Direct from the Runway: Rosa Cha

Last spring, Brazilian swimwear designer Rosa Cha was one of this beauty chick's fave shows.(Click here for my review on the beauty looks from that show.) Well, of course I was totally psyched to get backstage for the Spring 2009 presentation. Here's what I found out!

First up, I spoke with hairstylist Edward Tricomi, who couldn't have been nicer. "We wanted to do something very fresh, very clean," he said. "It's basically straight hair with a little volume to it, very natural." To get the models' hair so sleek and shiny, Edward used a round bristle brush and some volumizing spritz to give the tresses a bit of body. He then blew out the locks section by section, from front to back, to really get each strand as shiny as possible. He finished off the look with some blowdry lotion for that gorgeous gleam you see in the model at left.

Next up, I spoke with Gordon Espinet, who was the key makeup artist for the show. He was a riot! He had me laughing throughout his entire spiel. The look here was quite fresh and clean -- "It's really about making a woman look absolutely beautiful -- not glamorous, but beautiful," Gordon told me. Skin was matte with lots of texture and sculpting, creating what Gordon called a Malibu Barbie Effect. (Didn't I say he was funny?) And for the gals like this beauty chick who are beyond pale, there was even M.A.C Sundressing -- a long-wearing fake tanner that M.A.C launches each summer.

Lips were almost non-existent, and purposely so -- Gordon used M.A.C Lip Erase, a PRO product that acts as a concealer for the lips. It erases the red so the lips become the same color as the skin.

And with all that clearness going on, you just know Gordon had something up his sleeve ... and this time, it was loads and gobs of mascara. Using ProLash, Gordon dipped the wand into the tube and really, as he put it, "gobbed up the end of the wand" ... and then used only the end to "chunk up" the eyelashes, "turning every five eyelashes into one." This one step of the process took at least ten minutes per model!

Nails were kept on the simple side, with Creative Nail Design Nail Enamel in Crowned painted onto the tips. Here are some pictures of nail pro Jennifer manicuring one of the models (and yes, her own dark blue tips are fabulous!):




The end result was fresh, clean and just a bit glowy -- totally perfect for days at the beach!

*All photos are the property of The Beauty of Life.