Walk down two or three aisles in any Sephora, Duane Reade, CVS or Ulta store, and you'll find terms like "age-defying," "anti-aging," "anti-wrinkle," "wrinkle rewind," "wrinkle-fighting," and "ageless" on hundreds of products ranging from moisturizers to eye creams, foundation, sunscreens, and lipsticks. There are probably more anti-aging products than there are cold remedies or vitamin brands, a fact that is itself a pretty sad commentary on where our priorities lie as a society. Which is why it was a welcome surprise when designer Adrienne Vittadini opted to cast models 35 and older in her "Modern Muses" Fall 2011 presentation at the Box in Lincoln Center — from 50-year-old supermodel and actress Carol Alt to 36-year-old '90s supermodel Niki Taylor (one of my all-time favorite models); groundbreaking, 42-year-old African-American stunner Roshumba and her predecessor, '70s supermodel Pat Cleveland; and 43-year-old Russian catwalk star Irina Pantaeva.
Each of these women helped to define the visual canon of the fashion and beauty industries, gracing the covers of publications ranging from Sports Illustrated to Vogue (Taylor landed 6 magazine covers in 1996 alone), strutting down high fashion catwalks all over the world, making cameo appearances in Hollywood movies like Woody Allen's Celebrity and Robert Altman's Prêt-a-Porter, starring in ad campaigns for the likes of Cover Girl and Noxzema, and even launching their own cosmetics companies (as with Alt, who developed natural beauty brand Raw Essentials) or joining the TV broadcasting realm as hosts and correspondents (in the case of Roshumba). And, with Vittadini's Fall 2011 presentation, these ladies opened a new chapter in fashion history, showing guests that it's possible to age with grace, to look more radiant and luminous with every passing year.
In keeping with this celebration of ageless beauty, Hourglass Cosmetics' Beauty Director Michael Pierce sought to showcase these iconic models' faces and so, rather than burying them under layers and layers of makeup, he focused on accentuating their features, making their skin more luminous, and giving lips just a hint of color.
For Niki Taylor (pictured above, at top), for example, Pierce started by applying the Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer, a line-smoothing, pore-minimizing, vegan primer with built-in SPF protection, using the #2 foundation brush. Once Taylor's skin has been prepped, he added the Illusion Tinted Moisturizer in Ivory, a revolutionary product that evens skin tone and features hyalouronic spheres and peptides that naturally fill in lines as they moisturize and plump skin. To accentuate her high cheekbones, Pierce turned to the Illume Crème-to-Powder Bronzer Duo in Bronze Light, dabbing the bronze shade to contour the cheekbone and then applying the highlighter in an angular fashion to define the area. Next, he applied the Aura Sheer Cheek Stain in Flush, a rosy nude, to the apples of her cheeks.
Pierce then brushed the matte bone and shell shades from the Vol. 6 Palette in Neo-Classic, a new eyeshadow set poised to launch in the summer, over lids. The palette's chocolate brown shade was brushed onto the crease to open up the eyes and add a smoldering feel. Next, he traced the Script Precision Liquid Liner along the upper lash line, winging out the liner at the outer corners in an upward direction for a bit of a cat's eye effect. Last, he applied the Film Noir Full Spectrum Mascara and a coat of Lash Lacquer (which is set to drop in the fall).
To complete Taylor's understated look, Pierce outlined her lips with the Trace Lip Liner in Voice, a brown shade with red undertones, then filling them in with Femme Rouge Velvet Crème Lipstick in Whisper, a tawny nude color. To make lips appear fuller and add a nice sheen, Taylor patted on a hint of the Prodigy Hydrating Lip Gloss in Opium, a coppery bronze hue.
To create Roshumba's look (pictured above, third), Pierce started by applying the Veil Mineral Primer, then brushing on the Veil Fluid Makeup in #8 (a new shade currently in development) for coverage. Next, he dabbed the Illume Crème-to-Powder Bronzer Duo in Bronze Light onto cheeks for ultimate luminosity and applied the Aura Sheer Cheek Stain in Flush to the apples of Roshumba's cheeks for a playful, youthful effect.
Next, he gave Roshumba a brown smoky eye by applying the matte bone and shell shades from the Vol 6. Palette in Neo-Classic to lids, then sweeping the chocolate brown shade along the crease. To define the eyes and add a hint of old Hollywood glamour, he lined them with the Script Precision Liquid Liner and applied a coat of Film Noir Full Spectrum Mascara and a coat of the new Lash Lacquer.
Last, he added just a touch of sheen to her lips with the Prodigy Hydrating Lip Gloss in Surreal, a shimmering 18k yellow gold shade.
