Text, Vivian G. Kelly
Images of models, Richard Spiegel
Image of Stila face, courtesy of beauty.com
Image of Oscar Blandi’s Raffinata Staightening Balm from www.beauty.com
TIME/PLACE: New York Fashion Week,
Saturday, Sept. 6th, @ 3PM
BACKSTAGE at the Chelsea Art Museum
556 West 22nd Street, NYC
VENA CAVA – BEAUTY BACKSTAGE: “It’s all about the glitter!”
On our way backstage, we bumped into show producer, LYNN O’NEILL who declared, “It’s all about the glitter!”
TINA TURNBOW, another of our favorite makeup artists [and a spokeswoman for BEAUTY.COM and STILA Cosmetics] was responsible for the Egyptian a la Cleopatra look that echoed the prints at Vena Cava.
Although the look has a strong Cleopatra reference, it is actually quite wearable and EASY, as “it’s not about perfection” and you can blend it with you’re fingers and it’ll still look good. We love a great makeup brush, but what if you’re rushing in the AM and misplaced your brushes? Not a problem, you can STILL do this look.
EYES are the focus – and look TIE DYED.
USE: pressed powder in chocolate brown, and medium gray eye shadows.
WHY THIS IS SO GREAT: Regardless of your skin tone and eye color, one of these colors will suit you.
SKIN, while not the focus, serves as the necessary backdrop for the eye to pop, SO you have to do a little something, but not very much.
USE: As the look is very sheer, all you need is MATTE BRONZER on the cheeks INSTEAD OF cheek color.
Subbing this in elongates the eye you’ll do next.
HAIR NOTE: You’ll want to pull your hair back if you have long hair, as hair honcho OSCAR BLANDI did to show-off your dramatic eye. If your hair is too short for a ponytail, try some of Oscar Blandi’s RAFFINATA HAIR STRAIGHTENING BALM.
For a play-by-play description on how to create this winning makeup look, go to www.beauty.com and click on VIDEOLIBRARY and then, on VENA CAVA.
[*NOTE: The exact address is as follows:
http://video.beauty.com/v/1185/vena-cava-spring-2009-stila-oscar-blandi-hair-london/]
Raffinata Hair Straightening Balm is available on www. beauty.com for $19.
THE VENA CAVA COLLECTION
This was presented in one of our favorite formats – the models as an art installation.
What we saw: lots of asymmetrical hemlines, a heavy Egyptian theme which was carried out further with details such as some sequin onyx bibs and a print with the word “pharaoh” printed on a cream skirt. While this reminded us of Jeremy Scott’s Egyptology collection a few years back, Vena Cava’s was more serious. Here were clothes you could easily walk around in without risking to be mistaken as someone who was en route to a costume ball. As far as the bibs, well, those are great for a woman who wants to add some drama to her evening look.
To see more of Vena Cava’s collection, visit their official website,
www.venacavanyc.com