So here's something I didn't know - Estée Lauder has never participated in Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. Until this season. I'm actually really surprised by this - you would think at some point in it's 64yr history that they would have been a part of it.

And boy, did they jump right in, with "bold blue eyes, copper lips, matte skin, bare cheeks and neutral nails" at the Derek Lam Fall/Winter 2010 show. Estée Lauder Creative Makeup Director Tom Pecheux led a team of 15 artists to create the stunning look on 22 models - While famed manicurist Jin Soon Choi and her team polished their nails with a new color that was tested backstage!

"When Derek showed me the fabrics that inspired his Fall 2010 collection – bold and muted tones mixed with earthy pigments including terracotta, greens and browns – I thought the makeup shades should be complimentary. So we chose a blend of bold blue shadows on the eyes, shimmering copper lips and flawless, matte skin created with a light foundation -- an on-trend beauty preview of what we will see for Fall 2010." Tom Pecheux, Estée Lauder Creative Makeup Director.

One of the things that Tom is doing as the new Creative Makeup Director is working on new high-impact colors that will be on Estée Lauder counters in Fall 2010, but he runway tested some of them backstage for this show:
Eyes: New Estée Lauder EyeShadow Tested Backstage – Shades Launching Fall 2010
Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Eye Pencil in Midnight Blue
Estée Lauder TurboLash All Effects Motion Mascara in Black
Lips: Pure Color Crystal Lipstick in Crystal Beige
Cheeks: Bare
Skin: Estée Lauder Double Wear Light Foundation
Nails: New Estée Lauder shade Tested Backstage (*I hear it is a sheer, milky white kind of color with some, not a lot, of sparkle to it.)

I can def say that I look forward to checking out these new colors when they hit the counter this fall.

(*Credits)
Makeup: Tom Pecheux for Estée Lauder
Nails: Jin Soon Choi for Estée Lauder
Model Photo: Liu Wen (Marilyn) Photo Courtesy of Estée Lauder

You might remember that I had a chance to chat with Marco Santini at the Jeremy Laing S/S 10 show last season. Well, I didn't get a chance to see him in person this time, but I still wanted to know what he did for this season, besides just speak in a gorgeous accent. *sigh*

This is what I found out: this guy is crafty - literally:

The look was inspired by a "sketch of a whimsical fairy – the sketch isn’t perfect – there are no hard lines, but rather soft blurred lines that manage to form into a picture".

To achieve this look Santini used the following:
· An old-fashioned sewing needle
· Elastic string
· Davines DEDE Conditioner
· Davines For Wizards No. 4 Glossy Modeling Putty

"First, Santini wet hair with Davines DEDE Conditioner to condition and strengthen the hair without leaving it heavy. He then dried the hair and separated it into two sections. Backcombing by the nape of the neck, Santini used an old fashioned sewing needle and some elastic string to weave the hair together to create an organic ponytail. Lastly Santini applied Davines For Wizards No.4 Glossy Modeling Putty, a paste that creates texture and separation with natural movement, to the hair to finish the look."

The result had all of the models looking similar, but slightly different.

Davines products can be found in salons - just check on their website for locations.

Today is opening day for the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week - New York and I'm not there. Boo! With all of the crap snow going on out there (*as if we haven't had enough here in Oklahoma), I'm going to pretend that I am *super* happy not to be out there in all of that mess - which is a boldface lie. Unfortch, due to some issues here, I didn't get to go this season - even tho I actually got credentials in my own name this time. However, I have been able to pay it forward, just like I had done for me last season, and give some of my access to Meredith, from Retrodiva's Beauty Bar, who will do a fab job reporting from behind the scenes.

This also means you will not to get read my direct tweets about what I am doing in NYC. BUT! I *will* be retweeting a lot of the action from some of the other lovelies that are there at the tents. In addition to those, MAC Cosmetics has provided a twiter widget, which you can see in the right sidebar, that showcases tweets from their artists directly backstage at the tents. Also, if you have a particular MAC makeup artist you want to follow exclusively, check out MAC Artists Tweets and follow them individually. And if *THAT* isn't enough fashion week info for you, you can search twitter #NYFW hashtag and see what EVERYONE that uses that tag is saying. (*WARNING* - could definitely lead to information overload - esp when several are at the same show at the same time.)

Oh, speaking of twitter/information overload - American Express, one of the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week sponsors has provided an electronic board, inside the tent, that displays live tweets that use the hashtag #amexmbfw. I think it is really cool for such a big company to embrace people tweeting - a great way to instantly show the people in the tents immediate reaction to things. Love it!

So, there you have it lovelies - even tho I am not there, I will def be here, using a bunch of different means, to still bring you my perspective on what goes on at NYFW. I hope you enjoy it. :)

*UPDATE*: While I was writing this today, news broke that fashion designer, Alexander McQueen, had committed suicide. (*You might remember that I discussed his Armadillo Shoes back in November). It came as quite a shock & put a black cloud over the start of Fashion Week. RIP.