prada_fall2015_beautyPrada’s new elegance. Image courtesy ImaxTree.com

Backstage at the Fall 2015 Prada show, I expected high drama and security. And while there was a bit of the latter at the door (‘Typical meatheads!’ declared one American-turned Italian journalist of the strict security guards), once we entered the backstage zone, all was calm. Perhaps because the hair was so breathtaking, it managed to temporarily stun-gun us with its couture-like beauty. Hairstylist Guido Palau created a "redux" of the hair he did at the men’s fashion show on the women, because Miuccia Prada (or Mrs. Prada as he calls her) was so pleased with it. This version was "a little bit cleaner."

Palau’s team scraped the hair into a high ponytail, creating height by blow drying against the roots and secured a ponytail in middle of head and flipped the hair in a loop. "There’s a real proportion to it,’ said Palau, who kept the look in place with glittering and pastel plastic barrettes and a combination of the forthcoming Redken Stay High Mousse Gel and Redken Fashion Works Hairspray. "It’s an updo in a very innocent way; it’s not meant to feel old and sophisticated," he mused.

Makeup wise, the look at Prada "is very very easy," laughed Pat McGrath declared a "new elegance" direction for the show’s beauty look, custom blending a soft red-brown cream shadow in the eye sockets (she reminded her team to touch it up several times) after testing grey earlier in the day and finding it a bit dull. Lips looked fresh in pastel pink and orange lipstick (a trend we spotted at the Oscars) and rosy cheeks—but only if the girls needed it. Groomed brows, brown mascara and beige eyeliner applied to the inside the eyes completed the look. Pink was applied to cheeks only when models needed it. Powder finished the look as Prada really wanted the girls to look matte. "It’s very optimistic," says McGrath. "She wanted the girls to look more alive."

Skincare + coverage + powder= New elegance.

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