Backstage Beauty: Tibi Fall 2014

Among a New York Fashion Week sea of low ponytails and unadorned nails, the hair, makeup and nails at the Tibi show are total standouts.

To create a country-girl-meets-urbanite feel (or “modern Amish,” per Tibi designer Amy Smilovic), Aveda global creative director Antoinette Beenders dreams up an edgy middle-parted hairstyle—emphasis on the part, which is marked by a single cornrow braid down the center of the head. To create the look, Beenders adds Aveda Pure Abundance Style-Prep to lend grit to dry hair. She then separates out a one-inch section of hair down the middle of the head. To create a perfect part, “base it on the width of your nose,” suggests Beenders. Next, she crafts an inverted braid from the front of the hairline to the back of the crown and secures it with a small, clear elastic. To add a loose, imperfect wave to the rest of the hair, Beenders weaves three to four very loose braids and then quickly clamps a flat iron down the length of the braids to set the waves before letting the hair loose. To finish the style, she spritzes hair with Aveda Air Control Hair Spray, or if hair is really fine, she uses Aveda Control Force Firm Hold Hair Spray, which she “can make anything with. It’s a backstage must-have,” she confides.

To complement the edgy yet wearable hairstyle, makeup artist Kim Soane created a look that focused on “strong, killer brows and a port lip color,” says Soane. She blends a flawless, yet illuminated skin finish with Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick, Bobbi Brown Retouching Powder (“a CC cream in powder form”, according to Soane) and Bobbi Brown Brightening Finishing Powder in Nude. She accents a clean eye with a few swipes of Bobbi Brown Everything Mascara, and then frames peepers with Bobbi Brown Light Brow Kit to create a “squared-off and brushed-up” brow. To complete the look she applies Bobbi Brown Lip Extravaganza in Port (a new-for-fall-2014 product), letting the lip color “soak in” for a few minutes before blotting it and adding powder on top for a grittier, editorial finish.


While the nails were coated in a classic soft nude color (two coats of JINsoon Nostalgia), manicurist Jin Soon Choi isn’t content to leave them simply neutral; instead, she embellishes them with white polka-dot flecks (one coat of JINsoon Polka White) that mimic the cozy textures of the collection. Upon spying a dandelion flower image on the designer’s inspiration board, Choi immediately thought that the same fluffy, float-y feeling should be duplicated on the nails. She swears that anyone can wear this look—from young to old—and we’re apt to agree. —Kristen Oldham Giordani

[Photos courtesy of JINsoon; Aveda; Kristen Oldham Giordani]
 

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