Fashion Week Spring 2011 Beauty Trends

Subtle shimmer on the eyes worn by models on the Spring 2011 runways of Dries Van Noten and Anne Valerie Hash. Photos: Chris Moore/Catwalking/Getty Images | AP Photo/Thibault Cam

Milan, London, and New York have all showed us the cream of their fashionable crop, and now it's the City of Lights' time to shine.

For Paris' first two days of shows, the runways ran the beauty gamut -- from the romantic, sheer makeup at Anne Valerie Hash to the edgy blacked-out brows at Anne Demuelemeester.

We learned the power of a slight slash of color on a bare face, the effortless cool of the undone do', that our face really is the perfect canvas, and that, sometimes, it's fun to get a little wacky -- if only to get the French choking on their croissants.

Barely There Accents

At Dries Van Noten and Anne Valerie Hash, otherwise immaculate faces got a slight flash of pigment around the eyes for a subtle touch that delivered a desired effect. Van Noten's makeup artist, Peter Phillips, hand-mixed a minty-lime shade from Make Up For Ever and swiped it right beneath the model's brows. The look added a touch of spring fantasy and was just the hint of color needed to pick up the pastels in the collection. To complement the love-inspired spring collection of Anne Valerie Hash, makeup artist Alex Box used muted natural tones, except for a stripe of silver MAC Super Slick Liquid Eyeliner worn close to the lash line. Though barely noticeable from afar, Box said it was meant to "catch the light as the model turns, and echo the movement of the clothes." The eyes were left sans mascara. "Usually, the less mascara, the more contemporary the look," said Box.

Go with the flow 'dos on the Spring 2011 runways of Dries Van Noten, Rochas, and Anne Valerie Hash. Photos: Chris Moore/Catwalking/Getty Images | PIERRE VERDY/AFP/Getty Images

I-Just-Don't-Care Hair

Unlike Milan, there seemed to be a plethora of pared-down dos on the Paris runways. At Dries Van Noten, hairstylist Paul Hanlon pulled hair back and let it undulate loosely, creating natural movement. Rochas' Eugene Souleiman avoided product entirely, wanting to create the idea that the models threw their hair back organically. To keep with artistic theme of the show, he tied vintage scarves over loose buns and haphazardly placed gold combs right before the girls headed out onto the runway. Over at Anne Valerie Hash, James Pecis created loose, messy braids along the sides of models' faces for "a beachy look with a natural wave to it." To toughen-up the tresses' texture, he prepped hair with a new concoction, Special Sauce, that will be released from Bumble & Bumble in February. "It's a mixture of our favorite staple products: Styling Creme, Surf Spray, and Grooming Creme," he explained.

Bold brows on the Spring 2011 runways of Rick Owens and Ann Demeulemeester. Photos: Antonio de Moraes Barros Filho/WireImage.com | PATRICK KOVARIK/AFP/Getty Images

 Holy Brow!

The brows took center stage at Rick Owens and Ann Demeulemeester and, while it's unlikely we'll be trying these looks anytime soon, we applaud their avant-garde attitude towards beauty. At Rick Owens, Lucia Pieroni painted models' skin two shades lighter and used MAC eyeshadow in Fling to draw in brows that look light moth wings. Yes, moths, as in the taupey, dusty creatures that eat your clothing. Ann Demeulemeester's beauty team had models wearing super-black, blocked-out brows, with slicked-back strands further stressing that this look was all about the brow, baby.

All done up models on the Spring 2011 runways of Rochas and Zac Posen. Photos: PATRICK KOVARIK/AFP/Getty Images | Antonio de Moraes Barros Filho/WireImage.com

Painterly Techniques

Rochas' beauty team channeled Vermeer's paintings and Delft pottery with vivid, sapphire lids, and Zac Posen painted lashes on the skin to underscore the showgirl heart of the collection. Rochas' lead makeup artist, Lucia Pieroni, traced MAC's Chromagraphic Pencil in Marine Ultra around model's eyes, and then blended it outward for the "pale, cold quality" of the Northern Lights in the summer. Overall, the look had a very sedate, romantic vibe. At Zac Posen, lead artist Kabuki drew extra eyelashes onto the skin with eyeliner, as a nod to the feathers in the designer's collection. "The show is about playful glamour with a touch of eccentricity, inspired in part by the late Seventies and a young Diana Vreeland in the thirties," he said.

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