It was Hollywood glamour goes to Palm Springs at Rebecca Valance Resort 2017 Collection at Mercedes Benz Fashion Fashion Week, which involved a blue-red matte lip and a professional spray tan backstage.
First port of call for the models at the Rebecca Valance Resort Collection was St Tropez’s professional spray tanning booth. It is the first year that the spray tanning brand has brought a professional set-up to Fashion Week and the team were excited with the results.
“The spray tanning machine is a new element for us for fashion week,” says St Tropez tanning expert Michael Brown. “The drying time is a key element; the air dries it so much quicker than using our hands [and take-home tanning].
Models were sprayed with the brand’s new professional Luxe Dry Oil, which is set to go into salons as as professional service this August.
“The Luxe Dry Oil is so nourishing to the body because it is oil based,” says Brown. “It has a sheen though it so the glow you get is stunning. Most spray tans are matte because DHA mattes the skin but because DHA has been eliminated from the formulation, you really get that glow.”
The Rebecca Valance girl this collection is all about lifestyle so gleaming skin was on-point. “Her look is a very active and healthy so we have gone for that dewy skin. The Luxe Oil gives a medium tone, it’s not too dark and the sheen under the lights is beautiful.”
After the models were gleamed to perfection, they moved into the M.A.C camp where Carol Mackie, Senior Artist for M.A.C Cosmetics, created a look that was pure class.
“Rebecca Valance wanted a beautiful Old Hollywood look with a bit of Palm Springs thrown in there,” says Carol Mackie, who lead the charge as makeup director for the show. “The models have been spray tanned so they have that resort feel. We added lighter foundation through the centre of the face so the models looked healthy but without that overly sun-tanned look. It’s very creamy and very fresh.”
Skin was highlighted to give a golden glow and blend in seamlessly with the spray tan.
“We’re using the M.A.C Lustre Drops in Pink Rebel mixed with Cream Colour Base on the high planes of the face,” says Mackie. “So on the cheekbones, down the centre of the face, down the nose, down the cupid’s bow.”
Eyes were given subtle definition “using a couple of shades from the M.A.C Trend Forecast Fall 16 Eye Palette,” says Mackie. While brows were “not overly drawn on” but instead given lift with the help of the new Big Brow Pencil, which was “brushed slightly through the brow” before “brushing them up with Clear Brow Set to keep them in place and lift up the brow”.
And then, the Old Hollywood comes into play with every few models being given a red lip. The key to this standout feature was that is was blue in tone, multi-dimensional and matte.
The look started with M.A.C Trend Forecast Fall 16 Lip Palette, “then when the lipstick is dry, we pop the pencil over the top,” says Mackie who used the M.A.C Anything Goes Velvetease Lip Pencil. “Then we add the M.A.C Pigment Colour Powder in Magenta Madness – it looks really bright but it actually seeps into the colour and creates that really blue red that Rebecca wanted.”
Originally, the brief called for only a handful of the statement lip but after seeing it in rehearsal, Mackie was asked to do more.
“We had eight or nine red lips and now we have a few more,” Mackie tells Professional Beauty backstage. “They saw it on the catwalk in rehearsal and it looked really good so they added a few more. ”