NYFW SS 2012: Jen Kao Gets Poisonous and Poofy
Jen Kao wasn’t just inspired by Leonardo DiCaprio as Romeo Montague and Tank Girl, but also cited “distressed checkerboards, re-imagine Hawaiian landscapes, and a hypnotic snail trail,” as part of her inspiration for her Spring/Summer 2012’s collection. So, hair, nails, and makeup: are you ready to match that?
A strong beauty look was indeed derived for the show, which started with Peter Grey for Cutler and Redken working a glam/grunge aesthetic. He attached braiding vertically using craft strand floss, as well as hand-lacing some clips to be placed at random into the back of some of the models’ heads (see above). Grey started with Redken 07 Mousse and Redken Fashion Work 12 Spray, sectioning the hair in the front, while securing the back into two ponytails. He created a knot at the top and folded over the ponytail to create a waterfall effect. He then flat ironed the ends for a sharp effect, using about six bobby pins to secure where needed, and pulled it a bit in the back to loosen it up, letting random bits fall out a bit so it doesn’t appear to be too finished.
Wanda Ruiz for CND keyed the nails, a “lethal love manicure;” a mix of dark and brights to compliment the stripes and harder lines in the collection’s palette and prints. Four different nail looks were created on false nails (pictured above) using an airbrush technique with the hues Midnight Sapphire, Rouge Red, Anchor Blue, and Green Scene. The black hue was airbrushed first, and then the bolder color was applied tip to center. Just one, thin coat of polish was used, as well as a Top Coat to slightly diffuse the color.
Backstage, Jan Arnold of CND was also available, and called this a very “poisonous frog” look. She was sporting the nails on her own perfectly manicured hands (pictured above)!
We made our way to Charlotte Willer for Maybelline, who was working on a polished grunge face, complete with Fit Me! Foundation, a dash of gold and shimmer on the lids via the Eye Studio Color Plush Silk Eyeshadow in Give Me Gold, Volum’ Express Mascara with some extra false lashes in the middle.
She filled in the eyebrows quite thickly with define-a-brow and applied a new orange color to the cheek (coming out soon, yet to be named) along with the Fit Me! Blush in Medium Coral. Last, she applied the Baby Lips Lip Balm in Quenched and combined Color Sensational Are You Red-dy and Coral Crush to the kissers.
