FASHION NEWS AND REVIEWS

After last year’s Marc Jacobs beauty spectacular—in which 60 models were transformed into walking replicas of 1980’s clubgoers, each with a different look—we were more than a little excited to see what makeup artist François Nars and hairstylist Guido Palau had in store as a follow-up. “It’s definitely not as crazy as last season,” Palau joked. “But it’s still extreme, just in a different manner.” As Jacobs meandered backstage to check over the handiwork of his beauty team, he had one thing to say: “I want to make sure it stays theatrical.” And so Nars and Palau obliged, fashioning their own interpretations of a gothic romantic tribute to the stage. “It’s a little bit ballet,” Nars explained. “We’re trying to create performers, characters,” which meant pale skin, a strong brow, and a dark lip. Sighting an abundance of pastel colors in the collection, Nars kept the makeup graphic, rather than soft and predictably sheer. Coating models’ skin with NARS Sheer Matte Foundation in Siberia—its lightest shade—he added a dusting of loose powder in Snow on top to ensure maximum paleness. He then enhanced the brows with a NARS Eyebrow Pencil, drew a thin extended cat eye on the upper and lower lids, and swept a few coats of NARS’ new Larger Than Life Mascara on top of false lashes. As for the deep lip, yet another appearance of a dark pout for Spring, Nars has no problem breaking barriers. “I kind of hate the idea of Spring and Fall [makeup] colors. I like the idea of wearing a dark red lip in the Spring—why not?” Indeed. In any case, it worked with Palau’s top knots, which were intended to be a little dark, almost macabre. “They’ve got a Marc Jacobs edge,” he said of the high and tight chignons he created by slathering models’ hair with Redken Glass 01, twisting a high ponytail and pinning it onto itself for form and added height. “It can of course be softened up for ‘normal’ people,” he continued. So there is hope for the rest of us.