Backstage Beauty.(fashion for fall)

Backstage Beauty

Gone are girlie pinks and messy hair: The forecast for fall calls for hair and makeup that's refined, polished -- and all woman. By Victoria Kirby

i t was one hour before the Lanvin show in Paris, and 35 models were rehearsing their runway struts in chopped black wigs and heavily kohl-rimmed eyes -- all the models but one, that is. Gemma Ward, having arrived late, plopped on the wig but was still barefaced. Eyeing Ward, makeup artist Pat McGrath went into a huddle with designer Alber Elbaz then shouted to her team to strip away all the eye makeup. "We looked at the strong clothes, the black hair, the dark room, and it was just too much," McGrath later said as she wiped the models' faces down to foundation, a little powder, and highlighter on the tops of cheeks. "It's better to see the girls as they are -- just with perfect, gorgeous skin." The scene at Lanvin reflected a season where everyone was cleaning up their act. Disheveled hairstyles and morning-after makeup all but disappeared. "Loose and shaggy is boring now -- beauty should be clean and strong," said hairstylist Eugene Souleiman backstage at D&G. Makeup was tidied up in the form of powdered skin, precise liquid eyeliner, and perfectly painted red lips; hair was brought under control by tight twists and sculpted waves. The best shows zeroed in on one strong element and kept everything around it soft. Even when the look was casual, it still managed to be groomed: Air-dried hair was neatly tucked behind the ears or into a low ponytail; fresh skin had a swirl of color on the cheeks. At show after show, the message remained clear: "Everything is more polished," said hairstylist Orlando Pita. "The frilly, girlie thing is over. It's time to be a woman."

-- Additional reporting by Karen Morrison

Red Lips

Bye-bye baby -- makeup artists chose to abandon the bare lips and Barbie-doll pinks of the recent past in favor of tasteful shades of red ranging from poppy to velvety burgundy. As McGrath explained, "A red mouth is sultry and fierce."

Trick of the Trade: When going red, McGrath says to skip the face powder