“Soft Graphic” Hair & Makeup At Richard Chai

Sneaky, sneaky — at the Richard Chai spring '13 show, the beauty looks were all about creating an element of surprise. Inspired by the sporty-yet-feminine look of the collection, the hair and makeup pros aimed to create looks that were simple but had a futuristic edge.

For Aveda lead hairstylist Kevin Ryan, it was all about tricking the eye: "Upon first glance, this hair appears to be a simply sleek ponytail, but once the girl turns her head, you see that the parts are not at all where they should be." Watching these parts being drawn on the models backstage was like watching a sculpture come to life — seriously inspiring!

The best news about this sporty-minimalistic look: It's a total cinch to recreate. Ryan started by prepping the hair with Aveda Pure Abundance Style Prep, blow-drying and flat-ironing the hair, then combining hair gel and Brilliant Spray-On Shine to divide the hair into the edgy, diagonal parts.

The striking makeup look was created by MAC lead makeup artist James Kaliardos, who says he was inspired by the idea of a "soft '60s eye." After creating a smooth, velvety skin finish with MAC Face and Body Foundation, backstage artists used soft shades of MAC Fluidline to create a graphic eye that floats above the lash line in an almond shape (cool, no?). The look was finished with one sheer coat of glittering gold Sienna nail polish by Julep, followed by a matte topcoat for an understated bit of flash.