Backstage Beauty Bit: Monique Lhuillier Spring/Summer 2012

Monique Soy Milk ManisAsk us what month is it and we’ll tell you which sports organization is keeping its fans in fits over lockouts. No matter the contract fights and union struggles; what these organizations represent—good ol’ sports—certainly still revs up the creative juices for designers this season. For Monique Lhuillier’s Spring 2012 outing, the athlete is muse, and each piece highlights the curves, sinews and lines of a fine-tuned body. And what hairstyle befits a female athlete (albeit, one wearing floor-sweeping gowns)? Why, the favored fuss-free ponytail, naturally! “The collection includes cocktail dresses and evening gowns, so we wanted the hair pulled back to accentuate the necklines and shoulders,” Kérasatase lead hair stylist Odile Gilbert notes. But this pony has some kick: a little tease. First, Gilbert preps dry hair with Kérastase Fibre Architecte dual reparative treatment and then flat-irons strands to add sleekness. She slicks the crown with Kérastase Sublimateur Jour, and then secures the ponytail at the crown with a hook elastic. To give the tail shape and movement, she teases it, lending just enough “oomph” for a jaunt down the runway.

 

If milk does a body good, then the “Soy Milk” manicures CND lead nail tech Wanda Ruiz designed do a nail great. Keeping nails at an active, oval shape, Ruiz layers semi-sheer CND Colour in Cream Washed with CND Super Shiney Top Coat for a nail that appears as though it’s been dipped in milk. For toes (because every sporty sartorialist needs flashy feet), Ruiz custom-blends a blue “reminiscent of a cloudy night sky.” Will we be seeing this look on the court or field anytime soon? Hopefully…pending there’s no beauty lockouts! —Karie L. Frost/ Beauty Etc.

 

Other Backstage Beauty Spring/Summer 2012: Cushnie et Ochs | Altuzarra | Cut25 | Joy Cioci | Jen Kao | BCBG Max Azria | Erikson Beamon | Wes Gordon

More in Home