Backstage beauty: Narciso Rodriguez Spring 2012

Shiseido Artistic Director Dick Page works backstage at Narciso Rodriguez/Image courtesy of Shiseido USA

With inspirations drawn from pan-Asian influences, designer Narciso Rodriguez rocked the Spring 2012 runway with look after innovative look.  For a beauty to pair with his masterful creations,  Rodriguez looked towards seminal Japanese glamour brand Shiseido to create an "intensely monochromatic" look that struck a perfect balance between soft and edgy.

image courtesy of Shiseido USA

Here's how it was done:

Helming the Narciso team, as he has done for countless seasons, Shiseido Artistic Director Dick Page began by using a "wash of foundation over the entire face to create a 'nothing-y' base" that was completely free of highlighting or sculpting.

Moving to the eyes, and using the not-yet-on-the market prototype cream based eye shadow in a soft brown hue, that will later be formulated for a Shiseido Shimmering Cream Eye Color, Page used a fluff brush to blend color on to the upper and lower area of the eyes, making sure application was even and perfectly diffused.  In order to keep the look modern, and totally fresh Page then skipped the eye liner and mascara and went directly to the brows, using a custom-for-each-model's coloring combination of Shiseido Makeup Shimmering Cream Color in Sable, Caviar, and Leather applied with a clean brush.

 image courtesy of Shiseido USA

Finishing with the lip, Page blended the same not-yet-on-the-market cream base color used on the eyes with Shiseido Makeup Shimmering Rouge Lipstick in 'Discretion' and applied with his finger for a soft effect that mirrored the shimmer on the eyes. 

Finally, to compliment and complete the look, hair care experts at WELLA, slicked the model's hair back into bold 'windswept' looks and applied bright (temporary) metallic color for a fresh, futuristic finish.

For more on the products used to create this look visit the official Shiseido home page.