Direct from the Runway: Lela Rose Fall 2009

It's always a fun day when I get to hang out backstage with Sarah Lucero, Global Director of Education for Stila, and my Facebook bestie Ted Gibson. Add Nonie Creme of butter LONDON to the mix and there was no way I was missing the Lela Rose show during Fall 2009 Fashion Week.

"Lela always is very thoughtful about her process of her clothing and when we had the hair and makeup test, one of the things she was talking about was the rainforest," Gibson, a longtime friend and collaborator with Lela Rose, told me backstage. "The insects and the beetles and all these really great creatures."

See how Gibson, Lucero and Creme were inspired by this after the jump!



Working with makeup artist Tina Turnbow, Lucero (who actually has a really fantastic blog!) was inspired by the curving back of a beetle. "You see a lot of colors, lots of greens, blues, yellows and golds," she told me. "Tina and Lela really wanted the eyes to reflect a wet beetle wing. It’s about a wet rainforest, she’s kind of a fairy princess running through the rainforest."



After working Stila Sheer Color Tinted Moisturizer SPF 15, Stila Perfecting Concealer and Stila Pressed Powder into the models' complexions, Lucero started on the eyes. She tinted the lashes with Stila Smudge Pot in Jade, dipping a flat brush into the pot and just subtly tinting the lashes.

Then it was time for the eyeshadow. "The key with this look is keeping it really dark on the outer corners and really stretching it out as far as it can go," Lucero told me. Stila Kajal Eye Liner in Emerald, a "really creamy, cool pencil," was drawn all over the eye and into the crease to create the shape. Lucero "loaded it on," making it thicker at the outer corners and blending it onto the lid with a brush. Gold and green eyeshadows from the Stila Princess Pearl Palette, along with new eyeshadows in Constellation (sort of like the popular Kitten but with more shimmer) and Venus (a beige shimmer) were used for added definition and iridescence. "When you put Constellatoin on the eye, it looks like it's a wet dewdrop," Lucero enthused. She even swept it through the brows and cheeks for added sparkle and sheen.



Speaking of the cheeks, Lucero used a new cream-to-powder blush named Camellia, which had a bit of a bronzy hue. She applied it to the apples of the cheeks and then smudged it into the cheekbones before dusting lightly with shimmer to give cheeks a wet look.

Lips were glossy but devoid of shimmer. "Kind of like what you're wearing now," Lucero said to me. (Wow, my lipgloss was right on par with the look at Lela Rose!) While she was using Stila Lip Glaze in Praline, she said you can also use Apricot or Cinnamon shades, or even a Shine Lip Polish, as long as it's on the nude side.

Then it was on to hair with the fabulous Ted Gibson. "What I decided to do was to come up with some idea of how to make a beetle sophisticated and chic," Gibson told me as he worked on a model's tresses. "Lela likes to have hair back. So I thought a ponytail would be great because it’s beautiful and fun and kind of exemplifies a really young, sophisticated girl."



To make his ponytails stand out, he decided to make them full of texture and create a really unique shape. He began by backcombing the entire head for added lift and volume. He then used his Tame it Shine Lotion and Beautiful Hold Hairspray control static as well as "all the elements of the girls when they come through Fashion Week. Their hair is kind of destroyed," he said. "It helps to give their hair a nice texture as well as brilliant shine."

He then pulled the mass of hair back from the face into a ponytail in the middle of the head and secured it with an elastic before roughing it up in the back. "It looks like she was in the rainforest," he said. More spritzes of Beautiful Hold Hairspray finished the look and helped to keep it in place.



Then it was on to nails with Nonie Creme of butter LONDON. "It’s all about this kind of humid, wet, soft rainforest," she told me. "Jungle greens, flashes of yellow. Everything’s got this very almost insect quality, these iridescent colors that change in different lights.

"For the manicure, we didn’t want to do a nail that felt very matchy matchy with the eye. It seemed really inappropriate and kind of overdone and it didn’t really fit the storyline. So what we’ve done in the end is a layer of something that’s half pearl –- literally a color kind of a whitish pearl -– and half antique gold. It has a slightly green hue, like a gold patina, that fits really nicely with the eye."

The overall effect was extremely sheer. Creme wanted the nails to look very wet, clean and soft, almost like gossamer or a thin spiderweb. "If you envision this woman ... Oh, I'm lost in the rainforest!" she deadpanned. Only one coat of polish was used so that it would appear sheer. "Two coats of this particular color, it’s too much pearl and not enough see through, so it doesn’t play with the light as much if you do two coats," she cautioned. While this was a custom blend of butter LONDON Swinger and a pearl shade that isn't even in stores yet ("It just came from the lab!"), Creme said that one coat of Swinger will do the trick.



Creme even gave me some more advice on how to make your polish play with the light. "Color tends to go much flatter on two coats, especially anything with a pearlescent or a glitter. So if you want to do something that plays with the light, keep it to one coat, no matter what it is. Even very, very dark, even black, if you want it to play with the light more, keep it to one coat." Interesting, right?