VINCENT LONGO
Fall marks a switch from girly chic to a more sophisticated glamour, playing on dramatic lip colors such as bordeaux and eyes accentuated by lash tips and eye-liner that wings out for a runway effect.
Vincent Longo
cooks up
colors for fall
Before Vincent Longo became the darling of the beauty world, a color artist deemed a "modern Michelangelo" who is responsible for the red carpet look of many a celeb, he was an artist of a different sort.
Fall Colors
Vincent Longo and his team will show makeup looks for the holidaysWhere: Sephora, Ala Moana
When: 1 to 6 p.m. Wednesday and Nov. 6
Cost: $35 registration fee is redeemable in Vincent Longo products on the day of the event
Call: 944-9797
Longo grew up in Australia, and in his teens headed for the Italian Riviera where his family owned a bakery. For a while, Longo was content to bring his creative talent into the kitchen.
"I feel baking bread is a form of art, and I'd experiment with different shapes and sizes, colors and textures, and I'd have people lining up outside the piazza," he said in a phone interview. "It was a very creative environment."
But, as it's been said, man cannot live on bread alone, and at age 21, Longo realized that what he wanted was to have more color in his life.
"I've always played with color, observed it in nature. I don't so much visualize as feel color, and I made it a point to turn my life in a direction where I could work with color."
In Milan he set out to master the art of makeup for cinema, theater and print, eventually helping to create runway looks for such fashion houses as Giorgio Armani, Gianni Versace, Dolce & Gabbana and Gian Franco Ferre.
From there, heading to New York seemed natural. At the height of the Supermodel Era, he entered the world of makeup for print and editorial campaigns, creating images for the likes of Lancome, Estee Lauder, Guerlain and Elizabeth Arden. At one point, he was a Contributing Beauty Editor for Elle magazine.
It wasn't long before he returned to the kitchen, this time to cook up custom products for women like Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington, and Vincent Longo Cosmetics was born. His 1997 "Water Canvas" innovation, a cream-to-powder foundation created to mimic the look and texture of skin, continues to be a must-have for professional makeup artists and consumers.
LONGO WILL BE at Sephora next week to talk color and trends for fall. Key to the upcoming season is the switch from the girly look to grown-up sophistication, with an emphasis on the eyes. "Think Audrey Hepburn," Longo says in describing eyeliner that wings out at the outer corners, set off by well-defined brows and the addition of lash tips at the outer corner of the eyes to enlarge and dramatize those so-called windows to the soul.
COURTESY PHOTO
Vincent Longo will be at Sephora Wednesday and Nov. 6.
"It's not Liza Minnelli, it's not Dolly Parton. It's more catwalk and a strong holiday look that is amazing!" said Longo, who, with his Australian accent and infectious enthusiasm, is prone to speaking in exclamations.
"It's kittenish and playful but is polished as well. It's for the type of woman who doesn't want to be considered girly, but feminine and stylish, with character," said Longo, who considers it realistic for women who are realizing they can't keep up with every influx of ingenues.
"There's still a playful edge to it so it's not distant, and it's not bitchy. It tells the world, 'Hey, I can kick butt but I can also be fun.'"
Longo just finished a store appearance in Chicago, where the reception to this notion "was insane!"
He said women went crazy for the lash tips, which can be applied to lashes without tweezers and are easier to use than false eyelashes. His La Dolce Vita Lash Tips kit runs $45 and contains every tool needed to create those femme fatale eyes: Two sets of lashes, eyelash curler, adhesive, liquid liner and mascara.
Longo streamlines the color selection process as well, by offering "Jet Set Go-Go La Creme" kits ($45), containing four vials of translucent lip stains and two vials of glittery cream-to-powder eye shadows to make achieving a total holiday glamour look a no-brainer.
And he makes it all seem like play, though he says he thinks about color all the time, even when he's cooking.
"I cook from family recipes, so I don't need to think about them," he said. "I just start and think about all the things that are cool now, and what I like, and find a direction from there."
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