As time passes, life becomes more complicated; we often long to go back to a time when things were simpler. Such is the case at Carmen Marc Valvo, where the collection is inspired by memories—a recollection of simpler times and innocence. Lead Stylist Ted Gibson wanted to bring that innocence to his design and immediately thought about curly texture. “When girls are really young they have some kind of texture throughout their hair. As they get older, it grows out and the texture changes,” he says. “I wanted to create this girl that almost looks like a baby doll.”
To get the playful look, Gibson first preps hair with Kérastase Spray á Porter and then blow-dries it straight. He crafts a deep side part to open up the face and then takes two-inch sections and wraps the models’ locks around a French hair pin, creating a “figure 8” set. Gibson then flat irons each section for two minutes before cooling and separating the curls with his fingers for added texture. Serious shine is bequeathed via L’Oréal Professionnel Tecni.Art Or Graphic Golden Modeling Gel while a few spritzes of L’Oréal Paris Elnett Satin Hairspray holds the design in place. He finishes the look by adding an all-too-perfect, cute-as-a-button bow. “In one of Carmen’s drawings, he had a big bow that covered the girl’s face,” Gibson shares. “I thought it looked amazing so I asked him to make me one! It’s so beautiful. I love a hair accessory!”
For the makeup design, MAC Lead Artist Romero Jennings takes the designer’s inspiration, innocence lost, as his directive. “If you think about that, in a doll's fashion, it's quite interesting,” he says. “It's a little bit dark but still bright and fun at the same time.” Jennings gives the skin an ethereal and glowing look and then focuses on the eyes and lips to create a youthful yet elegant design. For the eye, he uses concealer to block-out the brows and then places falsies on the top lashes, either MAC 4 Lash or MAC 7 Lash, and uses MAC Liquidlast Liner in Point Black to paint lashes along the lower lashline. “It’s very ’70s,” he says. For the lip, Jennings applies coral Retro Matte Liquid Lipcolor in Rich & Restless, making it stronger on the inside of the mouth and fading it out to almost nothing along the edges. “It’s an ombré lip and is really diffused,” he explains. “What's great about this whole doll look is the eyes are quite strong with lots of lashes, but then you have a cute little innocent mouth because it's not a hard line.” To finish the look, Jennings uses peachy, glossy colors from the upcoming MAC Pink You Said Bright On Trend Lip Palette for the cheeks and lids. “They’re beautiful, shimmery colors that will give the look a really brilliant shine,” he says. “On the stage it's going to look like the skin is wet and gleaming.”
Nail Lounge Lead Artist Qiana Aviles opts for a fun yet classic look for her nail design: a modern French with a super cool twist. “It’s a replica of what the brand represents,” she says. To get the simple, graphic look, Aviles first coats almond-shaped nails with a Vetro USA nude hue. Then, with a striping brush and either a black or white polish, or a blend of OPI in Big Apple Red and CND Vinylux in Rouge Red, she paints a thin French tip. The stunning element comes as a second line that mimics the French in shape and color half way down the nail. Of the red hue choice, Aviles says, “there’s a pop of the red color in the collection so Carmen requested it himself!”