Helmut Newton-Inspired Makeup And Soft Ballerina Buns At Bibhu Mohapatra Spring 2012

For his Spring 2012 collection, fashion designer Bibhu Mohapatra derived inspiration from the erotically-charged, kinky but artistic, black-and-white work of Helmut Newton, who remains one of the most influential fashion photographers in history (just look at this photo of Linda Evangelista and bask in the glory of his genial mind).

In order to marry the makeup look with the naughty visual reference that inspired Bibu’s skin-revealing, graphic clothing, makeup artist Charlotte Willer of Maybelline prioritized sultry, smoky eyes in earthy brown tones, full lashes loaded with mascara, and shiny, almost wet-looking lips.

To give the models a flawless complexion, she started out by applying the Maybelline Fit Me Foundation, then softened the look with Maybelline Fit Me Powder and swept Fit Me Bronzer in Medium along the cheekbones to contour the face. With Define A Brow, eyebrows were shaped and darkened for a more intense, stronger look – after all, Hewton’s muses weren’t damsels in distress!

Willer’s main focus was the sex-on-a-stick eye shadow look created, which she executed with the Maybelline Eye Studio Color Exposion in Caffeine Rush compact. Though the compact includes two creamy shades, Willer didn’t use either one. Instead, she focused on the espresso, taupe, and coppery bronze shades. Willer started out by sweeping the bronze-tinged caramel shade all along the lower lids, focusing on the inner corners of eyes. The dark brown, espresso coffee color was brushed into the outer area of the lids for a sultry kick, and then swept gently under the lower lash line and smudged ever so slightly to complete the smoky effect. The lighter, taupe-ish brown hue, meanwhile, was used to blend the color at the outer edges. The va-va-va-voom eye look was completed with four to five coats of Maybelline Volum’Express The Falsies Mascara in black.

To recreate the carnal lust conveyed by Hewton’s photographs, Willer completed the look with pink-tinged, high-shine gloss. Using a lip brush, she coated the pout with Maybelline Shine Sensational Lipgloss in No. 75 Cherry Kiss.

Since the clothes boasted a simple sensuality, Rutger for Cutler Salon and Redken devised a simple look: a bodacious ballerina bun that would reveal their elongated necks and increase the sophistication factor. The first step in creating the look was applying Redken Rootful 06 Root Lift Spray to the roots of hair and all along strands, finger drying tresses with a T3 Featherweight Luxe hair dryer. Once the hair was dry, he brushed the hair with a Mason Pearson brush, getting the texture to appear smooth and lustrous. Next, he created a ponytail at the center and back of the head and secured the base of the ponytail with an elastic. To add volume, he backcombed and teased the strands inside the ponytail and then twisted the hair around the ponytail to create a bun, securing the look with French “U” pins. Last, he sprayed theRedken Quick Dry 18 Instant Finishing Spray to give the updo hold.

Simple and seductive, the hair and makeup looks were provocative but felt effortless and natural.