Show-Mania

Dear Jason Wu, thank you for making my hair and makeup dreams come true. 

The beautiful chiffon-incorporated braids seen making their way down the lapis-tiled runway at Jason's show may very well be my favorite of this season. Talk about "business in the front and party in the back"- in front you see a sleek, deep side part of what appears to be an unassuming chignon or bun, but from the back- well, it's beyond gorgeous. Hairstylist Odile Gilbert created the chiffon blooms by weaving the pieces of fabric into the braids and then pinning it together to create a floralesque design.

This ultra-cool and sophisticated look is pretty easy to recreate, surprisingly so. Separate hair into four sections, secure with an elastic band, anchor your fabric pieces in each elastic and braid away. Then take all four pieces and pin up to create your own look. I am admittedly terrible at recreating hairstyles that require anything more than a brush, but this is a must try.

(Jason Wu)

The makeup for Jason's show was just as pretty as the hair. Eyes were done up in jewel tones, my favorite of which was the purple, none of the colors were overpowering. The sexy, yet subtle eye was complemented with a flush cheek and nude lips. Definitely wearable off the runway.

(Jason Wu)

There has been two recurring themes this season: a very naturally pretty, minimal makeup look and then bright pops of color, used to highlight either the lips or eyes or sometimes both. I'm a huge fan of both looks. And again, both are incredibly wearable.

Diane von Furstenburg's models' pretty pouts were adorned with a very matte magenta lip. Sounds scary, right? Quite frankly, there is potential to go horribly wrong here. But if this is wrong, I don't want to be right. Makeup man James Kaliardos used MAC's Chromographic Pencil in Processed Magenta. Sold! (Yes, it was that easy to convince me to purchase this- you know you want it too). And I love the full brow (lazy pluckers rejoice).

(DVF)

Bright eyes were the focus of both Derek Lam and Peter Som's shows. I have always loved a bright, colorful eye. It offered more variety and was the easiest way to change up my look without going overboard or eliciting stares from strangers. Estee Lauder's creative director, Tom Pecheux, used a coral colored lip liner (!) and two shades of lipstick to create a creamy orange stripe across models' lids. [Editor's note: I used to use lip liners for eye pencils in high school, mostly because I found the lip colors more flattering on my lids.] Who knew I was so ahead of my time? For Peter Som, again makeup mogul Tom Pecheux created the look. This time the color yellow was front and center. The cheerful hue was care of MAC's Pro Acrylic Paint in Primary Yellow and Chromaline pigment pot. I traditionally shy away from bright yellow for fear of becoming a Big Bird look-alike, but I will make an exception for this. PS- models rocked this sans mascara, this bold look can stand alone.

(Derek Lam)

(Peter Som)

I love fall. October in NYC is quite possibly my favorite month, but these bold colors are making me long for summer already! The ideas are swirling around in my imagination. By the time the warmer months roll around again I hope to have mastered a few of these looks.

(all images via Style.com)