Johnny Weir Answers My Makeup Questions

The Olympics Start today in Vancouver, just as Fashion Week in New York gets underway. Although one event features athletics, and the other, clothing, both feature fashion and cosmetics!

M.A.C. Cosmetics provides makeup not just for the runway, but they also provide makeup artistry for athletes, such as US skater Johnny Weir. He's known as much for his unique style, as for his unique performance on the ice. He is not just a champion skater, he's a fashionista! He has even walked in a Heatherette fashion show and, of course, he favors glittery outfits on the ice. Soon, Johnny will be competing at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. Johnny's long term goals include being an Olympic and World Champion, and someday being a coach.

Skating is a very beautiful, and visual, sport. Skaters are not just excellent athletes, everything they do contributes to their overall impression and perhaps, to their overall score. Costumes, hair, music and makeup are all part of that. I had the opportunity, courtesy of M.A.C. Cosmetics, to ask Johnny Wier some questions about how he uses makeup when he competes. Some of his answers might apply to you, even if you're not trying for a gold medal at the Olympics!


Alison - Q: How do athletes wear makeup and not have it run into their eyes (don't they sweat when they skate)?

Johnny - A: Figure skaters work long hard hours to make their job look effortless, but in the off chance you do sweat and something starts to run, we have plethora’s of tissues.


Alison - Q: Do skaters/athletes ever use color theory to win the favor of the judges. For example, would blood red lipstick get the judge's attention in a good/bad way? Do they think wearing a specific color work wonders to change a judge's (or the audience's) mood?

Johnny - A: In general skaters do their makeup to fit the mood of their program. If you’re doing an Egyptian piece you go for the Cleopatra eye, if you’re doing Doctor Zhivago you dust on a rosy cheek for that winter palace effect. Judges love when you get into character.

Alison-Q: Would lots of glitter or shimmer get a thumbs up or down (the gymnasts always seem to use a lot of glitter, but what about for figure skating)?

Johnny -A: The younger girls in figure skating love their glitter, but as they grow up they become more refined in their choices. I love my glitter personally.

The Advice Sisters love glitter, too! Here is Johnny Weir's interpretation of Lady Gaga's "Poker Face>" Check out his face! How great is this?! Please post your comments and wish Johnny luck at the Olympics--I know he'd appreciate the support!

Visit the M.A.C. Cosmetics Web Site and/or your favorite M.A.C. Cosmetics makeup counter or store for your own collection of great makeup.




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Copyright ©Alison Blackman Dunham. All rights reserved. The Advice Sisters is a registered United States trademark. No content may be used or copied with written permission. If you want to use my work, please obtain it legally: Email: advicesisters-at-advicesisters-dot-net Subscribe to this blog by email or in a feed reader (See the right hand column of this blog). Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/advicesisters or Facebook http://www.facebook.com/alisonblackman
I use provided samples for most of my reviews. Learn more in the "A Note About Compensation" section of my What Works Beauty, Cosmetics and Fashion review column: http://www.advicesisters.net/whatworkscol3.html

M-A-C Cosmetics Fafi Collection--Advice Sisters Products of the Month!

MAC Cosmetics is always coming out with fresh, trendy, exciting collections. That's why we're making M-A-C Fafi the Collection of the month this March. It's a limited edition collection that debuted next month, so hurry and get the items you want before they're all sold out!
Fafi is a collaboration between M-A-C Cosmetics and a 32-year old graffiti artist called Fafi. They're created a very colorful, young, fun, 35 piece collection of both products and accessories.

Fafi was born and raised in Toulouse, France, and is best known for “images of sexy and liberated Japanese anime girls called “FaFiNETes”. the Fafinette characters have adorned Diet Coke cans in France and sneakers and even hoodies for Adidas and Fafi sells her characters on a variety of T-shirts at http://www.fafi.net/

Just in case you haven't been clued-in yet, and you're wondering what a FaFiNETte is.....? FaFiNETte's are "nymphets with a Ph.D. in passion,” who live in a fantastic, magical realm called the Carmine vault. They live there, but check in our us mere (and less colorful) mortals. The FaFiNETes look like little girls, but upon closer look, they're pretty sexy. Each has a distinct personality. MONokA love to read the classics but has a weakness for 50's era French Erotica, and likes rap music, girly lingerie, and sleeps with her high heels on. ErmINe: likes to hang out in Brooklyn and eat Indian food in Jackson Heights, Queens. She's into snowboarding and likes the smell of gasoline. eRiKo: hails from Japan, but is a Francophile who likes ethnic cuisine and collection blue ashtrays, and baking life-size gingerbread men.

The spirit of this collection is pure, youthful fun, but the colors are for the most part, glamorous if you wish, natural if that's your thing, and colorful and bright, if you choose. All Anime girls have sexy, exaggerated lips and eyes, so the collection focuses mostly on these areas, but there's something for everyone. As you'll see from some of the photos below, the collection features compacts and tubes that are emblazoned with "Fafi" characters, and all of the other cardboard sleeves feature the colorful characters on a white background. These products as far as actual colors are concerned, are pretty, and not cartoon-ish. They're the same, good quality, high-performance products you expect from M-A-C. The collection includes: 6 lipsticks, 4 Lipglasses, 2 eye shadow quads, 6 eye shadow Paint Pots, a black eyeliner, 2 kohl pencils, a black mascara , 2 blushes and (for fun): 3 Fafinette dolls, 2 make up cases, a tote bag, t-shirt and a scarf. The best thing is that most items are modestly priced from $14.00 to $17.50 (the brushes and some of the accessorees are more).

Here is the Advice Sisters rundown on the entire line, with our particular favorites.

FAFI LIPSTICK- $14.00

These lipsticks that range from pearly blue pink to coral, rose and strawberry, super-glossed with M-A-C's signature lipglass in bright, pearly colors. They are: Fun ‘n’ Sexy Blue pink with blue pearl (glaze) , Not So Innocent Sheer tan with pink and peach pearl (glaze) , Utterly Frivolous Rosy coral with pink pearl (lustre), High Top Grey purple with blue pearl (glaze) , Flash-n-Dash Intense tangerine red with pink pearl (glaze), Strawbaby Coral rose with rainbow pearl (lustre). My personal favorite is Utterly Frivolous," a sheer, lustre lipstick that looks moist, but not slick, and in a gorgeous, pink/coral that will look nice on just about everyone. "Flash-N-Dash is a Glaze formula that's an intense tangerine red with pink pearl --try this with a tan!

FAFI LIPGLASS $14.50

These are super-patent-leather shine magenets. They're wanded tubes of high-shine glassgloss that look great as-is, or over one of the lipsticks. Cult Fave Blue mid-tone pink with white pearl (frost), Sugar Trance Creamy soft pink with white and rainbow pearl (frost), Squeeze It Brassy plum (frost) , Totally It Sheer bright pink with intense pink pearl (frost). My pick is the shockingly cool on cool-toned skin color "Totally It," a sheer, super-bright pink frost with intense pink pearl,

FAFI EYE SHADOW X4 (#1) $36.00

Four silky, blendable shades of powder shadow give you a range of shimmer that look natrual to intense, depending upon how you apply them. Howzat Deep grey with silver sparkle (satin) , Hey Neutral tan with white pearl (veluxe pearl) , Pink Venus Washed pink (lustre) , Vanilla Soft pale-peachy-ivory flecked with shimmer (velvet)

FAFI EYE SHADOW X4 (#2) $36.00

*the three FaFiNETtes are features on these black mirrored compacts. They're so cute you can't help but have fun with them! This compact features: Bold as Gold Yellow gold with gold pearl (lustre), You’re Fresh Pale green with silver sparkle (lustre) , Shockwave Intense orange with silver sparkle (velvet), Prankster Muted dark blue (satin)

FAFI PAINT POTS $16.50

Smooth these on like cream and get intense, lovely, lasting color. Choose from Fafi's Nice Vice Dirty purple with purple pearl (frost) , Girl Friendly Creamy grey pink (cream) , Layin’ Low Creamy beige (cream), Cash Flow Green gold with gold pearl (frost), Perky Cream coral with white pearl (satin) , Rollickin’ Aqua blue green with white pearl (frost)

FLUIDLINE $15.00 Blacktrack --Solid flat black

EYE KOHL$13.50
Smolder Intense black and Fascinating Snake-eyes matte white
ZOOM LASH $11.00 Zoomblack -- Rich black

POWDER BLUSH $17.50

Hipness is a chic, intense coral with soft white pearl while Fashion Frenzy faltters cool skin with a mid-tone blue pink

IRIDESCENT PRESSED POWDER $21.00

Use your imagination, and dust these super-sheer, super-shimmery pressed powders wherever you want to glow like the star you are. Colors include: Sassed-up Soft coral pink with gold sparkle , Verve-acaious Intense yellow gold with gold pearl and (my favorite), Belightful Gilded peach bronze.

NAIL LACQUER $10.00

Spring and Summer are on the way, and you're going to be wearing peep-toes and sandals. Coordinate your look with both of these fun colors. Girls Will Be Girls Pink is a ladylike mediuim pink with lots of coral pearl which looks amazing on pale skin, great with a tan. Boom! is a bold, rich eggplant with purple pearl that'll look great with gold and silver sandals for special events, and it'll take you all the way into Fall.

BRUSHES:

210 Precise Eye Liner Firm $17.00 (extra-fine tip brush for precision lining with emollient or water-based products. *this is a replacement for the old M·A·C 210 Eye Liner Brush)

208 Angled Brow Brush Firm, angled tip Brush $17.00 (for precision application of brow and eye-lining products)

182 Buffer Brush $45.00 (super-soft, large, rounded dome tip brush for use with powder face and cheek products). This one is perfect for all your powder bronzers, shimmer powders, and anytime you want to diffuse color over a large area. It's definitely one you want to add to your collection....

...but if you're just going to splurge on one, I'd suggest the 129SH Powder/Blush (with decorated pouch featuring the three fafi girl's faces) $17.00. A classic M-A-C- brush..soft and easy to use for all powder blushes and highlighters. It's a must-have in your makeup bag.

I don't have photos, but there's also a Fafi Tote $60.00, Fafi Dolls $9.00/each, Fafi T $38.00, and a Fafi Scarf $15.00. These accessories are bound to become collector's items.

Get the collection in M-A-C- boutiques in major department stores, as well as online at http://www.maccosmetics.com/

Mercedes Benz Fashion Week 9/11/07- Carmen Marc Valvo

Outside, it was dreary and gloomy, a fitting atmosphere to remember 9/11, but inside the Bryant Park tents, Carmen Marc Valvo whisked us away to a world of Springtime glamour. Beloved for his red-carpet gowns, the designer's collection this morning also featured shorter cocktail dresses a bit of daywear, and some swimsuits that would make any woman feel like a celebrity. As the final pieces of collection went down the runway, the ethereal soundtrack (music by Michel Gaubert) reminded me that the clothes felt fluid and ethereal, too. Sea shells, with their seductive spiral structure and soft, iridescent hues, were the designer's inspiration. And, like nature's creations, those of Carmen Marc Valvo were naturally beautiful.

The clothes felt seductive and the moved with the models in whispery ripples and flutterings that were quite feminine, but elegant and sophisticated, not in the coquettishly-girly way that I've seen in many collections so far. Tiers of soft, silk, satin, organza, chiffon and gazar flowed in tiers of pleating and ruffles, reminiscent of the complicated interiors of genuine shells. The designer used the word "Gazar" to describe some of his fashions, including light as a feather, crisp, billowing organza blouses with lots of showy ruffles ("gazar" is a loosely woven silk with a crisp finish), but these extravagant creations were reigned in on the bottom, with the model's waists often constricted with belts (the "must-have" trend for Spring 2008) and tamed with tailored, slimmer pants.

Many of the cocktail dresses featured a longer skirt length and an almost demure use of high necks, many with ruffles, with the "sexiness" coming from the movement of the tiered skirts, as you can see from the model in the black dress on the left.

There were also a few swimsuits in this collection. The navy swimsuit with wide black belt covered elegantly with an oyster colored silk organza trench coat would turn heads for sure, and looks chic and sexy, without being over-the-top, "barely-there." Also included in this season's collection was a new Carmen Marc Valvo sunglasses collection, created by Carmen and Signature Eyewear, Inc. The chunky, brightly-colored frames are going to help women make a fashion statement when they debut this Spring, and they'll range from $150-$350

The talented Odile Gilbert, sponsored by Redken 5th Avenue, did elegant, but slightly loosened updos. Makeup was created by the also talented Tom Pecheux for Art and Commerce, and the MAC Pro Team, sponsored by MAC Cosmetics, and nails by Creative Nail Design.

all text and photos by Alison Blackman Dunham -- copyright © 2007 all rights reserved-The Advice Sisters®. FEEL FREE TO LINK TO ANY POST ON MY BLOG, but do not copy this text or illustrations without written permission. Permissions: advicesisters@advicesisters.net. The Advice Sisters is a registered United States trademark.

Mercedes Benz Fashion Week 9/11/07- Milly

Milly by Michelle Smith, launched in 2002, the Milly website calls the youthful designs: "sexy, feminine, glamorous, and sophisticated." This delightful, 40-piece collection managed to combine both wearable fashions for chic women, with a playful sexiness. The inspiration for this collection was Grey Gardens, mixed with the sassy and a bit devilish attitude of a pampered EastCoast princess, summering in Connecticut or perhaps, the Hamptons. Note the cute blue sky and green rolling hills backdrop in the photo below.

Preppy, brightly colored cardigan twinset-type sweaters were tucked into skirts and pants, making the preppy look pretty and relevant to today's woman. There were plenty of patterns in classic springtime colors such as the navy and white zig-zag prints you can see in the photo above on the right. Also lots of lime green, yellow, navy and pink.

Accessories included cute, cotton "cloche" hats tied in the back with a silky ribbon, and (less successful but obviously a Springtime trend) were turbans. The shoes, by Manolo Blahnik, were quite pretty and worked with virtually everything from swimsuits to dresses, although the high heel with the thong between the toes on such a strappy high heel might make these "sit down" shoes for most women.

Pretty, bright nails are a must-have with fashion. The models are moving on the runway, and it's often difficult to appreciate the role that manicures and pedicures play in creating an entire look. In the photo on the left, veteran manicure professional Angelina, from Creative Nail Design, told me that for Milly she was using a bright, cheerful pink called "Trophy," on both finger and toes. It simply screams "Spring! You can see how effective this color is from the closeup photo of the Manolo Blahnik sandals, above. Creative Nail Design is the nail company of the runways. We talked a bit about trend forecasting, and how the public relations team, stylists, and designers decide what's hot, and what's not, for the coming season. For details on the products used and what's going to be hot for nails, for Spring 2008, check our FEATURES page http://www.advicesisters.net/Features/Features.html in mid-September

Makeup for Milly was created by Romy Soleimani (in purple on the left) to show a woman with confidence but also with a bit of spunk. The eyes were beautiful, blending two new new MAC paint pots in lime green and a gorgeous turquoise, with creamy white, that was blended, blended and blended some more. The pink lip gloss called "Fulfilled" was shiny, but without shimmer or glitter. The foundation was moist and fresh, with just a hint of bronzer. To see the actual colors and see lots more photos of hair, makeup, nails and clothes, check out the MILLY feature --I'll post the link to it on our Features Page http://www.advicesisters.net/Features/Features.html when it's created, probably mid-month.

On the left you can see the charming hairstylist Kevin Ryan, who has formed his own company with fashion stylist Frank Rizzieri, putting their 40 years of experience together. Their new company, RSession Tools, has some unique hair styling tools, including a dual-tonged curling iron called the Nalu waver, which Kevin is using on the model on the left to create the amazing, natural looking waves seen in the ponytail on the right. By "weaving" strands of hair under and over the Nalu waver, the curls are soft and loose and look incredibly natural, as if their own hair cooperated without any intervention from mechanical devices! I hope to bring you reviews of RSession Tools in an upcoming What Works Beauty, Cosmetics & Fashion review column.

As I was heading for the "cheap seats" I spied my friend, fashion designer/actress Esther Nash posing for eager photographers in the front row. She posed for me as well, making sure I could see the beautiful, elegant, Judith Ripka jewelry on her wrists and fingers. Esther is not only talented and lovely, but sweet and gracious, too. If only all the front-row-ers would act like her!!!

Mercedes Benz Fashion Week 9/9/07- Reem Acra

How could you not love a designer who sets her tiny, fluffy, white dog onto the runway at the finale? Designer Reem Acra's special occasion and evening gowns were as pretty and perky as her little dog. The designer's notes said: "This season explores the theory of rejuvenation, keeping the looks fresh and ethereal with a modern touch. The common thread through the collection is the emphasis on the waist and the refined feeling of luxury. "

The 40 piece collection was 100% evening wear, and 100% glamorous, with no daywear being shown in this collection. The theme of Spring seems to be "Old Hollywood glam rags, with a "young, modern twist." As with several of the designers collections I've seen so far, the emphasis is on pretty but very waist defining dresses that will make some women want to watch their waistlines a bit more. You can't wear wide belts with full skirts and not look bizarre, if you aren't in shape.

Although the overall feeling of these evening clothes is still "old Hollywood glamour with a "young, modern twist," Reem Acra jazzed them up with lots of swingy, tiered layers of wide ruffles, black lace mixed with purple in a nod to the boudoir, and surprise element such as mix-and-match colors of bright yellow, purple, green, and red mixed and matched with super-pointy, super-high, supercharged colored pumps in contrasting colors to the clothes. Belts were fashion accessories to brighten up the feel of nearly every dress, including the gold sequined slip dress with purple belt to the left, and the sexy, sequined black gown with lingerie elements to the right.

The silky, luxe fabrics in organza, lace, taffeta and silk were indeed expensive looking and elegant, but it was the color that made this collection special, such as this brilliant, green dress (I believe the color was called "fern") worn with shoes finished in 22 karat gold by Max Acra for Reem Acra. It looks especially striking on this red-haired model, but a dress in a bold color like this would turn every head in the room on any woman--no genuine emeralds required.

Straight, textured hair by Gavin Harwin and pink lips with glowing skin by Christian McCullouch for MAC, plus ladylike manicures from Creative Nail Design, complete every woman's "Grace Kelly" look.

Fashion Week Day 2- MISS SIXY runway show

I have always wanted to cover the Miss Sixty runway show, because the fashions are so edgy, fun, and funky, with a true "rock star" vibe. This season, I was able to visit backstage before the show, to cover the MAC Cosmetics makeup team, led by amiable and talented, Polly Osmond.

I asked Polly what the theme was for the show, and she immediately mentioned two obviously rock-star names: Patti Smith and Blondie. The clothes are young, hip, and cook, so the makeup had to be totally "rock star" as well. For starters, this is a look with absolutely no blush, and a clear, shiny lip gloss but no other color on the lips. ALL the color comes from the sexy, lined eye that you can see on the model. For more information on how to do this look, more photos of the makeup, and what products were used, check our FEATURES page at: http://www.advicesisters.net/Features/Features.html in mid-September, where I will be listing all the Fashion Week Spring 2008 features as they are posted. When asked about what will be hot for Spring 2008, Polly said: "The trends really come from the Paris runway shows such as Prada and Louis Vuitton," but Polly also hinted that she thinks golden colors, more browns, beiges and neturals will be hot for Spring 2008.

And at MAC Cosmetics, where makeup artists are busy covering more than 70 shows this week, a MAC representative told me that the backstage area is a place where MAC Cosmetics can test new products on the models, and the makeup artists can provide valuable feedback on what the final form of the product will be. I'll provide more details in my Miss Sixy feature, later on, but there is a new, loose powder mineral foundation with SPF 15 that makeup artists will use at some of the shows (although not at Miss Sixty) and also in Milan, and Paris. The final formula will ve available in the Spring. MAC is also testing a new, full coverage shine lipstick for Fall 2008, and a beige, pressed eyeshadow with a hint of pearle that will make it's debut as a super-smooth, easy to apply formula.

Neil Moody from Bumble & Bumble was responsible for the hair, which he told me was also inspired by the clothes, and the rock star vibe. He suggested a 70's meets 80's idea (Stevie Nicks mixed with Blondie), with lots of full texture and (the big surprise) a very, very matte look. While stylists have been adding shine and bounce, this look takes products such as Bumble & Bumble's color powders, to matte it down with no shine. The waves were made with a curling iron, wrapped into soft ringlets that were brushed out nearly (but not completely) straight with a Mason Pearson brush.

Here is a photo of one of the dresses I liked, but I couldn't get into the show to see it on the runway despite my best efforts. The best I could do is stand in the lobby, stare at the monitor, and take a photo of it!

Alexandre Herchovitch-Mercedez Benz Fashion Week Fall 2007

I knew I'd never make it to the actual runway show for Alexandre Herchcovitch, since I had to go downtown for backstage interviews for Gustavo Arango, so I arrived at the backstage area of the tent early, after leaving Alice Roi (just a few steps away in the other backstage tent area).

I had a long wait until I could finally convince someone to let me backstage. In the interim, I met an interesting man who represented Taiwan Vogue. Alas, I had little time to get the scoop about the makeup from the lead makeup artist for MAC Cosmetics (Philippe Chansel). I will get details from my contact at MAC and make sure that the details are included in the photo essay feature I'll be doing, later on (check the Advice Sisters FEATURES page of access it from the Home Page http://www.advicesisters.net throught the next few weeks to see what I've posted).

As you can see from the close up of the makeup photo above, the Fall trend of focusing on the eyes, with minimal makeup everywhere else, was featured by MAC for the Alexandre Herchcovitch show as well. This time, the look wasn't black or blue, but deep, dramatic brown ringing the eyes..with very pale skin and nude lips. The inspiration for the MAC makeup was really taken from the clothes. This designer's clothes are quirkly and irreverant and very fashion-forward. There were, for instance, a number of fashions created from what really looked like heavy duty black plastic garbage bags with tie necks--one paired with a palm-leaf hat with open top, and beige suede high-heeled pump/boots with long ties. This type of look requires unusual makeup.As explained to me by Philippe Chansel for MAC, Alexandre Herchovitch designs for Brazillian women olive skin, so the colors were particularly flattering to them. The "ethnic/rustic" look shows in the focus all on the eyes, with absolutely minimal makeup elsewhere. The look is naturally-messy but artfully blended. The vibe is a peasant woman's view of how beauty looks after she's been working all day ...her labors show in her eyes (in a beautiful and fashionable way, of course). The hair was done by Celso and his team from RUSK --hair slicked back in messy buns.

I didn't see the show, but I did check out a few of the outfits on the racks. As I mentioned above, some of the clothes are a bit "far out" (at least, to me). But there were some wearable, beautiful things as well. A standout for me was of soft green and teal wool plaids, one translated into a long coat that was very beautiful and wearable. Another a double-breasted mini-capelet in teal looked like it would be a comforting "shrug" to add color to an otherwise somber Fall palette.