Direct from the Runway: Thuy Spring 2010

Backstage at the Thuy Spring 2010 Collection was controlled chaos. Between makeup artist Luc Bouchard for M.A.C and hairstylist Elaine Mitchell, Senior Creative Director for Sassoon, the look was simple but at the same time quite sophisticated and glamorous. As Mitchell told me, "It's 1930's glamour with a touch of S&M ... kind of a little fetish, femme fatale thing." Pretty interesting stuff! Find out all the details after the jump.



Mitchell decided to create a feminine, sculpted shape through the hairline and separated the hair into three different panels. After saturating the hair with Sebastian mousse "because it's very soft and keeps [hair] really pliable," she began with a low, asymmetrical fishtail. She then worked in the other two panels, twisting and pinning them into very tight little loops and using Sebastian shine spray for a super sleek look. "On stage it's gonna look like leather! Almost like glass!" she told me. "On stage she'll have this nice little feminine chignon at the back, but she's gonna be FIERCE on top."



I loved talking to Luc Bouchard backstage, because not only is he a genius but he's one of the nicest makeup artists I've ever come across! "What we wanted to do is find a color that would make the collection pop," he said. "That's why we decided to settle on a big coral eye." He actually used three different M.A.C Paint Sticks to create the coral hue -- magenta, yellow and white -- noticing as he pointed them out that it was very similar to the nail color I was sporting! (Chanel Miami Peach, for those who were wondering!) "I couldn't find a color that was exactly it, so this is basically a new concoction," he said. He also showed me that because the color was created with Paint Sticks, it was incredibly creamy, powerful and long-lasting.


To make the color show when the eyes were open, he went high up onto the browbones and then extended it out. He then used black mascara on the top lashes, M.A.C Brun Eyeshadow on the brows "for a strong look," and contoured blush. He finished with Baby Breath Eyeshadow (a new color from the spring collection, this is a working name), and Dim Lip Erase to soften the lips and make them almost disappear.

Luc Bouchard backstage

When I asked Bouchard about the finish of the skin, he was quick to tell me it was neither dewy nor matte but satiny. To achieve this look, he used a combination of foundation, M.A.C Prep + Prime Finishing Powder in the T-zone and M.A.C Mineralize Skinfinish around the face for a bit of shine. "It gives that feeling of flesh, basically," he told me. "It gives more dimension to the face because it's softer on the sides." He also told me that each of these products have optical diffusers, so they make the skin look good both up close and far away. "When you back up it's even more perfect," he said. "It's almost like Photoshop creating an illusion!"