My Alchemical Romance

ThreeASFOUR Fall/Winter 2010 Collection
by Jessica M

The inspiration: For this collection, ThreeASFOUR’s designers (Gabi
Asfour, Angela Donhauser, and Adi Gil) immersed themselves in the
history and imagery of alchemical science. They incorporated symbols
from the ancient cultures that practiced alchemy, and they worked with
materials that resembled ordinary metals (copper, lead) being
transformed into more precious substances (gold, silver).

How to get the look: Makeup artist Andrea Helgadottir (using MAC
cosmetics), hair stylist Ashley Javier (owner of the intimate salon
Parlor), and CND (formerly known as Creative Nail Design) collaborated
with the designers by using alchemical motifs and otherworldly contours.

Face: Helgadottir’s team smoothed out the models’ faces with MAC
Studio Sculpt Foundation for a clean background to the rest of the
makeup.
Eyes: The eyes were the focus of this look. Inspired by the
designers’ interest in ancient Egyptian art and culture, Helgadottir
devised an outlined, winged eye. She and her team of artists lined
and filled in this graphic shape with Fluidline gel eyeliner in
Blacktrack and painted two fine lines beneath the left eye with a
brush such as MAC’s #311.

Lips: The appropriately-named Myth lipstick was used for a pale,
satin-finish mouth.

Hair: Ashley Javier created a “modern flapper” style. After giving
volume to the hair with Kérastase Double Force hairspray and crimping
it throughout with a R-Session iron, he flipped it to one side and
gathered it in a low, sculptural bun, fixed with just a few hairpins.
An old-fashioned hairnet was placed over the model’s head so that
contained the hair for a smooth, fluid look, while it also functioned
as a veil over the model’s face. A few wavy tendrils echoed the
serpentine lines of the collection’s garments.

Nails: CND crafted custom-made press-on nails for the ThreeASFOUR
models to wear. Playing on the clothing’s contrasts of rubberized and
metallic materials, these nails were two-tone: they had matte black
bases and sparkling tips of deep-toned blue, bronze, or green.
Magical!