At Bibhu Mohapatra the collection and beauty look to the historic Belle Epoque period for inspiration. “It’s the time in Paris where [Pablo] Picasso, [Salvador] Dali and [Ernest] Hemingway created their best work,” says Evo Lead Stylist Lauren McCowan. “The women that would come out at night, the courtesans, were the artists’ muses and they inspired these men to create amazing works because of love affairs.” Putting a modern spin on the woman from that era, McCowan crafts a stunning soft, effortless wave for her design. “It looks like this woman has been at work in NYC all day—she’s gotten home and thrown a beautiful ball gown on, and just works with her bed hair, twists it behind her ear and walks out the door because she’s that cool!” she says. To get the easy-going look, McCowan spritzes hair with Evo Mister Fantastic Texture Spray, blow-dries it with her hands and then creates loose braids through the lengths which she presses with a flat iron to create slight bends throughout. “This disrupts the natural shape and adds a little bit of polish,” she explains. To get hold, she next adds Evo Builder’s Paradise Working Spray and then sweeps the hair across from left to right, twists it behind the ear and secures it with bobby pins. “It’s really that easy!” she says of replicating the look.
AOFMPro Lead Makeup and Nail Artist Michelle Webb also looks to the same glamorous women for her elegant and graphic makeup design. “Their makeup made quite a statement,” she says. “So we brought that into the future—the present—[with this design].” To get the look, Webb uses Make Up For Ever Waterproof Cream Eyeshadow in Aqua Black to draw a disconnected eyeliner design and then teams it with a bold lip, covering pouts in either Jeffree Star Velour Liquid Lipstick in Watermelon Soda, Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar in Electric Grandma or an OCC custom-blended peach hue. “The lip is reminiscent of a classic matte red lip, but we’ve done it in pastel colors for summer,” she explains.
Webb keeps nails clean, coating them in a nude L’Oreal shade. “It’s a nice feminine look but also very strong,” she says. “It shows you that the woman is independent—there might be a lot happening in the world at the moment that might affect her, but she’s showing you that it’s not bothering her that much.”