This season, Style Wylde was honored by being the first independent media outlet EVER to be invited backstage at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo to get an up-close and personal look at the hair and make-up being done for the collections. Escorted by the pros at L'Oreal Nihon (who also served as translators) I peeked in on the prep for the Atsushi Nakashima Fall 2013 collection to see what the hair and beauty teams were working on.
Hair: A sleek ponytail with contrasting textures (shiny in the front and on the crown, and matte in back) was the primary concept for the look. To create the look the team began by blowing out and smoothing hair with a steampro iron. L'Oreal Professional Mythic Oil was smoothed onto hair to moisturize and protect while adding tons of shine. Next hair was combed back with a fine-grade mesh strip placed over the hair to prevent flyaways while hair was being secured into a ponytail. Extensions were then added, when needed, with a strip left out to wrap around and cover the elastic band. Next, L'Oreal Elnett Hairspray was applied to give hair hold, but with movement, and finally L'Oreal Advanced 3 Mousse was applied to mattify the ponytail. The team explained, the Advance 3 product is currently only available in Japan (hey, something to add to your shopping list when you visit!) but is used widely in the professional arena to create texture when backcombing.
Make-up: The look was clean and simple with a natural, but highlighted glow. Maybelline foundation and color show blush was used to do a simple, sculpted cheek, which was blotted down with Maybelline mineral veil for a natural finish.
All images: C. Hope for Style Wylde.