The upcoming spring season is all about contrast – masculine with feminine, harsh with soft, pretty with punk and beauty was no exception. These looks can be easily translated into everyday life and no one will blame you for getting a jump start on the spring trends.

Face
The emphasis was clear at New York Fashion Week – understated brows are officially out as designers showcase their bold, intense and, dare I say, severe new brows. Alexander Wang presented a clear definition between bold and simple with a clean, fresh face made interesting only by large, boyish brows. Highlighted, dewy skin void of even the slightest of color was a common factor throughout the week leaving a blank slate at the hands of the designer’s discretion. Even a few of the softer looks courtesy of Vera Wang and Erin Fetherston showed little color beyond a rose gold smoky eye, soft enough to remain natural.

Red cherry lips were seen at Jason Wu in addition to following along with the boyish brow theme. The feminine style of the lips and masculinity of the brows combined to form a disheveled extravagance that would be an incredible feat to pull off in any sort of real life environment.

3.1 Philip Lim displayed a sophisticated grunge style realized by emphasizing the eyelashes with an overload of mascara to give the clump effect. The inspiration for this particular beauty choice came from listening to Nirvana while styling the models. This style of grown-up grunge I’ll be happy to welcome back.

Hair
Sleek, sleek, sleek. From extreme side parts (or what could possibly be considered a combover) to center parts and scalp strips – the looks turned in a complete 180 from the wispy bird’s nest styles seen last season. The graphic hair styles shown at quite a few shows this week toned down the volume and went bold. Herve Leger by Max Azria used sharp cuts and deep parts to emphasize the calculated symmetry prints of their garments.

 


Nails

A designer’s – and my – new favorite accessory is still being explored to improve technique, color, and shapes. Rodarte’s criss cross pattern applied by tweezers and taking days to complete were some of the most artfully crafted and intricate patterns seen this week. Erin Fetherston, VEDA and Kaelen were among the top performers with Erin Fetherston’s metallic nails taking the place of bulky jewelry. The vintage rock and roll feel beautifully contrasted the etherial nature of her designs.

VEDA’s geometric patterns highlighted the sharp lines seen at Alexander Wang and the cut-up look from 3.1 Philip Lim.