ALU at NYFW – Backstage at Twinkle

Going backstage for the Twinkle by Wenlan presentation was one of the most fun experiences I had at NYFW. The atmosphere was hectic, per usual, but the hair, makeup and nail leads were all in such great spirits. Very lively, friendly and quote worthy. The look was sexy, flirty and young and I loved every second of it. To fit with Wenlan’s vision of date night at the drive-in, the presentation was held at the Classic Car Club Manhattan with the models posing by convertibles that would make any collector drool. The overall beauty look was an updated 50′s style with red hot lips, soft wavy hair and glossy, vampy tips. Get all the deets after the jump!

First up, let’s talk nails. Instead of going for a matchy-matchy lips/tips look CND lead artist Wanda Ruiz chose to compliment the bold red mouth with a dark cherry layered nail. Get the look: One coat CND Ridge Out base, two coats CND Fedora (a browned red creme), one coat CND Decadence (a semi-sheer red), top with CND Speedy.

The makeup look is the creation of MAC Sr. Artist Gregory Arlt. Kids, I can’t even begin to tell you what a blast Gregory is to talk to. Charming doesn’t even cover it. I was following his backstage tweets all week and he’s beyond adorable.

Inspired by the youthfulness of the 50s, he wanted the look of first date makeup with an updated twist. According to Gregory, this is a girl that’s “going on her first date, she’s nervous, doesn’t know how to do her makeup. She’s watched her mother for years” and wants to emulate her look. The key is perfect, clean skin, an orange red lip and a girlish version of the cat eye that Gregory coined the “kitten eye.” “It’s a little bit smaller, a bit cuter.” And rather than create a dated 50s matte eye, he opted for shimmery shadows to make the look more today.

Get the look: MAC Select Moisturecover concealer, Phloof! and Naked Lunch shadows, Blacktrack Fluidline, Plush Lash Black mascara, Well Dressed blush, Lady Danger lipstick.

While chatting with Gregory A. we met the sweetest, happiest model ever; Edsa Ramirez. She is an absolute doll. Chatty, friendly, a real trooper. When the light started streaming in Gregory’s eyes, she offered to hold a piece of paper above her head to help him work, even though he insisted that her arms would get tired. Right then I told her that at the end of the week she would win Ms. Congeniality. That spurned a whole convo on how the models should have their own superlatives which Gregory quickly named, “The Moddies.” Aren’t they a dynamic duo?

The icing on the cake was getting to speak with Redken stylist John Ruidant. I totally heart him. He’s super chill, wicked talented and has the most adorable mop of shiny curls atop his head. My girls Jamie, Amber and I watched him work magic as he walked us through the ‘do.

The look was natural, soft waves with a deep side part and fringe swept across the forehead. To create the look, John started by blow drying fabricate 03 heat-active texturizer into the hair to bring out the natural wave. He then established a deep side part that went into a central vertical part down the back.

Taking horizontal sections from behind the ears, he sprayed hot sets 22 thermal setting mist before curling each piece, horizontally, with a 1 1/4 inch iron and pinning them to the head (seen on Edsa above). The side sections were curled towards face. For the top section he dragged the iron to avoid creating a lot of volume. After the curls cooled, he brushed them and then blew out the front section with a round brush before pulling it across the forehead and tucking it behind the ear. A bit of outshine 01 anti-frizz polishing milk tamed flyaways and workforce 09 flexible volumizing spray kept everything in place.

images: All Lacquered Up, The Beauty of Life, New York Post, WWD