Backstage at 3.1 Phillip Lim, Japanese influences abound in the clothing and directly inform the beauty look. "There is an air of Japan in the collection: a lot of kimonos, fine silks, hand-beading and a ton of structure to the clothes. I wanted that to read in the makeup," expresses NARS Lead Makeup Artist Francelle Daly. To achieve this, she begins by applying NARS Velvet Matte Skin Tint to the face, leaving the skin rich and velvety, and works NARS Brow Defining Cream into the brows (Fall 2016). "This product allows you to comb through it. It acts like a powder but it’s a cream that adheres to the hairs," explains Daly.
The centerpiece of the makeup design is the eye, which boasts strategically placed eyeliner. "It’s really about a moon-shape look. For me it's almost a hint of architecture within the eye,” Daly says. She works the liner (NARS Minorque Kohliner) from the top of the eye, bringing it all the way down to form a triangle at the outer corner of the eye. She deftly lines the top waterline as well, adding more contour and shape as well as replacing the need for mascara. Inside the bottom waterline a skin-color eyeliner erases any naturally occurring pink, acting as a brightener.
"We were inspired by Japan and the hair like the Harajuku girls have—this look is very flat, over-ironed hair," says Hair Lead Paul Hanlon. "There is no technique to this, it’s just using a flat iron with lots of hairspray over and over again, all the way around the head, taking all the natural movement and volume out of the hair.” The result: a part-less veil of hair over the face. “It's a bit of a teenage horror thing, a lot more severe then anything we have done in the past—a bit punkier. It's almost as if the girls are wearing a wig," Hanlon says.
For the nails, Sally Hansen Global Color Ambassador Madeline Poole took Lim’s Japanese craftsmanship inspiration—like samurai sword embellishment—and ran with it. “I thought immediately about a tradition I had once heard from the Heian period in Japan when ninjas would paint the symbol of their clan on their thumb,” she says. “I wanted the nail look to feel symbolic and to have a striking contrast—hence the use of metallic with the beige shade—but to also work with the palette of the collection: a traditional autumnal array of olive green, mustard and burgundy.” To achieve the two manicure looks, Poole uses optical illusions for a slight of hand that demands a second look. First, she creates nail polish decals in oval and circular shapes, using three hues: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Commander in Chic, Camelflage and Gilty Party. Then, Poole paints half the nail in either Commander in Chic or Camelflage and the other half in Gilty Party. After the nails dry, she peels off a decal that corresponds with base manicure from the wax paper using tweezers and places it in the center of the nail, creating the desired optical illusion. To achieve this type of visual trickery at home, Poole suggests keeping the design small.
