FASHION Magazine

See all the backstage beauty photos from Beaufille Spring 2014 »

For the Beaufille Spring 2014 show, Toronto designers Chloé and Parris Gordon wanted the models to look like “rich grunge girls” with a slight throwback to the ’90s. “I love these girls because they really stick to their branding and their image,” said Grace Lee, lead makeup artist for Maybelline New York. The chocolate shaded smoky eyes were the focus of the look: Lee lined models’ eyes on the top and bottom using Maybelline Eye Studio Master Smoky Longwearing Shadow-Pencil in “Scorching Brown” ($9, well.ca) and then smudged the colour to create a rough, undone look. For a glossy sheen on eyelids and the top of cheekbones, Lee lightly applied Maybelline Baby Lips ($4, well.ca). Meanwhile, models’ actual lips were covered with the shiny but non-sticky Maybelline Color Elixer gloss in “Caramel Infused” ($9, at drugstores November 2013)—which Lee proclaimed “the product of the season.”

See all four Big Pony fragrances and matching Essie nail art »

If there’s one thing the fashion and beauty world loves, it’s a good collaboration. So nail polish and fragrance lovers will be more than pleased to know that Essie has collaborated with Ralph Lauren to create an exclusive set of nail polishes for the Big Pony fragrance collection for women. It’s a move that makes perfect sense—each of the four Big Pony fragrances is packaged in such bright colours, so matching nail polish seems pretty much inevitable.

But wait! There’s even more goodness! Essie Canada has taken the collaboration one step further by having their lead nail artist, Rita Remark, create a unique nail art look to pair with each fragrance and polish set. The nail art designs complement the Big Pony fragrance personalities—sporty, sensual, free-spirited and stylish—and make use of the polish colours, which were created by Essie Weingarten herself. I sat down with Remark earlier this week to talk about the Essie polishes and the Ralph Lauren Big Pony fragrance collection for women—and to film a tutorial for the exclusive nail art looks. You can watch the nail tutorial above, but keep reading on for all the intel on the Essie polishes for the Ralph Lauren Big Pony fragrance collection and Rita Remark’s nail art designs.

As Essie Canada’s lead nail artist for World MasterCard Fashion Week, Rita Remark certainly had her hands full last week. She was in charge of creating nail looks for eight shows, including Mackage, Chloé Comme Parris and Pink Tartan—and with some shows casting more than 20 models, that meant Remark and her team had to file, prep and paint 1500 false nails in advance. Curious about the process of painting so many nails, I met Rita in her studio space at Toronto’s Gladstone Hotel. After getting a sneak peek at the nail art designs for upcoming shows, it was my turn to try painting.

See the full backstage gallery from Chloé Comme Parris Fall 2013 »

The makeup: “It’s about society girls gone bad. Rich girls who’ve been partying all night long and their makeup’s been really worn in and lived in and danced in.” —Grace Lee, Maybelline New York lead makeup artist

Skin was evened out with a mixture of Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream and moisturizer. For a dewy, “sweaty” highlight, clear Baby Lips lip balm was rubbed on the high plains of the cheek and the bridge of the nose.

Eyes were lined with a black kohl pencil, then more Baby Lips was pressed right into the liner with a thin brush, to give the effect of a girl who’s been in her makeup all night long. Soon-to-launch pots of Maybelline pigments in “Luxurious Bronze” and “Cashmere Brown” were applied on the lids, with more Baby Lips pressed on top. “It’s all about layering,” said Lee. She had models close their eyes while she held the lids open slightly with her finger so she could apply Rocket Mascara thickly to the top and bottom lashes at the same time, which gave an imperfect look, with smudges left below the eyes. “I want them to look a little bit messy, a little bit off. “ Brows were brushed up but left natural, because “it’s all about the screwed-up eye.”

See more of the nail art from Ashtiani Spring 2013 »

Last season I had the chance to work backstage during Toronto Fashion Week with the team from Tips Nail Bar. This season, the tables were turned: Essie invited me to experience what it’s like to be a model (er, nail-wise, that is) by getting the look for Ashtiani Spring 2013 applied on my own nails. Rita Remark, the lead Essie nail artist for World MasterCard Fashion Week, was leading the charge backstage, working with the team from Pinky’s Nails to design and apply creative manicures for seven shows throughout the week. (That’s more than 850 nails that need to be prepped and painted beforehand!)