On April 17th M.A.C. pro invited me to the best show I have ever seen them sponsor. Val Garland is a genius when it comes to creative makeup looks! I have never seen a transformation like this within minutes, right in front of my eyes. I was so happy to be among my fellow colleagues to see the masterpieces unfold. Below was a program & the MAKEUP LOOKS she recreated for the event.

Lady Gaga, “Born This Way” album cover, 2011

Anja Rubik, Numero, November 2009

W magazine, “Haute Death Tattoo,” October 2012

The Sunday Times, Surreal in Suburbia,” September 2012

British Vogue, “The Joker’s Wild” April 2012

Jeremy Scott  AW 2011

Vivienne Westwood, Gold Label AW 2012

Mary Katrantzou AW 2009

Alexander McQueen, Voss SS 2001

Alexander McQueen, The Overlook AW 1999

Alexander McQueen, What a Merry- go round AW 2001

British Vogue, “Refined Rebel” November 2010

Alexander McQueen, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious AW 2002

Vivienne Westwood, Horses AW 2011

Vivienne Westwood, Medieval Bowie AW 2013

Some of the looks Val  exhibited below in no specific order

Francoise Nars narscosmetics.com/world-of-nars/ handpicked his assistants at a preliminary test held at Milk Studios. All the artists were to create a smokey eye and red lip. That was all exact the instruction we received and no detail on the color he wanted or shape. In 30 minutes our brushes had to be down , no exceptions! Each artist had a different idea on what that meant so it was interesting to see. Photos were taken with you and your model after the faces of the models were inspected in the daylight by Francoise & Lina (his right hand). Well, I guess I aced it because I was asked to be a part of the show on *Valentine’s Day*.

This was the last show of NY Fashion Week which took place at the Lexington Avenue Armory. The look was a Joan Jet inspired with a smokey eye and light lip pictured below. There were 54 models that all looked alike with black wigs by Guido artandcommerce.com .  The eyes were created with black shadow (Pandora Duo Eyeshadow) &  softened with your finger or a brush after the application. Nars Sheer Glow foundation & loose powder afterwards to leave a very mat face. Emphasis was placed on powdering the lids before the Pandora black shadow was applied. Black Moon eyeliner pencil thinly placed along the lash line, following the shape of the eye. Iceberg white liner inside the eye to create an illusion of a bigger eye.  A bit of foundation on the lip allowing the natural pink color of lip to show through. Nico or Zen as contour & blush. To seal the look was a rosebud salve over the eye shadow to give that Rock n Roll feel! It was a great vibe and I was so happy to be a part of the production. A great way to close NY Fashion Week!

Mr. Nars had a very royal quality about him. Gentile but powerful as expressed in his painting. I was so excited he allowed me to take this photo with him. Truly made my Fashion Week!

This show was in perfect timing with the prior show so we didn’t have to go far to transition. The  Berry lip was the focal point of the design. Maybelline sponsored and Dr. Jart+ skincare. Lead artist Charlotte Tillbury

At the tents again, with Charlotte Tillbury again and her lovely crew. This was one of my favorite makeup design of the season!
It was a circa 1940’s eye, cheek and lip. Maybelline sponsored and we truly used the 24 hour eyeshadow and cheek color to create it! Creme shadow in Bad to the Bronze, Dream bouncy blush in coffee cake & rose petal. Wine lip and gloss over the lids during the line up. Fabulous!

One of the Models I worked on below, Yulia Musieichuk from Ford. All was great but Charlotte gave her special touch and placed the blush higher on the cheekbone more circa 1920’s.

Lucia Pica from Artpartner.com headed this show. It was M.A.C. sponsored so we used Ruby Woo lipstick and Neo Orange lip powder over it to create a velvet texture. She paid specific detail on a sharply defined lip.

VISION
This season the Tracy Reese girl is paying respect to NYC circa 1988. She’s a “now” girl but dreams of the non conformist looks of fashion during that time…pre IT bag craze. “Unique-ness was King or shall we say QUEEN” is how she saw those days. She does not dream of head to toe Lacroix but mixes her Kenzo and her Kamali in her fashion fastasies. She’s a savvy strong girl who’s not afraid to walk through Central Park at 5am to get back to her UES apartment after partying downtown all night at the Area…she merges her style tribe looks. For instance, she wears downtown Punk looks but in a very London street style Hip-Hop way… or she will clash Tiger prints with gentle floral… or 40s inspired fit and fare dresses with hobble skirts from the early 80s. Yes, she’s “that” girl. She’s not austere or a wallflower…YOU NOTICE HER and she knows you are looking but she never acknowledges your presence till she’s ready. She’s does not walk her dog because she has the audacity to walk her cat on a leash down Madison Ave….she’s the definition of fierce meets eccentric!

Mally Roncal creates the look with black creme eyeshadow and liner from her collection. The look was created with her black powder eyeshadow and black liner. She used a bent mascara brush to drag the creme liner to the outer edges. Strong Brow and French Kiss Lipstick. Here is the eye she wants up to duplicate & some beauty photos I pulled from the web. I was happy to see Mally as it has been a long time!

It’s 7am and I’m trying to wheel my bag through the snow on the west side highway! This is when I should have left the house with a backpack! UH! The board highlighted Ukrainian girls in traditional dresses fighting against female trafficking. The inspiration for the makeup was Empowered Warrior Women! The makeup Charlotte Tillbury created was a flushed cheek with a berry creme stain, as if you were outside in the cold. Perfect for the theme of the day! M.A.C. sponsored.

Keyed by the lovely Romy Souleimani from Beauty.com. We were showered with Kevyn Aucoin www.kevynaucoin.com/ products & Arcona Skincare http://www.arcona.com/. It was a super simple clean makeup, using the Kevyn Aucoin concealers, eyeshadow in 202 & 207. I discovered Coco Cafe latte  http://drinkcococafe.com/at this show! OMG… delicious sponsors!

Working on Charlotte Tillbury’s team is always a great experience! This year we did a sultry wine lip & creme glazed eye in plums and browns. Not too much emphasis on the brows this season. The show was sponsored by M.A.C. and we used a  creme eye palette that is not out yet. Sorry but you will have to wait as it launches soon.

My first show of the season was Project Runway as Co-Captain. Keyed by Scott Patric from Contact www.contactnyc.com. I have signed a confidentiality agreement so I can’t post any photos from the show until it airs so stay tuned!