
Lead Skincare Stylist Nina Park prepping a model backstage with Dr. Jart+ for Opening Ceremony’s fall/winter 2016 show during New York Fashion Week at Pier 90 on February 14, 2016. Photo by Kris Connor/Getty Images for Dr. Jart.
Last season, Korean beauty brand Dr. Jart+ made news with skin care stylists giving models some sheet mask love backstage, a much needed dose of hydration during the chaos that is Fashion Week. For the fall/winter 2016 shows, which wraps up tomorrow, more Korean brands are getting in on the act, from glass nail art pioneer Eunkyung Park of Unistella nail salons at Creatures of Comfort to cheeky beauty brand Too Cool For School at Libertine. And of course, Dr. Jart+ was back, providing a moment of calm for over-tired, over-stressed models.
Check out all the K-beauty influences at New York Fashion Week this season, including the latest in nail art by Unistella (hint: It goes on your cuticles).
At Creatures of Comfort, nail artist Eunkyung Park created a graphic look on models, placing minimalist black dots and lines on clear nails and then accenting with a glass nail, inspired by the iridescent insides of an abalone shell. She went one step further, though, drawing “nail shadows” — glittery rectangles just below the cuticle — for a futuristic, modern look I’m dying to try. If you want to re-create the look, get the limited edition Unistella glass nail stickers exclusively at Glow Recipe.
Unistella wasn’t the only Korean company to make its debut at New York Fashion Week. Kitschy beauty brand Too Cool For School also made an appearance, creating the makeup looks for the models at Libertine.
To complement Libertine’s fall/winter collection inspired by Niki de Saint Phalle’s Tarot Garden, mysticism and a trek through Mount Everest, lead artist Robert Greene for Too Cool For School channeled the “3 a.m. girl” with a dramatic cat eye paired with a smoky lid. He kept skin bare, applying Too Cool For School Egg Mellow Cream and lightly highlighting cheekbones, cheeks, the tear ducts and T-zone with Dinoplatz Pearl Bay Invasion Highlighter in Baby Pink Clam. He also kept the lip color muted.
For the focus of his makeup look, Greene applied Glam Rock Urban Shadow in Devil Blue all over the eyelid, blending the shadow up and out to the brow bone. Using Too Cool For School Glam Rock Extreme Color Eyes in Ecstasy Black, he then drew a strong graphic line starting at the tear duct, keeping the liner as close to the lash line as possible, and flicking it upwards at a severe angle. He also lined the bottom lash line halfway across, connecting the upper and lower liner.
At Derek Lam, Tibi, Vera Wang, Brock and Karen Walker, Korean American nail guru Jin Soon Choi signaled a change in the over-the-top nail art landscape, keeping nails mostly sheer and minimal. At Derek Lam, a new sheer pink shade, available this summer, complemented Derek Lam’s multifaceted collection, inspired by photographer Richard Avedon and ’60s It-model Penelope Tree.
At Tibi’s military-inspired fall/winter collection, Choi chose a simple nail art design inspired by classic military insignia, striping two V-shaped lines in a muted gold shade, Cachet.
Finally, at Opening Ceremony, the skin care stylists of Dr. Jart+ gave the models mini facials to prep for the graphic Blade Runner-inspired makeup look.
First, the brand’s Dermaclear Micro Water, formulated with active hydrogen water and minerals, was used to cleanse, tone and brighten skin. Then the models enjoyed a 5-minute sheet mask with the environmentally friendly Water Replenishment Prescriptment Mask (it’s mainly created from eucalyptus). Lastly, skin was moisturized with the new Water Drop Hydrating Moisturizer (launching in May at Sephora), with its water droplets that burst instantaneously upon contact with the skin, for a fresh, dewy finish.
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