New York Fashion Week: Backstage at Hernan Lander Fall 2013

Makeup: Tina Turnbow for NYX
Once again, Turnbow challenges us by breaking the conventional ideas of makeup application.  Earlier in the week I watched her do a backstage look with almost only pencils, rather than creams and powders.  This time I watched her create an eye look mixing warm and cool tones, which we previously thought was against "the rules".  The main event for this look was the eyes, where each models' eyes were treated like an individual piece of art, and the face was kept a matte, blank canvas.  
NYX Stay Matte But Not Flat Powder Foundation was used to create the blank canvas, with no blush, and the NYX Wonder Pencil on the lips to keep them looking nude as well.
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Slate was the base of the eye look, used across the eyelid to just below the brow bone, with NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Dark Brown layered on top.  The Jumbo Eye Pencil in Slate was fanned out on each eye, giving a feathery or petal-like effect.  Turnbow then used NYX Single Eye Shadows in Charcoal Brown and Dark Brown on top of the liner, making the look crease-proof.  NYX Cream Shadow in Gunmetal was then applied on top to emphasize the cool greys on the lid.  Turnbow also used the NYX Roll On Eye Shimmer in Chestnut on top of the powdered shadows and creamy pencils to give a jewel-like effect on the lids.  Turnbow likes these roller-ball shadows to give women the opportunity for shimmer, without teen-like offensive glitter.   
*Insider tip: Turnbow says she likes using shades with a bluish undertone, like the slate grey pencil and the Gunmetal shadow, because they are are eye-brightening.  Keep that tip in your back pocket whenever you're feeling tired! 

Completely fascinated by the mixture of warm and cool tones used at the show

Hair: Paul Merritt for UNITE haircare
Merritt created a dual-texture ponytail for the Hernan Lander show that might have you questioning the standard ponytail technique that you use at home.  The hair was separated, just above the ear, into 2 ponytails.  The bottom ponytail was slicked upwards with UNITE Liqua-Versa gel for a wet look, while the top ponytail was back-combed a little for height and texture.  The top part was also sprayed with UNITE Max Control Hairspray, then the 2 ponytails were joined together and sprayed with UNITE TRICKY Spray Wax.  A piece of black yarn was woven around the combined ponytails, allowing the bottom part to hang out.  

Nails: Sunshine Outing for Zoya
I just have to say it: I'm a little obsessed with Zoya PixieDust nail colors.  If you have yet to try polishes with texture, you're really missing out.  I can't help but rub my nails all day when there's a cool textured polish on them.  But Zoya's collection is different from the rest.  The nails dry to this matte, gravel-y texture even though it looks shiny in the bottle, but unlike some other textures out there, this one doesn't chip as quickly.  It's incredibly frustrating to pay for a color and then have it chip the very same day, isn't it?  You won't get that with these Zoya colors.  And there is a nice range of shades in the collection, from pastel blues, to cherry reds, to this black color used backstage at Hernan Lander.  This black shade is called Dahlia, but it dries down to an almost graphite color that is simply awesome.