Backstage beauty: Kara Laricks Spring 2013

the look in progress backstage at Kara Laricks/image:C.Hope for Style WyldeJapanese matchbooks from the late 20's and early 30's served as inspiration for the Kara Laricks Spring 2013 collection. And to go with it, hair and makeup gurus from MAC and Prive Salon created a modern jazz age look that was utterly flapper-ific!

image:S.Whittle for Style Wylde

Here's how they did it, first up that gorgeous finger-waved hair.

An old-school style that has been cropping up in tons of magazines and fashion shoots lately, finger-waves require a lot of technical skill to execute properly. To get their look done, the team from Prive began by prepping hair with Prive Thermal Protection Detangling Spray and blowing dry. Next strong side parts were created on each model regardless of hair length. For the shorter haired girls, finger waves were created in the front with the back of hair slicked down using a combination of Prive Foaming Styler and Prive Firm Spray to create a super-sleek look.  For model's with longer hair, finger waves were created in the front using Prive Foaming Styler for a sleek texture and hold.  The back of the hair was then slicked into a ponytail. As a final touch for the longer-haired girls, pony ends were wrapped around a small barrel curling iron and set with Prive Firm Spray to create loads of texture.

image:C.Hope for Style Wylde

Next on to make-up, the team from MAC knew Kara Laricks, bold graphic 1920's inspired collection needed a modern twist that wouldn't compete with the clothes for attention. To create the perfect balance, the MAC team led by Senior artist Keri Blair created sculpted cheeks, brilliantly highlighted eyes, and a dramatic blackened lip. 

"I wanted to create a little architecture on the face." Keri Blair said as she prepped models for the show, "So we began by smoothing and sculpting skin using MAC Pro Scultping Cream, and highlighting the girls intensely around the eyes and upper planes of the face." Blair went on to explain "We are then accenting that beautifully highlighted skin with a blackened lip, using a new lipstick 'Firm Form' which will be out on the market this coming spring. It's a black tone with little flecks of gold. It was really the inspiration for the whole look."

image:C.Hope for Style Wylde

image:C.Hope for Style Wylde For more info on Kara Laricks, check out the exclusive interview with the designer plus images from the collection in Fashion.