MANHATTAN — From orange lips to frosty white eyeliner fit for an ice queen, there's not likely to be a shortage of fierce faces on and off the runways during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2012, according to makeup designer Yuui Ogawa.
The 24-year-old makeup artist, who goes by "Yuui" and has worked backstage for designers including Diesel Black Gold, Sophie Theallat, and Phillip Lim, said she expects to see a mashup of bright, colorful looks in the audience packed under the tents this week.
She said the runways will likely be filled with dramatic, intense color palettes from deep gold to a smoky charcoal.
"When I see the new looks for spring, I see many colors," said Yuui, who will be backstage at Fall Fashion Week again this season.
"People want more excitement. For fall, going into winter, we will see more intensity with the colors as the garments get darker. People are going to have a strong look, with a sexy, fierce effect."
Yuui put together a roundup for DNAinfo of the top three looks for Fashion Week spectators hoping to look their best under the tents — think Nanette Lepore and Burberry.
She also rounded up the top three fall looks likely to make an appearance on the runways as designers debut their styles for Fall/Winter fashions in 2012 — heavily inspired by the dramatic touches of Alexander McQueen and others.
TOP SPRING LOOKS:
1. "Orange-a-licious"
The look: The bolder, the better, when it comes to this color, Ogawa says. Bright orange is popping up as the most popular color for spring, and the color makes for a perfectly pouty mouth. Add a sweep of bronzer on the cheeks and large, Hollywood sunglasses to pump up the look.
You'll Need: Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetic Lip Tar in Beta Neon Orange, HD Foundation by Makeup Forever, Stila bronzer or an orange blush and a pair of vintage-looking sunglasses.
Tips and Techniques: Use a brush to apply your foundation, spreading evenly around the nose and under the eyes. Apply the lipstick with a lip brush, accentuating the curves of your mouth with even strokes. To make the lips pop, apply a little bit more foundation around the edges of the mouth after lipstick is applied. Accentuate the cheekbones with the bronzer in an upward diagonal stroke.
2. "Modern Meets Retro"
The Look: Bold blue eyelashes give a nod to fashion from the '80s and '90s, while matte lips and and a perfectly placed scarf give it a retro feel.
"For makeup I think it's really cool to mix and match," Yuui says of two trends that have been seen in Diane von Furstenberg and other labels this season. "The beautiful old-fashioned look actually looks quite good with the boldness of the '80s."
You'll Need: Black, purple and blue mascaras of any brand, HD Foundation by Makeup Forever, your favorite nude or clear lip gloss and a retro polka dot or patterned scarf.
Tips and Techniques: After the face is brushed with foundation, start with black mascara first. Wiggle the mascara wand from side to side at the base of your eyelashes and gently brush upward and outward to the ends. Afterwards, apply the purple mascara to the inner two-thirds of your eyelashes, leaving the outer lashes black. Finally, finish with a bit of blue mascara in the center, for an accent. Apply a clear coat of lip gloss and tie your hair back with the scarf.
3. "Pretty in Purple"
The Look: "I believe in lavender — It matches everything, and it makes the skin look really pure and smooth," Yuui says. When the entire eye has a light coat of lavender shadow, with a few highlights of purple eyeliner at the eyelash line, the look is subtle enough for day but dramatic enough for night, making it a perfect spring look.
You'll Need: Coastal Scents lavender and baby blue eye shadows, purple and black MAC eyeliners, MAC lip liner in Mute Baby Pink and Smashbox glimmery shadow.
Tips and Techniques: Coat the lavender shadow lightly in tiny circles all the way around the eye, including below the bottom lid. Use baby blue shadow at the outer edges. Line the eyes with black eyeliner across the upper eyelid line, then highlight with purple liner on the lower lid from the outside to 2/3 of the way in. Dust the face with a glimmery powder to accentuate the glow.
TOP FALL LOOKS:
1. "Golden Goddess"
The Look: Inspired by grandiose fashions of Alexander McQueen, the season's colors will move from a bright orange to a deep, bronze gold.
"A lot of people think that gold is the color of summer, but it actually looks really rich," Yuui says. "It's really the perfect look for fall. Gold shows more glamour — the economy is getting better, and we've been struggling, but women still need to feel sexy and luxurious."
You'll Need: MAC eyeshadow in bright gold, copper gold and mustard yellow, Makeup Forever Flash Color Case, your favorite bronzer, a pair of funky glasses and a beret.
Tips and Techniques: Use MAC copper eyeshadow to create an oval around the whole eye. Put mustard yellow on the very top part of the eyelids, right below the brows. Use a very light, shimmery gold in a crescent shape as an highlight underneath the eyes. Using a brush, fill the lips in with the gold cream pigment from the Make Up Forever Flash Color Case- it's much thicker and more metallic than lipstick.
2. "Ice Queen"
The Look: Ingenue meets seductress in this Victorian look. Bright-white liner accentuates the eyes, while inside-out French braids knotted into a low bun give an elegant twist to the youthful style.
You'll Need: HD foundation, MAC concealer, eyebrow pencils in a shade lighter than your color, Coastal Scents neutral shadow, MAC white eyeliner, black mascara, fake eyelashes, hairspray, hair bands and bobby pins.
Tips and Techniques: Apply the foundation with fingertips for a more natural look. Brush the eyebrows and lighten them with liner. Apply a neutral shadow followed by mascara, then apply white liner to the tops and bottoms of the eyes in a thick, cat-eye shape. Reapply mascara on top. Glue fake individual lashes to the bottom lids, spacing them out for a more dramatic effect. French braid the hair in two sections, one right-side out and the other outside-in, twisting together in a bun in back. Finish with a dark red lipstick.
3. "Winking Temptress"
The Look: Coal-colored smoky eyes and sleek, asymmetrical hair combine to form a look that's bold and to the point, and perfect for high-powered divas, Yuui says.
"More women than ever are career and goal-oriented," Yuui says. "The garments will be dark, and the looks will be more intense. It's very dramatic."
You'll Need: Coal-black liquid eyeliner from MAC, black and dark gray eyeshadow from MAC, wine red eyeshadow from MAC, dark brown eyeshadow from MAC, Coal Black pencil liner from MAC, HD foundation, dark brown lipstick and lip liner from MAC, bronzer, hairspray, bobby pins, hair elastics.
Tips and Techniques: Line the top of the eye with the liquid liner. Smudge in the black and and dark gray eyeshadows to make a cat-eye shape, then smudge to make it smoky. blend well. apply a small bit of Wine Red eyeshadow to the upper eyelids, and blend in well. Use pencil eyeliner to line in the bottom lids, and smudge with a brush. Apply a foundation lighter than the skin. Darken the eyebrows with brown shadow. Part the hair so that the hair covers one eye, and secure in a small bun in the back. Let the rest of the hair hang over the shoulder.
