Runway the "Real" Way: Derek Lam Spring 2012

1. Earth Day, Every Day

"We're doing a very fresh, earthy look," said Estée Lauder makeup artist Tom Pecheux. "It's minimal, but you feel the heat, the blue sky, the sun. The girl is very, very glowy with a flush of gentle sun." Pecheux chose a yellow-hued palette, "to give a feeling of heat", and used an earthy metallic brown on the upper-arch of the eye socket bone. Finish with a single swipe of brown mascara.

2. Use Blush Like Bronzer.

For the cheeks, Pecheux used a warm, skin-tone blush rather than a pinky, rose color. "Use it more like a bronzer, not a blush, and apply all over the cheek," he said. The tanner the shade, the easier it is to apply liberally—the gentle color means you don't have to be afraid of looking like a circus clown. Dust on apples, upper cheekbones, and under.

3. Erase Any Pink.

Pecheux picked a yellowish-gold lip gloss to "erase the pink of the lips. We want to warm them up like we did with the skin." He used Estée Lauder's Pure Color Gloss in Citron Kiss, available this January. If you're a girl who loves her red lipstick and glosses, Pecheux advises picking an orangey red to maintain the look's warm feel.

4. Architecturally Inspired.

"We're doing a sleek ponytail inspired by the architect Richard Neutra. It's a lot of clean, simple lines, similar to his architecture," explained hairstylist Orlando Pita, working backstage on behalf of Phyto. Before starting, he ran Phyto 7 Daily Hydrating Cream through the ends of the models' hair. "Some girls have very dry ends this week," he explained, well aware of how much hair-abusing goes on during fashion week.

5. The Pony Plan.

"Derek wanted it very boyish from the front," Pita said about the androgynous, side-part ponytails. After flat-ironing the hair, he "scraped" it back into a ponytail and used wax to tame any frizzies. If a model's hair was too short to be put up, she wore it slicked back and away from the face. Women with shoulder-length or shorter hair can try the streamlined look at home by blow-drying hair straight, applying a nickel-sized dollop of gel to strands, and combing through.

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Estée Lauder Backstage Staples
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