The beauty at Cushnie et Ochs was fit for a queen — an ancient, sexy, sultry queen that is — no prudish and stuffy royalty found here! The sleek and sophisticated yet simple hair design came about from the inspiration behind the collection: Cleopatra in the desert sun. “We wanted to do something that had a bit of an Egyptian vibe so we went for a ponytail with a twist,” shares Moroccanoil lead hairstylist Antonio Corral Calero.
To get the lacquer-like, shiny and super-straight strands, Calero applied Moroccanoil Treatment to damp hair before blow-drying, spritzed dry strands with Moroccanoil Luminous Hairspray and pulled them into a tight ponytail at the crown. He next sprayed Moroccanoil Heat Styling Protection and straightened the models’ locks using Moroccanoil’s Titanium Ceramic Hair Styling Iron. To finish the look, Calero took a second elastic and secured hair 1 ½ inches from the base, pinning that section of hair near the nape of the neck. “[The bump] gives it a different dimension from the profile,” he shares.
The Queen of the Nile theme also runs through to the makeup design. “It’s Cleopatra goes to the Hamptons,” shares Maybelline lead makeup artist Yadim. “She’s a rich, gorgeous woman.” To get a natural and sheer glow to the skin Yadim applied Maybelline Dream Wonder Fluid Touch Foundation and Maybelline Dream Lumi Tough Highlighting Concealer to the face and then highlighted the cheekbone, bridge of the nose, Cupid’s bow and chin using Maybelline Eye Studio Color Tattoo 24HR Cream-Gel Shadow in Barely Branded. For the dramatic, stretched-out cat eye, Yadim “slams” on Maybelline Eye Studio Color Tattoo Leathers 24HR Cream-Gel Shadow in Dramatic Black and left it messy, fixing it afterward with a Q-tip. “You get a really perfect shape that way,” he shares. “I feel if you try to do a perfect shape with a brush, you're going to spend all day long trying to get it right. You've got to slam it on and stand back a bit and then perfect it.” The eyebrows are also a standout. Yadim filled in and shaped the models’ brows with Maybelline Master Shape and Brow Drama to create a structured, strong, bold and supermodel-like look.
Lead nail artist Madeline Poole looked to colors in the collection to craft her design. Using two coats of sheer pink Christian Louboutin Beauté in Tres Decollete as the main base color, Poole created a little gold crescent moon shape at the base of the cuticle using a striping brush. “The collection has a lot of this pink in it and we didn't want to introduce another color,” she shares. “We wanted to introduce light into it. The goal was for it to be reflective so it bounces light off of it. It's a way of doing a detail that's not as high-contrast.” Poole opted to keep the shape of the models’ nails natural and rounded. “We’re going with what the girls have. I like that everyone has different character in their nail and different types of fingernails. I think that's cool,” she shares. “I like the nail to look realistic and accessible, like something you could recreate. I think this is all of those things!”
–Molly Church
[Photos: Courtesy of Christian Louboutin Beauté]
