Now here's a fun ingredient that I've never seen used backstage during the five years that I've been covering backstage beauty during Fashion Week: clay!

Alright, so maybe it's not really that fun because all I could think about while watching the models get this stuff put into their hair is what would one use to get it back out?! Would it be just regular 'ole drugstore shampoo or something fancier? What if you had to use something weird like pure alcohol?! Did the models sign consent forms ahead of time to get this stuff put in? And what about the ones that had shows immediately afterwards?! Well, I guess all those thoughts are really besides the point. The more important point at hand right now is why the clay was even used in the first place. (Leave it to Alexander Wang to even think of such a thing. Apparently he was channeling the punk rock skater girls found in the East Village here in NYC. Thrilling.)

Of course, it wasn't like pure clay (or at least I don't think it was). According to hairstylist Guido Palau (for Redken), the stuff was "fuller's earth with white pigment." (So that's not officially clay, right?! Maybe this would be classified as a "clay-like mixture" then? Hmmm....)

Palau, who described the look as the "new-age traveler" pulled all of the models' hair back into messy knots and then created spikes. The white clay mix was used to block out any sort of natural looking hair color and painted onto the models' hair in streaks as well as onto the spikes of the hair. He finished the look with Redken Forceful 23 hairspray followed by a blast of heat from the blow dryer to "bake" in the clay. (Yes, he used the word bake. It took all I had not to start giggling.)

Over in makeup, Diane Kendel (for MAC Cosmetics) described the look as "very cool." So cool that all she used to create this look was moisturizer and brow bleach. (Or maybe the correct verbage would be bleached brows?) That's it. Weird, right? (That's what I thought anyways.) But, don't let me be the judge of this: what do you think? I mean, I obviously wouldn't wear a look like this ever in life (my skin shudders at the thought of having clay put into my perfectly dyed blonde hair) but what about you?

xo

Ferocia

*Getty images..because they look so much better than the ones that I took on my camera phone lol

Hey Glamazons! So, as you know, I attended Patricia Fields' Swimsational Disco Soiree Tuesday night. The best part? I got the inside scoop on the hair and makeup looks created for the show! (Which, you all know, I LIVE for hahaha).

The makeup look was created by makeup artist Charlie for Vincent Longo. The inspiration? 1980's mannequins and soap opera stars!

"Pat wanted a very strong woman, because you kind of have to be to wear a bikini," Charlie said of the makeup look. "We created a strong eye that was quite light in the inner corner and then dark and elongated at the outer corner. We wanted it to be sooty, dramatic. For the cheeks, we used strong peach and pink blushes, a cheek for a brave, strong female. Lips depended on the skin tone of the girl: darker skin received a fuschia pink and lighter skin got a dramatic red lip."

Although the makeup was fierce, the hair was my favorite part! Lead hairstylist Rodney Cutler (for Redken; that's him at work below!) created a braided, fishtail updo...a great look for summer that's easy to do and looks like will keep you nice and cool. (It's also a cool alternative to a high bun). Here's how he created the look:

-Prep hair by applying Redken Align 12 Protective Straightening Lotion and blow dry through with a medium brush.

-Tightly gather into a high ponytail on the very top of the head (about three inches fromt he hair line) and secure with an elastic.

-To create the fish tail braid, split the hair to be braided into two equal sections. Pull a small strand of hair from the left section and add it to the right section. Then, pull a small strand of hair from the right section and add it to the left. This should create an "X." Repeat until all the hair is used. Secure with a plastic band.

-Pin the braid in upon itself right at the hairline.

-Finish the look with Redken's Vinyl Glam 02 Mega Shine Spray for shine and Force 23 Super Strength Finishing Spray for extra strong hold.

-Take a small piece of hair and wrap it around the elastic and secure with a bobby pin.

xo

Ferocia