Best of Runway Beauty

Vera Wang's collection was inspired by French icons like Catherine Deneuve and Brigitte Bardot-and so was the sky-high updo created by Bumble and bumble hairstylist Jimmy Paul. He teased the crown for height then pinned the hair into a French twist. "I pinned it very soft with loose tendrils-it’s sexy," he said. Models with fine hair had their ends dosed with Bumble and bumble Surf Spray for a "halo effect." He also took special care to cover each models' ears and mess up the back to keep the style modern.

"When Derek amp#91;Lamamp#93; showed me the earthy fabrics that inspired his collection, I thought the makeup shades should be complimentary," Estee Lauder makeup artist Tom Pecheux said. He used Estee Lauder Pure Color Crystal Lipstick in Crystal Beige as a primer on the lips, then topped it with a copper shadow that launches in the fall. (The same shade was also used to accent the sapphire shadow on the eyes.) And finally, to avoid competing with the big impact eyes and lips, Pecheux kept the cheeks entirely bare.

"amp#91;Designers Mark Badgley and James Mischkaamp#93; showed us the jewelry and it all looked like jungle vines, so we drew from that," said Redken hairstylist Peter Gray. "It's a warrior princess look." He tightly pulled back hair from both sides of the head and left the top loose and textured. He then twisted both the top and side sections in opposite directions to create the rope design. "The moment the two twists touch, they interlock. Add two or three pins and you’ve got an instant updo," he said.

François Nars sent models down the Marc Jacobs runway with soft, imminently wearable makeup. "The lipstick is NARS Barbarella. Marc went to Bloomingdale's and picked it at the counter himself. We've had it in the line for a few years-he was looking for an orangey coral and it was just right," Nars said backstage. To perfect the application, he dabbed on tons of the lipstick with his fingers, then wiped some away. "By the time the show starts, it will look worn," he said. "This season, the makeup is the only color you'll see in the collection."

To accent Carolina Herrera's opulent collection, makeup artist Diane Kendal conjured a "late '70s, fever look." She lined the inner corner of the eyes with MAC Nightmoth Lip Pencil-yes, you read correctly. "We used it because it was a great deep purple, wine color," she explained. She blended the liner, topped it with three shades of purple shadow, and swiped mascara on the top and bottom lashes. At home though, Kendal says just liner will do: "The trick is to line very close to lashes, then, blend it out with a clean brush. That gives you really beautiful, soft, smoky eye."

Models at Zac Posen were a study in contrasts: Soft, tumbling waves and graphic, smudgy eyeliner. "We were inspired by a cool, 1960s Chelsea girl," said L'Oréal Professionnel hairstylist Odile Gilbert, who created the look. She parted the hair in the middle and wound loose sections around a one-inch curling iron. "We started the curls close to the bottom and tousled them out at the end. A lot of people take the fashion week looks and try to make them wearable. This is so wearable and achievable from the beginning."

"Thakoon's inspiration was a dance group from the ‘80s. We wanted the faces luminous and the eyebrows sculpted," said Diane Kendal, the lead makeup artist. To achieve the heavy, well-groomed look, Kendal brushed NARS Coconut Grove eye shadow-a shade that launches in the fall-into the brows and also along the lids for "smoky definition." In the meantime, NARS Single Eye Shadow in Bali (left), a neutral taupe, will have a similar effect.

At Alexander Wang, models marched down the runway with deep side-parted hair and bold reddish shadow. "I was thinking early '90s grunge," said MAC makeup artist Diane Kendal, who created the look. She blended a mix of MAC Pro Cream Colour Base in Mid-tone Sepia and MAC Paint Stick in Deep Brown on the lids before topping them with MAC Gloss Texture, a clear, shiny gel. The effect? "It’s like a red brown grease paint, which means there's a real dewiness to it," she said.

At BCBG, models sported imperfect buns-on purpose. "Designer Lubov Azria didn’t want anything tight or too styled. She wanted it to look like someone in the audience could grab a bunch of pins, jab them in their hair, and make it look just like this," said John Frieda hairstylist Harry Josh, who created the look. "It's simple to pull off at home-most girls already know how to do it. It's like the hair they wear to the gym."