The top makeup and hair trends that dominated the Spring 2008 runways of Milan, Paris and New York.
By Laura Keogh and Adriana Ermter
EYES
You can blame fashion’s romance with nature and all its earthly trappings for the extra 10 minutes you’ll have to spend doing your eye makeup this spring. Constructed from concentrated hues found only in flora or fauna, eyes with explosive impact or geometric intensity were beauty’s natural phenomena for your face. From clothing that featured origami folds and magnified floral prints to accessories wrought with butterflies and raffia, the season’s dressing required messages that would feel comfortable in Sherwood Forest. Makeup magician Pat McGrath, P&G’s global creative design director, described the thunderous eye at PRADA—swirled with ruby, gold and various metallic shadows—as a creation meant to give “the effect of light filtering through an iridescent dragonfly wing.” —LK
Shown: MARNI Spring 2008 Photography by Peter Stigter
LIPS
Charlotte, Pat, Gordon, you can quit yelling. We hear you already—every artist at shows like BOTTEGA VENETA and DAKS was preaching “the louder the better” when it comes to colour for lips. Red, fuchsia, orange and pink—it all goes as long as we’re talking creamy, saturated shades. “It’s really going back to the sophistication of being a woman,” describes Gordon Espinet, M.A.C’s vice-president of makeup artistry. “It’s not about a little girl afraid to put on anything. It’s about ‘look at my lips’ and the precision of the lip application.” So be fastidious and eschew any other colour on the face. All you need is gorgeous skin. —LK
Shown: M.A.C Heatherette Satin lipstick ($17 at the Bay). Photography by Christopher Stevenson
FACE
On runways this spring, there was a drizzle of mocha shades, which was meant to communicate what is now the very understated message of having a tan. “Everything is sheer and tone-on-tone,” says makeup artist Greg Wencel, who whipped up the beauty look for Ports 1961. We’ll eat this magazine you’re reading if you don’t notice the umber glare of Hollywood red carpeters (the folks who gave tan a bad name) being replaced with this more restrained but beautifully layered appearance of textures and rich earth tones. According to Wencel, you want to highlight a feature with a different texture than what is happening on the rest of your face (like glossy lids or matte lips). “And use light-reflecting products like metallics to catch the light.” —LK
Shown: LANCÔME Star Bronzer Poudre Sôleil ($45 at department stores) in “Bronze Solaire”. Photography by Christopher Stevenson
HAIR– Big ’n’ bouncy
We knew it was only a matter of time before we blew the dust off our hot rollers, cranked up the heat and super-styled our hair à la circa ’70s Breck Girls. “Women need glamour,” says Eric Del Monaco, official hair artist for L’Oréal Paris, of the bouncy, shiny curls that dominated runways courtesy of Derek Lam, Lacoste and Viktor & Rolf. Not to be left out, frizzy and spiral variations marked 3.1 Phillip Lim and Katy Rodriguez, adding extra “volume” to the runway. “It’s the most feminine, defined look for spring.” —AE
Shown: L’ORÉAL PARIS Studio Hot Curl heat activated curling spray ($5 at drugstores). Photography by Christopher Stevenson
HAIR – Casual curves
We they messy or chic, long free-falling waves were the dominant hairstyle on the runways. Complementing the soft ruffles, floral prints and delicate transparency shown by designers like Behnaz Sarafpour, Calvin Klein and Marchesa, hair was “touchable” and “romantic,” says Jimmy Paul, editorial stylist for Bumble and Bumble. The hair guru describes his Jaclyn Smith–style curves—fashioned for Tuleh—as ’70s-inspired. “Nothing was ironed straight.” —A.E.
Shown: BUMBLE AND BUMBLE Prep ($25 at salons). Photography by Christopher Stevenson