Runway Report: Two Fairytales at Michael Costello

Backstage at the Michael Costello show, MIZANI Global Artistic Director César DeLeön Ramirêz has been tasked with creating not one, but two whimsical hairstyles—a braided crown for Costello’s dreamy couture collection, and a flossy bun for his fairytale-esque bridal line. “For the braided look, we wanted to keep it soft and romantic yet still elevated and editorial, to keep it consistent with the bun look,” he explains. To lend hair the grit needed to make braiding a breeze, he applies MIZANI Lived-In Texture Creation Cream at the roots. “Having the right product is key; we wanted to keep the braid clean, so you need a product that will give you grit and control of the braid versus too much slip,” he says. To balance the braided crown with the rest of the tumbling lived-in waves, Ramirêz points out that hair distribution in the top and bottom sections (which he creates seamlessly with a Olivia Garden CarboSilk Technical & Chemical Comb and a Double Clip) must be equal. “This allows you to maintain a fullness and thickness in the braids but not compromise the amount of remaining hair for the loose waves,” he says.

For the cotton-candy-textured bun, two high ponytails create the foundation. Mounds of MIZANI Lived-In Finishing Spray coat the hair, which is teased to the hilt using a Olivia Garden Style-Up Teasing Brush. Each newly fuzzed section is flat-ironed into a flat, flossy panel, and then spritzed with HRM Humidity Resistant Mist to help work and lock the panels into a whirled sky-high wonder. “The creation of two high ponytails is key,” Ramirêz explains. “This foundation will give you the potential for width and fullness in the bun without having to use filler/extensions.” Of the fashion-forward style, he notes that the idea was to get the hair up and away from the face, but push the bridal-style envelope a tad. “It’s still nodding to traditional bridal with elements of a polished updo, but we’re really transforming it with texture for a more avant-garde, editorial take. We’re basically taking the messy bun to the next level,” he says. 

Makeup takes glowing skin to the next level, with Inglot makeup lead Michela Polaco sharing that this dew-dropped skin “converts the idea that glamour is something reserved for the elite. The inspiration comes from our desire to accentuate women’s natural features, and we’re achieving this by creating very supple, fresh and radiant skin, an effortless, wearable yet sexy eye, and a lip that looks stained from a glass of wine.” To create the dreamy effect on skin, she mixes Inglot AMC Liquid Illuminator with Inglot HD Color Correcting Primer as the base so that the models’ skin actually radiates through the makeup. For the wine-stained lip, she lines the lips with Inglot Soft Precision Lip Pencil in #56 and taps on Inglot Sleeks Cream Lip Paint in #91 for a diffused effect.

As with the hair, nails take on two different approaches: a metallic ombre, using Essie Imported Bubbly, Penny Talk and Buy Me a Cameo, for the couture clothes and a hand-painted rose for the bridal collection. Essie nail lead Julie Kandalec explains, “Michael actually sketched out the rose on paper and showed it to me, and I replicated it on the pointer finger using Essie Penny Talk over a base of Topless & Barefoot.” To create the flower, she first painted a circle using a size one liner brush. Off of the circle, Kandalec draws a row of small semi-circles. To finish, a third row of half open c-shapes bursts off of the semi-circles, creating petals that unfurl. “The open c-shapes give the rose a more sketched look, like how Michael drew the rose,” Kandalec says.