NYFW backstage beauty: Thakoon’s first-ever bright lip
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“The inspiration is Audrey Hepburn,” said makeup artist Diane Kendal backstage at Thakoon. But that didn’t translate into liquid liner, one of the beauty signatures of the screen starlet. “We didn’t want it to be too literal,” explained Kendal. Instead, she did a bold red lip using Nars lipstick in “Heat Wave” and added neon-pink pigment on top for “a bright, luminous quality.” (Later I heard the designer himself doing an interview in which he mentioned it was the first time they’d done a lip at the show.) Cheeks were enhanced with Nars Multiple in “Undress Me,” (launching this fall), while lids were treated to a bit of white shimmer in the form of Nars eyeshadow in “Tibet.”
In keeping with the homage to Hepburn, Odile Gilbert created feathery baby bangs on all the models, which were actually the ends of their own hair—put in place after being wrapped into French twists. To begin, she amped up the volume with Kérastase Mousse Substantive and then put the manes through copious amounts of teasing. After creating the updo perfectly, “we destroy it a bit,” said Gilbert. Halos of Kérastase Double Force hairspray kept things in place and Fibre Architecte sealed and polished the ends.
Lesa Hannah was on staff at FASHION for 18 years (2001-2019) working in the beauty department. She's also written for Elle Canada, The Kit, The Toronto Star, The Globe & Mail, Forbes Vetted, Canadian Business, NUVO, Stereogum, GQ and Vanity Fair.