When it comes to hair, stylist Amalia Moscoso of The Hair Dame knows what she’s talking about. From the latest and greatest products to the hottest celebrity hair trends, Moscoso has a range of expertise which she’ll be sharing all week long right here on the Birchbox blog.
Fashion weeks around the world have finally come to a close and we’ve carefully taken note of all the fantastic hair trends that appeared on the runway this season. We saw many styles from complicated updos to giant curls, but one trend in particular remained consistent throughout the shows and unlike the many avant garde gowns, this look can easily be worn everyday.
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While Fashion Week tends to feature looks that even the chicest among us would have to tone down, occasionally something totally wearable makes an appearance on the runway. Case in point: the ladies at last week’s Valentino’s fall 2013 runway show in Milan. We love that the fresh face and polished side braid look is easy to recreate at home—and it’s a great a daytime style that can be amped up for a night out.
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One of the best things about previewing fall collections in February? The makeup trends that are meant to be worn in autumn are actually seasonally appropriate for these last few days of winter. Before the official onset of spring and warmer weather, here are the five fashion week-inspired looks that we’re trying right now. Which one is your favorite?
Phillip Lim fall 2013. (Photo: Courtesy of NARS)
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We approach scents much like we do our wardrobe: mixing, matching, and rotating fragrances throughout the season. Is it any wonder that our favorite fashion looks tend to influence both our outfits and our spritzes? While reporting at the Fall/Winter 2013 shows, we spotted three trends that we can’t wait to add to our closets. And since we’re never ones to selectively shop, here are the fragrances that will be joining our fragrance wardrobe.
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Retro Updos and Hues Reimagined at Badgley Mischka
We’ve come to expect serious glamour from the duo that dresses A-listers like Halle Berry, Angelina Jolie, and Eva Longoria. And Badgley Mischka’s Fall 2013 collection didn’t disappoint. For their latest catwalk triumph, the designers drew inspiration from Alfred Hitchock’s femme fatales (think Grace Kelly and Tippi Hedren).
Playing on the collection’s cinéphile theme, Moroccanoil’s lead hair stylist Peter Gray created a retro-inspired updo with a modern twist, while nail guru Deborah Lippman debuted a classic red polish from her upcoming Holiday 2013 collection.
To construct the ‘do, Gray started by weaving a classic-school girl braid from the nape of the neck to the top of the crown and fastening the braid with an ecstatic. Next, he fashioned the un-braided fringe into pin curls, pinned down and reinforced with a one-inch barrel curling iron. Finally, he gently racked a wide paddle brush through the wavy rolls on the top of the head to create an undone French brioche shape.
While we watched him work his magic backstage, Gray gave us some practical tips for pulling off the look: never braid clean hair and spritz hair spray onto yours palms for better grip. Gray explained that the finished product complemented the collection’s “long silhouettes and elongates the neck fantastically.”
We also got a chance to catch up with nail guru Deborah Lippmann. Her unreleased Red Silk Boxers polish added instant pizzazz to the models’ nails. And while the 1950s-inspired hue is classic, it dries to a trendy matte finish. Lippmann predicted that matte and textured polishes would be a huge fall trend: “Finish is huge for Fall—it’s definitely no longer about a pretty sheer pink.”
We expect we’ll be seeing these two looks a lot more come September.
-Ally
Missed the first couple days of #nyfw? Don’t worry. You can catch up by checking out all our backstage coverage.
Makeup emergency? Today and tomorrow,
Benefit is partnering with our favorite car-on-demand service,
Uber, for New York Fashion Week beauty rescue drive-bys. The mini-makeovers include blush, mascara, eye shadow, and brow touch-ups, plus goodie bags. To request a rescue, select the Benefit car type in the Uber app and plug in your location. Then just relax and wait for your pink beautymobile to arrive. Bonus: Instagram a pic with #beautyrescue, and you’ll be entered to win prizes from Benefit and Uber.
Check out the pics from our test drive!
Uber’s Benefit rescue car—kind of like a beauty Batmobile
Emergency Mascara Technician (EMT…get it?) coming to the rescue of Birchbox staffer Alta
EMTs Lindsay and Erica
Birchboxers Logan and Alexz post-rescue—phew!
Goodie bag revealed
—Bene
Color Club’s Killer Claws at Katie Gallagher
We fell hard for Natalie Alcala last fall, when the LA-based writer and blogger spent a week guest blogging for us. In fact, we loved her posts so much that we asked her to be a contributing editor. In addition to blogging for us once a week, she’ll also be writing for the Birchbox Magazine and keeping us up to speed on all things fashion, beauty, and fun.
NY-based designer Katie Gallagher is known for her avant-garde sartorial style. In a rather timely move, her fall 2013 collection, “The Winter Froze You Away,” was inspired by snowfall and featured a set of textured, three-dimensional threads fit for this week’s frosty weather.
To the match the range’s icy vibe, Color Club’s Simcha Whitehill created a rough and tough nail that featured the pointed shape that stars like Adele and Beyonce can’t get enough of. Whitehill created the witchy look using four fierce shades: Where’s the Soiree (black), Muse-ical (charcoal), Sheer Disguise (medium grey), and a custom dove grey.
“This is a great design for anyone who’s enthusiastic about nail art but can’t paint with their non-dominant hand,” Whitehill said. “All you need is a dotter tool—which can be purchased at any beauty supply store—or anything found around the house, such as a tailor pin stuck at the end of a pen, a bobby pin or even a toothpick.” To get the look, layer paints in an ombre style (check out a handy how-to here). Next, dip your tool in the paint and press down on the nail to create dots that cascade from dark to light. Add a basecoat and you’re good to go!
—Natalie
Find more exclusive backstage pics on the Birchbox NYFW site.
The Story Behind Our Favorite Fashion Week Tool
Each Fashion Week, we see a few of the same tools and products over and over again backstage at what seems like every show. One of those products is the beautyblender—top makeup artists use it for a flawless, airbrush-like finish, and we’ve adopted it from the runway for home use. During Fashion Week last fall, we sat down with beautyblender’s founder Rea Ann to find out her inspiration for the tool and the best tips on using it. Have you used the beautyblender? Let us know in the comments what you think.
—Lorelei
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- Model-Morphosis, our favorite NYTimes feature, is back for the season! We could spend hours scrolling back and forth to see before and afters of the backstage makeup and hair. [NYTimes]
- Jessica Chastain’s new video for Yves Saint Laurent Manifesto fragrance is out! It involves loads of purple paint, a color that Monsieur Laurent considered the height of seduction. If we looked as good as Chastain covered in pigment we probably would have pursued finger-painting a bit longer. [Huffington Post]
- Gwyneth Paltrow is the new star of a six-month global Max Factor campaign. But since the makeup brand isn’t sold in North America, we won’t be seeing it here. She also recently took on the role of ambassador for Hugo Boss’ women’s fragrance, Boss Nuit Pour Femme. [WWD]
- Social media has become a HUGE part of Fashion Week. If you’re not instagramming and tweeting, you’re nobody. With so many hashtags flying around, who came out on top? You may be surprised by the answer. [Refinery29]
- Jennifer Lawrence (love her!) is on the cover of the new W in loads of feathers, accompanied by various feathered friends. We’re on board if this is a reference to the Mockingjay but we do wish she was looking a tad happier. [Jezebel]
—Lorelei
Get organized this weekend! Spend $75 on anything in the Birchbox Shop and get this adorable exclusive organizer tray for free.
