When Makeup Forever Founder, Dany Sanz, was asked to paint an actor's body, she was taken off guard as she was a sculptor, not a makeup artist. The rest is history. Last week I attended a celebration for Makeup Forever's 30th Anniversary at a studio in NYC and while we were all inspired by Sanz's story and had the chance to create our own eyeshadow palette, I found myself intrigued by the body painted mannequins that lined the room. Glad I questioned them, because their stories are worth telling.
To celebrate the 30th anniversary, Sanz envisioned bringing her work to life through art and showcasing it around NYC leading up to this big event. She enlisted Lijha Stewart, the Makeup Forever Director of Artistry and Education for North America to lead a team of artists to paint 12 mannequins. Categorizing them into four categories resembling the Artist line, Acqua line, HD line and Icons line, each painted body showcased the story and history behind the inspiration of the collections.
My favorite was done by Stewart herself, which resembled the Flash Palette, (known to us as the Flash Color Case), which was one of the first products Sanz created in her own kitchen from 1984-1990.
Cynthia Rowley’s Spring/Summer collection was filled with colorful, floral pieces. To balance out the femininity and poufy dresses, the hair and makeup went in the opposite direction. “Tough” was one word that Lottie, lead makeup artist from Makeup Forever, used to describe the look. Despite the fact that the girls are wearing these clothes, they’re not to be messed with.
While it seemed like the models weren’t wearing a lot of makeup, their faces were full of contoured shadow with the appropriate amount of shading. Lottie began with Makeup Forever’s Invisible Cover Foundation and contoured the cheeks with eye shadow in #76 and #98 (instead of using bronzer or face powder like you’d expect) to give the skin a flawless look. The key to the look however, was to create a shadow beneath the eyebrows. She used eye shadow #17 and #98 depending on the model’s skin tone. Their lips and lids were left bare with just a hint of lip balm.
Beach chic sums up Mara Hoffman's Spring/Summer 2011 collection and the hair and makeup effortlessly complimented the style. Fedoras, sunglasses, bright patterns, dewy skin and bohemian hair were spotted on the catwalk at Pier 59 studio.
"Even though they're all wearing the same look, the model's are all so racially diverse, they bring their own individuality it," stated Lottie, Makeup Forever's lead makeup artist. She kept it clean using Makeup Forever's HD Foundation and Sculpting Kit around the cheeks and left the lips natural. The secret to a dewy complexion? The beauty blender!
Three different hair 'do's were created on the 15 models by Martin-Christopher Harper for Redken and Cutler. The inspiration: A woman on the Caymen Islands just coming from a leisurely day at the beach. It was a look we can all relate to, very organic. From texturized high buns to buns at the nape of the neck and loose waves all of the women had the same theme. The key to mastering the beachy look is texture, texture, texture. Try Cutler Volumizing Specializing Spray and mist it from your root to mid shaft and blow dry directly over your head from the front with your hands.
Makeup Forever, the official make up sponsor of this year’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim in Miami, is finally letting the public in on an insider secret.
To keep their sun-kissed glows looking flawless, the models in this year’s runway shows are sporting the line's the new 
