MBFW 2013 GARY BIGENI

First Published on Couturing

With the who’s who of the fashion world piling in to Sydney this week for the annual Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia, some designers have previewed their newest collections in preparation for Australia’s biggest week in fashion and beauty.

A designer praised and recognised for his use of exuberant colour and lively designs, Gary Bigeni showcased his playful Spring Summer 2013/2014 ‘Alignment’ collection at Sydney’s China Heights Studio last Wednesday.

With such a busy palette of colours being shown down the runway, the hairstyles needed to be kept clean and simple with a modern twist to compliment Bigeni’s designs. Redken hair director Jon Pulitano was the mastermind behind the hairstyles at the collection, opting for an understated look to juxtapose the clothes, saying, “hair needed to be quietly chic.” The look created was a slight masculine low ponytail with a touch of colour painted onto the hair.

 GET THE LOOK:

1. Prep hair with Redken Rootful 06 Root Lifting Spray ($29.95) to the roots of your hair and brush it through to the lengths.
2. Blow-dry your hair fairly smooth to prep for the sleek ponytail.
3. Part your hair naturally and pull it back into a low ponytail at the nape of the neck, keeping it tight on the sides.
4. Secure ponytail with a hair tie, leaving out a small section of the your hair free. Wrap the free piece of hair around the tie to conceal the hair tie.
5. Spray hair with Redken Forceful 23 Super Strength Finishing Spray ($26.95) to secure the look.
6. Rub two-three drops of Redken Argan-6 Oil ($29) onto your palms and smooth over hair to rid any fly-aways on the crown and lengths of the ponytail.
7. Finish the look with Redken 23 Super Strength Finishing Spray ($26.95) for extra hold and shine.
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If you also want to add a touch of colour like Pulitano did for the models, use coloured hair dust in pastel colours such as blue, pink and violet to replicate the 60’s monochromatic look used on the runway. He painted the colour to a wide panel of the hair, starting from the front of the crown and running down into the nape of the ponytail.

Gary Bigeni’s newest collection has kick-started the massive week in fashion, raising the anticipation of the looks not only in the clothes but also in the hair and beauty looks that will be seen on the catwalk and translated onto the streets.

Images c/o Redken.

LMFF RUNWAY 5 BEAUTY LOOKS.

First published on Couturing 

Black and white monochrome and leather adorned the L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival’s Runway 5, presented by Harper’s Bazaar.

Bursts of colour were also in the mix with designers incorporating different shades of red and blue into their A/W pieces.

The new collections from Arthur Galan AG, Bassike, Ellery, Sass and Bide plus more, were accompanied with a dark and edgy smoky eye, which contrasted the skin that had a natural and dewy appearance.

 To achieve the natural and bare look the models’ skin had, L’Oreal Paris Nude Magique BB Cream was applied to the face, a ground-breaking product that self-adjusts to match your skin tone. L’Oreal Paris Nude Magique BB Powder was dusted over the top of the base for extra coverage. Cheeks were lightly bronzed withL’Oreal Paris Glam Bronze La Terra, as well as a swipe of Nude Magique BB Blush for a little extra colour.

 Make-up artists added depth to the models’ eyebrows by filling them in with L’Oreal Paris Colour Riche Le Sourcil in Deep Brown. This created a strong brow to add to the dark and edgy look that they achieved down the runway.

L’Oreal Paris Colour Riche Le Smokey in #204 Brown Fusion was used to line the top and bottom lash lines. The eyeliner was kept heavier on the outer corner, then gradually thinned as the artists worked their way towards the inner eye.

The eyeshadow used on the runway was L’Oreal Paris Colour Riche Les Ombres Eyeshadow in E4 Absolute Taupe. This palette incorporates four earthy tones, a deep dark brown, a lighter taupe shade, as well as a soft bronze rich in brown pigments and a lighter bronze colour.

The intense smokiness of the eye was created by using the darkest colour from the palette on the outer area of the eyes, making a soft sidewards triangle. This was filled in with the same colour a quarter of the way into the eye lid, then the taupe was used from where the dark colour ended and artists worked their way, blending the two until they reached half way of the lid. The lighter bronze shades from the eyeshadow palette were then blended through the inner half of the eye.

To complete the smoky eye, L’Oreal Paris Mega Volume Collagene in Black was applied to the lashes for length and volume. L’Oreal Paris Colour Riche Le Kohl in 120 Immaculate Snow was used on the water line to wake up the eyes.

 The model’s lips were also kept bare to allow the eyes to be the feature, with artists adding a light hue of pink to the lips, using L’Oreal Paris Colour Riche in #379 Sensual Rose.

Hair was also kept minimal, with the stylists opting for a straight, textured look, parted in the middle with the back section teased a little for added height.

The hair and makeup for the LMFF runway complemented the designers’ collections perfectly, to flatter rather than overpower the fashion. These are looks that are definitely worthy of replicating as we head into A/W 2013.