Bronzed Skin, Matte Red Lips, And Straight Hair at Jenny Packham Spring 2012
The Jenny Packham Spring 2012 collection, showcased on Monday, September 12th, honed in on a St. Tropez-worthy glamour, as epitomized by ’70s supermodel and rock star muse Jerry Hall. Whether she was frequenting rock concerts with then-husband Mick Jagger; posing in the buff for a 1985 Playboy spread shot by Annie Leibovitz, wrapped in red satin ribbon cleverly placed to cover her naughty bits, while standing near a Christmas tree; gracing the cover of magazines like Vogue and Cosmopolitan; straddling an inflatable shark while wearing a pink swimsuit in a Christian Dior swimwear ad; or chatting with Andy Warhol during a night at Studio 54, Jerry Hall epitomized the flash and pomp of the disco era without ever succumbing to low-brow, fad-based trends (think paillette-covered dresses and exaggerated platform shoes). Always sleek and polished, Hall’s trademark look included a flowing blond mane parted at the side, with soft waves grazing her shoulder; sumptuous ruby red lips; bronzed skin; and just a hint of shine along the eye or on her hair.
To modernize Jerry Hall’s aesthetic, makeup artist Talia Shobrook (who commandeered the Laura Mercier team backstage at the Jenny Packham show) designed a look that prioritized matte skin with a bronzed glow, matte red lips, defined brows, and glossy eyes.
Before applying any makeup, Shobrook prepped models’ skin with either the Laura Mercier Oil-Free Foundation Primer or the Hydrating Foundation Primer, depending on the skin type of the models she was dolling up. After priming, she brushed on the Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation and followed with Secret Concealer to camouflage under-eye circles, blemishes, red patches, and any other problematic skin areas. Next, she used the pencil-shaped, brush-tipped Secret Brightener to highlight the area underneath the brow and the often dim and shadowy skin below the eyes. Last, she dusted on the Laura Mercier Pressed Setting Powder in Translucent to create a truly matte finish.
To contour the cheekbones, Shobrook relied on the Laura Mercier Bronzing Pressed Powder in Dune Bronze, a sandy golden bronze hue, and then followed by sweeping the Mineral Pressed Powder in Warm Bronze all over the cheek area. For more radiant skin, she used the Secret Camouflage Highlighting Shade on the apples of cheeks, as well as on the chin, nose, and forehead. The layering of gold, bronze, and tan shades worked to create the visual of an elegant woman enjoying a cocktail while lounging on a beach chair in St. Tropez — a fitting reference given that this is precisely the setting in which Jerry Hall was discovered.
On the eyes, Shobrook layered several Laura Mercier shades. First, she applied the Eye Basics primer in Flax, a creamy neutral shade. Next, she applied the Metallic Creme Eye Cream Color in Platinum and layered the Sequin Eye Shadow in Pink Crystal, a pale petal pink with soft shimmer particles, directly above it. Last, she applied a dab of Lip Shine in Crystal Pink along the center of the lid to create the desired glossy effect. To complete the look, she accentuated brows with the gel-like Brow Definer and added va-va-va-voom lashes by layering the Full Blown Mascara and Long Lash Mascara on both the top and bottom lashes, doing as many as five coats total.
Given the pale color scheme of the eye look, Shobrook focused on creating a classic red lip but doing so in an unexpected manner, experimenting with layering different colors and textures. She started out by lining the mouth and filling it in with the Laura Mercier Lip Pencil in Ruby, a robust ted, then followed with Redwood, a terracota-tinged red, and Very Cherry, a wine-like Merlot hue. To give the appearance of fuller lips and add a hint of sheen to the otherwise semi-matte lip, she dabbed the Laura Mercier Creme Lip Color Lipstick in Bing Cherry at the center of the pout.
And, since so many dressed featured skirts with up-to-there slits and sleeveless or off-the-shoulder cuts that exposed models’ arms, the Laura Mercier team tended to their skin with the deeply nourishing, hydrating Almond Coconut Milk Body Butter.
Moving onto models’ manes, hairstylist Leonardo Manetti helmed the L’Oreal Professionnel team, masterminding a simple look that had movement and a hint of shine. Manetti hoped to create something that was “soft, light and not too constructed.” Says Manetti, “The hair was blown out, [hanging] straight off the face so that, as the models walk, the hair will kind of open up sometimes and fall onto the forehead.” Though the hair was straightened, then, it still moved graciously — much like Packham’s gowns. “I wanted to complement the collection,” says Manetti. “The gowns are all nice and flowy — and, since the hair had been blown out, it wasn’t stiff like I hairsprayed it or flat ironed it. It was just very, very pretty.”
To get the desired look, Manetti started by parting each girl’s hair at the right-hand side, using the inner edge of the brow as a reference and creating the side part a quarter of an inch from that inner brow point. Manetti then applied the L’Oréal Professionnel Lift Extrême mousse section by section to give hair a volume boost. Wielding a round brush, he proceeded to blow dry the hair section by section using the Solano 3700 Moda Dryer, which features a shorter barrel for more control, infrared heat to dry the hair from the inside out, a ceramic thermal grill for more even heat distribution, and tourmaline technology to smooth fly-aways and boost shine. When all the sections were dry, he applied the L’Oréal Professionnel Perfect Shimmer shine illuminating mist onto his hands and, after rubbing it between his palms, applied it directly onto the side part for a hint of shine at the crown. Last, he spritzed the L’Oréal Professionnel Infinium 3 hairspray to give the look hold and eliminate frizz.
For more details on the look, make sure to view our backstage interviews with Manetti and Shobrook above and check out more backstage photos below!
