Backstage with MAC - Preen

For my second full day of Fashion Week, I went backstage with MAC to the offsite Preen show. Luckily the weather lifted (like magic!), so I walked up 42nd Street from the Bryant Park tents to Espace, where the Preen show was being held, on a beautiful Sunday. I was whisked backstage through the clothes and the chaos to the key artist, James Kaliardos, who created a beautiful -- and totally wearable -- look for Preen.

James' theme for the look was "androgynous portraiture" -- considering each girl as a portrait, and enhancing her own look as she is versus trying to homogenize each girl into a robot. It was about bringing out the features of each girl versus projecting an identical look onto her, with particular emphasis on the eyes, brows, and bone structure.

The coverage was very light, allowing the skin to show through while covering up anything that needed covering. Some of the major players were the MAC Pro Blushcreme "Cherche" used on the eyes along with "Omega" eyeshadow (which everyone should have already, right? I'm pretty sure I do). Cheekbones were contoured with MAC Pro Sculpt, while the high planes of the cheekbones and the bridge of the nose were highlighted with Cream Color Base in Pearl (which, okay, I've been considering buying and might have to). All in all, it's a very natural and easy look.

I've also included the face chart here, buuuut since it wasn't included in the MAC face charts that have been hitting the interwebs, I'll give you a special exclusive treat: here it is -- bigger and better. Who loves you? I do! (Also, who loves her new digital camera with better megapixels? I do!)

I also managed to run into Gordon Espinet, the key artist from the Rosa Cha show, and I caught up with him a little on Rosa Cha (and we chatted about Twitter, of course.) So, from Gordon's Twitter, here are his thoughts on the Preen show:

Another day another lot of Fashion Shows. I am going to Preen. James K is doing the makeup. I always love to see theeir show. 06:27 AM September 07, 2008 from TwitterBerry
James K is doing the demo to show the team the look at Preen. Very soft and focused on skin. Very androgenous. 09:19 AM September 07, 2008 from TwitterBerry
colours like SCULPT, OMEGA, CHERCHE, PEARL and DIM lip erase a must for the Preen Look. 09:21 AM September 07, 2008 from TwitterBerry
Boy brow are back! 09:24 AM September 07, 2008 from TwitterBerry

As a brow girl myself, can't say I'm not glad that brows are back!

Thank you again to MAC Cosmetics, Gordon, and James for allowing me to pop my little head in, ask some questions, and have the wonderful experience of getting to see the masters at work! I had a great time at Fashion Week and hope to do it again soon!

images from periodicstyle.blogspot.com

Backstage with MAC - Rosa Cha

This past Saturday, I went backstage for the Rosa Cha Spring 2009 collection to chat with Gordon Espinet of MAC Cosmetics about the look he created for the Rosa Cha show.

I asked Gordon who the Rosa Cha woman is, and he replied that she's a woman who loves. the. beach. She's someone who's fabulous and takes care of herself -- her skin isn't too tan or too pale, but the right amount of healthy glow. "Instead of doing lunch, she goes to the beach," he said.

The key to the Rosa Cha look is the emphasis on the warm beautiful skin, which was achieved with body make-up as well. In addition, he said, the Rosa Cha woman "loves mascara -- too much of it, gobs of mascara." As a mascara fan myself, I totally got it.

I also managed to catch a glimpse of the pedicure going on, which is a gorgeous warm gold polish. Of course, Jamie from The Beauty of Life revealed that it's "Crowned" from Creative Nail Design. It's a great color that I... will likely have to get my hands on. It goes perfectly with the light tan, and will definitely be a great color for next spring. (Also, how gorgeous are those sandals? I love them and must have them, for they are perfect.)

I also got the amazing opportunity to catch up with Gordon backstage at the Preen show on Sunday and ask him how the Rosa Cha show went. He said that it was wonderful, except the show went on right as the horrible rain that Tropical Storm Hannah was dumping on New York. He said that the tents started leaking as the girls were lining up, and all of a sudden he heard a cry from a model -- she'd gotten water in her eye, and unfortunately ProLash (the MAC mascara used on the models -- a whole tube on each girl, Gordon said!) isn't water resistant. So Gordon rushed to the rescue and dabbed her eyes dry. "But I couldn't help thinking it would have been so cool if they'd all come out with Tammy Faye mascara running at the final walk out," Gordon laughed.

Gordon is also one of the MAC artists who's Twittering for MAC, and you can find his Fashion Week coverage at MAC_Gordon_E. Specifically for Rosa Cha, here's what he had to say:

It is gettinf crazy hare at Rosa Cha. There are cameras everywhere and the girls are all wearing too much ProLash mascara 10:54 AM September 06, 2008 from TwitterBerry
The Rosa Cha show was gorgeous. The girls were sand coloured with too much mascaca. I wanna girl's swimsuits. 01:07 PM September 06, 2008 from TwitterBerry

It was a wonderful experience getting to go backstage with MAC! So wonderful that I got to do it again the very next day! Stay tuned for the Preen write-up!

images from periodicstyle.blogspot.com