade of pale. Tom Pecheux gave the girls nearly pearlescent faces, and the major focus was a sparkly white shine on the eyes and cheekbones. They practically glistened. On top of that, a doll-like (because colour on a white face looks doll-like) peach cheek and pale peach lips. We’ve heard the words “Madame Pompadour” this week, and that’s clearly the influence Carmen Marc Valvo was going for.

LUCA LUCA
Tom Pecheux was on a seventies supermodel tip  but it wasn’t Lauren Hutton. “I have in mind the young Jerry Hall,” he described. When she was starting out, she had a babyface but the sophistication of a woman. That manifested in the idea of playing with colour, just as Pecheux did he does bright Parrot blue shadow on the eyelids, then covered the creases with a shimmery dark grey to give what he called true sophistication. There was an obvious lack of cheek colour, and the mouths were dabbed with N3 lipstick a putty-ish pink nude. The effect? A grown up in the eyes and a tender young girl in the mouth.

Face – MAC Face and Body Foundation was applied all over the face. Blot Loose Powder was then dusted over skin with Brush # 136.

Eyes – Sea Me, a blue-green M.A.C Shadestick was applied all over the lid and under the bottom lash line. Knight Divine Eye Shadow was then applied densely in the crease and faded out toward the brow for a subtly colorful eye. MAC Pro Lash in black was used for both top and bottom lashes.

Lips – For a neutral mouth, Hug Me Lipstick was patted gently onto the lips.

PHILOSOPHY DI FERRETTI
The Philosophy show was a study in dark minimalism at least in the faces. While the clothes were perky stripes and checks, the face by Charlotte Tilbury was bare (except for concealer) but for soft and charcoal grey crescents painted under the eye. So instead of the south of France lushness we’ve been seeing all week, it was a dose of Italian modernity.

NANETTE LEOPORE
To complete Nanette Lepore’s inspiration of Picasso’ Mistresses, Polly Osmond channeled, well  the look of a Picasso. So of course she did a heavy brow, clumpy spiky lashes achieved with rows of MAC lashes on the top and individuals on the bottom. A peachy cheek was followed by a juicy orange lip of Morange lipstick with lip conditioner added. It was absolutely Andalusian. Think Guernica hanging in the Prado.

Face – The face was primed with Face and Body Foundation to even out the skin. Select Moisture Cover was applied under the eyes and evenly over skin. Pleasureful and Lady Blushcremes were applied gently the cheeks.
Eyes – When Daryl Kerrigan says her collection is about body-conscious silhouettes, she’s not referring to bustier tops and form-fitting frocks. It’s about how everything feels on your body,  she explained. In other words, her clothes are easy with a capital E: T-shirt dresses, drawstring vests, relaxed shorts and trousers, all to typical louche effect. Despite the sporty undercurrent pulsing throughout, Kerrigan managed to work in plenty of that rocker reference, from studs embellishing necklines, hems and sleeves to belt-like straps that crisscrossed low on the hips. When Daryl Kerrigan says her collection is about body-conscious silhouettes, she’s not referring to bustier tops and form-fitting frocks. It’s about how everything feel…

Lips – MAC Morange Lipstick was mixed with Orange Dare Lipstick and applied with a #228 brush. Gloss Texture was layered on top for a soft, juicy look.

CAROLINA HERRERA
The Carolina woman is always very chic, but Diane Kendal made her eve a tad chicer, with a sophisticated minimalist face. The brows were filled in naturally, the eyes were glossed and shiny. But it was the mouth that was the standout. To go with Carolina’s fruity palette, the lips were dabbed with orange lipstick, then double dabbed with red in the centers of their mouths. Then a light wash of fuchsia was applied all over in a filmy layer the effect was a tangerine berry colour that was more like a Sex and the City cocktail colour, or the hue of a faded sunset, than a lipstick shade.

Face - Moisture Cover Concealer was applied to face with #242 Brush and set with Loose Blot Powder to create a velvety texture. MAC Iridescent Powder in Silver Dusk was sprinkled onto the bridge of the nose and cheek bones for a highlight.

Eyes - MAC Retrospeck Eye Shadow was applied to the entire lid. Boot Liquid Eye Liner was lightly wedged in between lashes for a thick lash line and Plush Lash Mascara in Black was used to coat top lashes. MAC Retrospeck Eye Shadow was applied to the entire lid.

Lips - Orange Lip Mix was feathered onto lip with a Concealer Brush. MAC Pro Lipstick in Full Fuchsia and Mattene Lipstick in Classic Dame were then mixed and layered onto the center of the lip for an intense, burst of color. For a touch of shine, Clear Lip Glass was patted onto the lips.

DAY 4

CHAIKEN
The Chaiken woman has come into some cash. “She’s a jet setting expensive woman who gets off the red eye looking great,” said makeup artist Polly Osmond.  “But that’s because she’s been in first class! Call the look “beachy done” – and we’re seeing it all over the NY spring runways; cheeks highlighted and accented on the brow bone. Beigey lips (the famous Spice lip pencil filled in with Subculture lip pencil and 2N lipglass) with a tint of pink and white eye pencil inside the eyes. Remember the smoky eye? This season, it’s on hiatus. Wide eyed is where it’s at.

J. MENDEL
How many times do we have to hear the name “Lauren Hutton” before we smell a trend? For J. Mendel, Charlotte Tilbury evoked that seventies glamazon – and a Jerry Hall feeling – in the makeup. Last spring’s words like “fresh” and “pretty” have been replaced by “diva” and “expensive and glamorous.” On top of the glowing skin and the ubiquitous 4N lipstick (paled down by concealer), Tilbury bronzed out the models’ eyes with MAC Paint Pots, placing a copper shade right over the eyeball. You could almost hear Roxy Music playing in the background. “More than this…”

BABY PHAT
Okay, so perhaps the predicted death of colour for the Spring ’08 makeup palette was just tiny bit premature. But then Baby Phat always breaks all the rules. For Kimora Lee Simmons’ collection, makeup artist Lisa Butler used fuchsia like Giorgio Armani uses greige. She blended strong fuchsia blush for both the cheeks and eyes, but applied them in a light dust of powder. But when it came to the lips, she didn’t hold back – blending three different red fuchsias together to get the perfect dark pink pout.

PORTS 1961
Designer Tia Cibani’s spring influence was African safari so makeup artist Greg Wencel kept the faces slightly moist (“from humidity”) and put emphasis on tanned cheeks and matte terra cotta mouths.  “Think African clay paintings,” he explained. The eyes were opened up by a trend we’re starting to see everywhere for spring: a white line painted close to the lash line. So forget that fifties cat eye – and stat thinking; white eyeliner!

Keep reading to see what trends were created on Day 5 and Day 6 at spectacular Fashion Week!

DAY 5

CATHERINE MALANDRINO
To Pecheux took Catherine Malandrino’s theme; a petal palette – and ran with it. “Think of the sunrise in St. Tropez,” he said. “But think of it rising over a beautiful old French hotel, where all the artists live and work.”In others, flowery – but arty flower. Kind of Renoir. The rose colours went on the cheeks. The jasmine, lavenders, and lilacs went on the eyes. And the mouths were a pouty purplish pink reminiscent of peony. Think Flower Power a la Francais.

RUFFIAN
The theme of Madame Pompadour was taken pretty seriously at Ruffian. The models’ hair was in literal pompadours – and Polly Osmond applied white powder base to the outlining areas of their faces, reminiscent of powdered wigs. Then she painted on China Doll-like pink cheeks for a regal feeling and matched them with a soft pink mouth. On the eyelids – only gloss. The effect? Marie Antoinette goes clubbing.

ROSA CHA
Okay, we already know that Spring ’08 is about channeling the casual jet set chic of Lauren Hutton. But at Rosa Cha, Gordon Espinet was going for the looks for all the great cover girls of the seventies. “Think Francesco Scaullo,” he said. To Espinet, seventies makeup implies, “No structure in the makeup – but lots of strong textures.” He made the skin shine with gold and bronze highlighters applied to the cheeks, eyes, and lips. “It’s about taking beach style,” he said of the famous bathing suit line, “and making it fashion.”

TEMPERLEY LONDON
We’ve seen a hint of fluorescence slipping into makeup for Spring ’08 – in the form of the matte electric orange mouth. Charlotte Tilbury invoked it to balance the palette in Alice Temperley’s frocks: we saw a lot of whites, neutrals – and orange. Tilbury used a combo of three MAC tools to create the look: a MAC Orange Lip Pencil, the Lipstick Morange, and Lipmix. The mouth was counterbalanced by a large “C” shape of gloss painted in a semi circle from the brow and eye bone over the cheekbone. “I think of it was 1930′s makeup that’s mixed with rave culture,” Tilbury noted.

Face — Face and Body Foundation was applied to even out skin discolorations and Blot Powder was dusted where necessary. M∙A∙C Gloss was applied on the nose, cheekbones and temple for an all-over, sexy look.Face and Body Foundation was applied to even out skin discolorations and Blot Powder was dusted where necessary. M∙A∙C Gloss was applied on the nose, cheekbones and temple…

Eyes — For a futuristic, wet looking glow, M∙A∙C Gloss was applied all over lids. Lashes were curled and coated with Plush Lash Mascara in Black.
Tip

Lips — M∙A∙C Pro Orange Lip Mix was blended with M∙A∙C Pro Creme Color Base in Flaming Fuschia, defined with Lip Pencil in Redd and topped with Morange Lipstick for an extra punch of color.

RODARTE
James Kaliardos went eye to eye with Rodarte’s punk ballerina look for spring by creating an unusual and highly artistic eye makeup design: back lines underneath and above the eye that met in an exaggerated cat formation somewhere out in the nether brow bone area. The lids were dabbed with turquoise or cobalt, reflecting Rodarte’s major colour theme.An art statement or a new way to apply eyeliner that’s post modern and pushes the makeup envelope? At Rodarte, it was actually both. The rest of the face was dewy, natural, and young – as were those Belle du Jour ponytails dipped in coloured ink.

DAY 6

DKNY
Remember – if you’re old enough – Scavullo’s photos of Patti Hansen in the seventies? Her gold hair, large, teased and waved, on the beach in a printed jersey caftan, with a beautiful pink pout and matching cheeks … the eye took a major backseat in Charlotte Tilbury’s DKNY spring face. The lips and cheeks matched like a purse and pumps, in a sheer shade lilac pink – while the eyes were naked and shiny. Anyway, who needs eye makeup when they’re wearing a caftan?

RICHARD CHAI
James Kaliardos did perhaps the most minimalist makeup of the week at Richard Chai. There wasn’t even any foundation – just concealer where needed. The eyes were dotted with Soft Ochre paint pot, touched with a little Nanogold eye shadow on the top of the lid. Coppering eye shadow was dusted on the crease and lightly under the eye. And Beurre cremestick liner adorned the mouth radiating from the center out – so there were no harsh lines. It was practically a nudist camp for the face.

Face — To keep skin clean and minimal, MAC Select Moisture Cover was applied where needed. Loose Blot Powder was dusted over t-zone to complete a soft, clean look.

Eyes — MAC Paint in Bare Canvas was applied to lid as a base. All That Glitters Eye Shadow was then layered over with a MAC #239 Brush to give the eye an opalescent, golden goddess look. Copper Plate Eye Shadow was added to crease and underneath the lower lash line to create a soft, deep ethereal eye. Lashes were liberally curled with a MAC Eye Lash Curler MAC Paint in Bare Canvas was applied to lid as a base. All That Glitters Eye Shadow was then layered over with a MAC #239 Brush to give the eye an opalescent, gold…

Lips — MAC Lip Conditioner and Lip Erase in Dim were applied to lip as a base and Cream Stick Lip Liner in Buerre was buffed on to create a natural stain.

TULEH
If Grace Kelly went to the beach – which she probably never did – but IF he did, she’d be this season’s Tuleh girl. As envisioned by Polly Osmond, she looks beautiful – but does not appear to have a lot of makeup on – but she does. Osmond worked with bronze powder to highlight and low light areas of the face and cheekbones – using her favourite color, MAC’s Taupe. In the crease of the eyes, she applied a pinkish gold eye shadow called Hey – and then used the all important concealer on the lips, covered with Subculture lip pencil and 2N lipglass. Are you getting a hint of the trends now? 2N, Subculture, Taupe, and a white eye pencil inside the eyes have turned up at more than half the NY shows.

BERARDI
Mariel Barrera kept it chic and simple at Berardi, using safari warm hues on the lips and cheeks, and only a pale copper on the eyes. But the effect was terra cotta meets red earth; a bronzed goddess who goes Big Game Hunting with Peter Beard.

Louise Zizzo created this retro-glam look that puts an emphasis on a large, natural brow (which she totally fauxed on some models by using mascara or Blacktrack fluidline) paired with a plump red lip using Mahogany lip liner nearly all over the lips and then Russian Red lipstick on top.

One side of the tent were all the MAC artists dealing with creating all the fabulous runway looks, while on the opposite side were hair stylists creating fabulous dos.

Louise managed to catch herself in this shot, but you can see just how crowded backstage can be when everything is done in a small tent on the sidewalk of San Francisco!

A veritable feast for any true MAC-aholic, as four or five long tables were covered with a decadent display of every MAC product you could possibly wish for.

Here is a model sporting one of the looks for Pink Elf.

Victor Cembellin was responsible for the creation of this look, and he accomplished this by doing a strong smokey eye using Graphito paint, Blacktrack fluidline, and Smolder eye kohl. He paired it with a great neutral lip using Illicit lipglass and cheeks with golden bronzer.

This next set of photos are taking you through the process of a demonstration of a look by Louise Zizzo so that her team of 4-5 MAC makeup artists could recreate it on their own models for the show. The model shown here is Alexa, who had enviable natural brows.

Louise mentioned that it was very, very important for the skin to look absolutely flawless, and as a result, she spent a good amount of time showing the ways to blend and perfect the model’s complexion so that when she was on the runway, it would come off nearly plastic in its perfection.

If only you and I had that kind of time (and skills!) to accomplish such absolutely divine skin. Louise used a mixture of studio select concealer/coverup, as well as various shades of Studio Fix Fluid.

Louise did a dramatic eye for this particular designer, and she takes a generous amount of Blacktrack fluidline to cover the entire lid and just above the crease, and then a gentle wing on the side.

Using an angled brush, the 266, she accomplishes such detailing as seen here.

I was totally reminded of the black smokey eye that I do using Blacktrack as a base, actually! Surprisingly, despite how bold this makeup appears here in this shot, on the runway it is hardly noticeable.

Check out that palette Louise is creating on her own hand. You can see the various colors of foundations and skin products that she used to give the model’s skin such clarity.

Louise makes sure that her shape is flawless and that both eyes are about as even as she can get with the naked eye.

What, I didn’t mention it already? Oh, Louise created this look of pure Blacktrack-ladened lid with a splash of thick, double liner in three different shades of liquidlast liner (pink, green, and purple). The whole theme of the look was icy, ice princess, ice queen. She chose green for this particular model.

It’s the magical 266 again, look how precise that line is! Sigh, so jealous.

To add further drama, Louise put false lashes on both the top and the bottom lash lines. She also doled out a great tip – if you have trouble putting on false lashes, try cutting them into thirds and attaching each third by third.

Here’s the finished eye look!

Louise used Pink cream colour base on the cheeks and the lips, with Hush cream colour base to highlight.

Pink cream colour base is a PRO only color, and you can see how it matches perfectly with the ice princess theme.

Here is the completely finished look!

And see how dramatic it is with the eyes closed? I’m still totally marvelling at the definition of those shapes.

A quick snap shot of the look Victor did for the Vian Hunter line using Silver (metal) pigment on lid and Blacktrack fluidline to create the defined crease.

Christine (makeup artist), two models, and Louise Z. posing for photographers.

Still posing, as you can see, right next to the runway, behind the curtain. Kind of crazy, huh?

Christine on her knees moisturizing one of the model’s legs, but really, check out those HEELS? My feet hurt just looking at them!

Back in the dressing room, models chit chat and get ready while Victor does last minute touch ups.

I swear, the dressing room was about as big as my own closet back at my parents’ house when I lived there. It was quite tiny!

So that concludes my little photo-experiment-journal from Backstage at San Francisco Fashion Week 2007. I had SUCH a blast, and it was an amazing opportunity (so glad I was able to take it, too). I meant several other beauty bloggers, like Karen, and it was awesome to see professional makeup artists working in their element.

For photos of the actual fashion show, check out this post.

To read about my experience dining with MAC artists Louise and Victor, plus other media, check out this post.