Tuesday Tough and Pretty: Shelter Serra Watches and Purple Eyeshadow

Purplish eyes at the Gucci catwalks for Fall 2013

I have been getting so many complements on my rubber fake rolex of late. At meetings in Soho, on the beach when I was in Hawaii. No matter where, this watch is hot. AND, people think it tells the time - ha! But it doesn't. It just looks cool, and that's that. Which is why I say, get on this right now. They're light, easy to match an absolutely fun interpretation on the epic classic 70s standard watch. I love it in white. Get one now. You can even mix and match the pieces to make yours multicolored (check my instagram - sidebar on right- to see how I do it.)

My new accessory obssesion: the Fake Roley by Shelter Serra, $40

Now, what does this have to do with beauty you say?  The right accessories can balance out minimal makeup -- which is one of trends for the fall season. One of the looks I latched onto was the deep autumn colored eyeshadows. There were oranges and deep purples -- we're talking just layers of beautiful shadow and the rest of the face kept clean. Try shading your eyes with this Hourglass Visionaire Eye Shadow Duo in eggplant/muave shimmer ($38). Color in your entire lid form the middle of the lid out -- or one of my simple looks I love is to just dot the outer corners of your eyes with a round bigger eyeshadow brush, so you just have a pop of color at the outer edges. It's different, works as a highlighter and is something you can do in a hurry. And this particular look is great for Asian eyes.

Hourglass Visionaire Eye Shadow Duo  ($38)

-- N.C.

Disclaimer: Nuy Cho has no affiliation to any of the beauty companies mentioned on www.nuybeauty.com.

Backstage Beauty, Hair & Makeup at NYFW S/S `14: Zang Toi

Model Ling at Zang Toi S/S `14 NYFW, sports beautiful and soft blue on her eyes, nude lips and bold brows. The skin is left flawless with Amazing Cosmetics by Rudy Miles, lead Makeup Artist. Photo Credit: John M. Craig for René Furterer

Backstage beauty is super fun during NYFW. It's where all the action is and though massively chaotic (imagine dizzying amounts of flat irons, nail polishes and liquid foundations are being thrown willy-nilly all over picnic tables and stylists of every type are running like chickens with their heads cut off, and shouting in a setting like a crowded train station at rush hour) - the adrenaline of new fashion to be seen and created is adrenaline pumping.

I had the pleasure of interviewing a long time colleague, awesome hair guru Eiji Yamane, whom I'd known since my days at Issey Miyake. He was lead hair stylist for the Zang Toi show, where the collection was inspired by dance, and themed BALLET BABE. I also had great fun meeting Rudy Miles of BeautybyRudy, lead makeup - who created a look anchored around a soft but bold blue eye that was elegant but striking:

Eiji's Ballet Babe Hair How-To:

Eiji, lead Hair Stylist, uses an old fashioned curling iron to create sumptuous curls and romance for his bold but elegant chignons - for "Ballet Babe" - Zang Toi's fashion theme. Photo Credit: John M. Craig for René Furterer

Eiji's hair creations were a mix of classic, romantic Hollywood crimp curls, gently set into, slightly edgier chingons, with side and middle parts. Each look took about 20 minutes to create. Rene Furterer (I love his products!) was the exclusive hair product used. Here's the step by step how-to:

1) Begin by making a clean center part, misting hair with water before giving hair a blow-out. To give hair more body and hold, I worked in a little René Furterer VEGETAL SCULPTING GEL while blow-drying hair using a Mason Pearson brush to give hair a smooth finish.

2) Leaving hair on the sides free, I gathered the rest of the hair behind the ears and made a low ponytail, spraying hair with René Furterer VEGETAL FINISHING SPRAY for a flexible hold. Next, I secured the ponytail with a skinny hair tie, and then tood a section of hair from the ponytail, wrapping it from left to right around the base of the ponytail to hide the hair tie and tucking in a few hair pins for extra hold.

3) Using the end of a rat-tail comb like a pick, I lightly lifted the hair above the ponytail to keep it from going flat at the back of the head.

4) To create the finger waves on the sides, I took sections of the loose hair from each side of the middle part. One at a time I sprayed the sections with René Furterer LISSEA thermal protecting smoothing spray. This helps protect the hair against the heat from the curling iron. Using a medium-barrel curling iron; I rolled the section toward the head.

The sheer beauty of the exquisite chignon, Eiji's creation.
Photo Credit: John M. Craig for René Furterer

5) After releasing the iron, I combed through the curl and then crimped it with the curling iron to give it more bend, going down the length of the curled section at half-inch intervals. Now the sections were more of a wave than a loose curl. After curling, combing and crimping the sections on each side, I gathered the hair and to bring it behind the ear, taking care to cover the ears and shaping the sections in a classic finger wave pattern. Next, I secured the waves on both sides with several clips. Then misted the sides with René Furterer VEGETAL FINISHING SPRAY to set the waves while I work on creating the chignon.

6) Spraying the ponytail with René Furterer's VEGETAL FINISHING SPRAY, I brushed through the length of the hair with the brush. If the hair needed a smoother finish I went over the ponytail with a flat iron. To make the Ballet Babe chignon, I took the ponytail, made a big loop and rolled it toward the base of the ponytail so that the finished chignon sat on the nape of the neck. This results in a full, dramatic chignon. To maximize fullness, I lightly fanned it out a little with my fingers or use the tail and teeth of a rattail comb to finesse the shape.

7) The Ballet Babe chignon calls for long, thick tresses, so if a model has shorter hair we faked it with beautiful 100% human hair extensions from Fantasy Fashion Hair. Whether faux or real, all chignons were given a final misting with René Furterer VEGETAL FINISHING SPRAY. Lastly, the waves were unclipped and were ready for the runway.

-- N.C.

Disclaimer: Nuy Cho has no affiliation to any of the beauty companies mentioned on www.nuybeauty.com.

NYFW S/S 2014 GET THE LOOK: Rose Gold Eyes at Jason Wu

A deep but single-toned rose-gold eye set a pretty but bold theme at Jason Wu's show
on Sept. 7, 2013, by makeup artist Diane Kendal. Image via http://modelsofcolor.tumblr.com/

NYFW S/S 2014 GET THE LOOK: Rose Gold Eyes at Jason Wu

During fashion week, one of my priorities is to spot killer makeup. It's part of my job as a makeup artist and your beauty expert, but it's also nice to see the standout artistry amidst the standard nude/bare faces we've been seeing so much the past few years. Not that there's anything wrong or simple about a great and pretty bare face -- it's actually quite hard. However, it's fun on the runways, to spot the theatrical and original. My favorite so far on this fall's catwalk is a gilded take on a smoky lid -- the stellar rose gold eye done by makeup artist Diane Kendal at the Jason Wu Show for #NYFW Spring/Summer 2014.

To me, this eye sets itself apart because it's one color, but done with a hue chosen so aptly. The pinkish gold (she used a 5-toned eye shadow and liner palette by Lancôme in Bronze Amour) beautifully complements so many skin tones w/ its lush earthy undertones. And the gentle and non-obtrusive sparkle effect done with a rose gold dusting powder (also by Lancôme) creates a soft, shimmery, sunset feel.

To get the look at home, start by lining your eyes with a dark espresso kohl eye-lining pencil -- doing both top and bottom. Then also line the outline of your upper eyelid (as you can see in both models photos). Follow the lines gently with the crayon and use your finger or a Q-tip (I recommend the Precisions Tips for makeup) to soften the lines so they look not hardly drawn but finely shaded.

Then fill in the eye shadow color with a bronze eye shadow like Maybelline's Eye Studio Color Pearls Marbelized Eye Shadow Duo in Bronze Blowout (a steal at $6). Make sure the color is nice and even all over your lids.

Maybelline's Eye Studio Color Pearls Marbelized Eye Shadow Duo in Bronze Blowout (a steal at $6)

Then dust a very fine layer of  M.A.C.'s Pigment powder in Tan ($21)(a muted pinky bronze) all over the lid.

M.A.C.'s Pigment powder in Tan ($21)

And lastly draw a second, fine line on your upper eyelid using a good black liquid liner --  I recommend Hourglass's Script Precision Liquid Liner ($32). This will help outline the whole look and bring out the rose gold, as some of the eyeliner may have gotten lost in the addition of the eyeshadows.

Hourglass's Script Precision Liquid Liner ($32)

Complete with a couple coats of your favorite mascara, and a touch of soft, peony or rosy lip stain. A tinted lip balm will suffice, like Burt's Bee's.

Model Hilary Rhoda, with rose gold lids.
I've had the pleasure, as a NYC makeup artist of working on
her quite perfect face ;-). Image via Vogue.com/Taylor Jewell

 -- N.C.

Disclaimer: Nuy Cho has no affiliation to any of the beauty companies mentioned on www.nuybeauty.com.