The Best Beauty Looks From New York: Spring 2015

The Look: Choppy Black Wigs and No Makeup (Seriously)

How-To: For the fourth season in a row, hairstylist Guido Palau styled the Marc Jacobs models in wigs—this time, they were dyed black (by Victoria Hunter at Whittemore House Salon) and cut into choppy, textured bobs with thick bangs. "I don't know how we're going to go back to not using them," he joked backstage. The hair was inspired by Joey Ramone and "that late-60s to mid-70s New York City underground punk scene," said Palau, who loved Marc's vision to completely transform the models. He pre-cut each wig, then personalized the cuts on the models' heads and added salt spray for matte texture. As for the makeup? Moisturizer. And no, it wasn't tinted.

Backstage Essentials: Redken Fashion Waves 07 Sea Salt Spray, $19, redken.com.

The Look: Japanese-Inspired Buns

How-To: Hairstylist Guido Palau wanted to stay true to the minimal, classic look Calvin Klein is known for, but also give the hair a tough, sexy update for spring. He created Japanese-inspired messy chignons by misting the hair with hairspray and shine spray before pulling it into a tight, high ponytail. Then he twisted the ponytail into a chignon, fastening with small U-pins and pulling wispy pieces out along the way. Consider it your new go-to style for mornings when you just don't have time for a blowout.

Backstage Essentials: Redken Diamond Oil High Shine Airy Mist, available in November, redken.com.

The Look: Golden Eyes

How-To: It was a shiny, sparkly affair at the Ralph Lauren Spring 2015 show, where models walked the runway decked out in opulent diamonds. "We had to add shimmer to the eyes to balance the face with the jewelry," explained makeup artist Tom Pecheux, who applied shimmery gold shadow powder with a flat concealer brush across the upper lash lines and in the inner corners of the eyes for subtle brightening effect.

Backstage Essentials: Ben Nye Lumiere Luxe Sparkle Powder in Iced Gold, $10, camerareadycosmetics.com.

The Look: Glittery Eyes

How-To: "It's kind of cosmic beauty, very rock 'n' roll," said makeup artist Pat McGrath of the sparkly eyes she created for Anna Sui. She applied greenish-gold loose glitter to three points on the eyes—the inner corners and the middle of the top and bottom lash lines—using lash glue, leaving skin and lips completely bare.

Backstage Essential: CoverGirl flamed out shadow pot in Melted Gold, $4.49, covergirl.com.

The Look: Bright Orange Lips

How-To: Makeup artist Uzo described the bold orange lips at Tanya Taylor as "crisp and unexpected." She filled them in with a fiery orangey-red lip pencil, then went over that with a brighter orange in a demi-matte finish for a more dimensional, opaque look.

Backstage Essentials: NARS Velvet Lip Liner in Playa Dorado, $24, and Satin Lip Pencil in Timanfaya, $25, narscosmetics.com.

The Look: Rosy Cheeks and Lips

How-To: The pretty, fresh makeup at Tory Burch was inspired by a photo of Picasso and his muse, Francois Gilot, walking along the beach. "Tory loved how natural and effortless Francois looked," said makeup artist Diane Kendal, who brushed up and filled in the brows, swept a bronzer-blush duo with a hint of shimmer across the cheeks, and dabbed rosy, just-bitten color on the lips.

Backstage Essentials: Tory Burch Bronzer & Blush in Divine, $48, and Lip Color in Ramble On Rose, $32, toryburch.com.

The Look: Pastel Hair and Eyebrows

How-To: The pastel hair extensions and painted brows at Badgley Mischka had an unexpectedly soft, dreamy quality that gave the romantic gowns in the collection a cool, youthful feel—think Marie Antoinette meets East Village. "It's the next generation of Park Avenue princesses," said hairstylist Peter Gray. First, he prepped the models' hair with styling cream, and blow-dried it using his fingers and a diffuser to encourage waves and messy texture. Then, he weaved blue, green, and pink extensions in the hair to complement the fabrics. Makeup artists brushed matching pure color pigments into the brows for a more natural effect than dye, despite the hue.

Backstage Essentials: Moroccanoil Hydrating Styling Cream, $33, moroccanoil.com.

The Look: Rocker Hair

How-To: At first glance, the hair at Vera Wang looked loose and wavy and a little messy—nice, fine, been-there. Then, the models turned their heads slightly and two thin braids, one on either side, peeked through, and suddenly the whole look was so much cooler. "They're almost dreadlocks—they break up the hair texture and give a little attitude," said hairstylist Paul Hanlon. On both sides, he took a small section behind the ear and braided a fishtail halfway down, then switched to a normal braid and loosely pulled it all apart.

Backstage Essentials: OSIS+ Grip Extreme Hold Mousse, $19, ulta.com.

The Look: Double French Manicures

How-To: The slick hair, wet, metallic eyes, and vibrant lines of color running through the collection gave Sophie Theallet's spring show a distinctly tropical vibe—even the nails had an island-inspired detail. Manicurist Julie Kandelec designed what she calls a "negative space double French tip": She brushed a thick arc of pinky-white polish across the top of the nail, then made a thinner arc across the tip using turquoise color. It's exactly the revival the French manicure needed.

Backstage Essentials: Essie in Fiji and Turquoise & Caicos, $8.50 each, essie.com.

The Look: Star Tattoos

How-To: If you hear Tommy Hilfiger and think preppy, nautical, and all-American, it's time to reconsider. At his Spring 2015 show, it was late-60s, British rock 'n' roll all the way, from the skinny striped suits and metallic bikinis to the (temporary) star tattoos dotting the models' arms, stomachs, and cheeks. The playful tats were inspired by music festival beauty, explained makeup artist Pat McGrath, who stenciled the tiny constellations under the eyes in green, gray, black, and burgundy.

The Look: Matching Red Lips and Nails

How-To: "The collection reminds me of Helmut Newton—it's sexy and dramatic but in an easy way," said makeup artist Kabuki, who matched the graphic orange-red lip to the exact shade of red in the collection. He filled in the entire lip with red pencil, then expertly went over it with a highly-pigmented, matte lipstick—"everything being perfect is important." Nail artist Keri Blair applied two coats of MAC Studio Nail Lacquer in Shirelle, a bold red.

Backstage Essentials: MAC Lip Pencil in Cherry, $16, and Lipmix in Red, $15, maccosmetics.com.

The Look: Rope Braids

How-To: The twist-braid ponytail at Donna Karen requires slightly more patience than your basic three-strand braid, but the payoff is way more interesting. Hairstylist Eugene Souleiman pulled the hair into a low ponytail, divided it into four sections, and crossed them over each other all the way down so they formed a thick rope. Here's how to do it: Hold the first two strands in your left hand (1 and 2) and the second two (3 and 4) in your right. Cross 2 over 3, then cross 1 behind 3. Bring 2 over, cross 4 under the braid, then cross 1 over, and so on. Tie off the ends and mist with high-shine hairspray.

Backstage Essentials: Wella Stay Firm Finishing Spray, $15, ulta.com.

The Look: Violet Eyes

How-To: "I like beauty with a twist," explained makeup artist Tom Pecheux of the violet, "bruise-y" eyes he created backstage at Derek Lam. "I want the color to be there, but I don't want it to be aggressive." First, Pecheux lined the upper lashes with dark brown eyeliner. Then he dabbed a pinky-violet lipstick on the lids and brushed metallic brown shadow on top. He finished with a coat of deep purple mascara on the upper lashes only—"I wanted a clear contrast, so there's no makeup under the eyes."

Backstage Essentials: MAC Lipstick in Violetta, $16, and Eye Shadow in Force of Nature, available Spring 2015, maccosmetics.com.

The Look: Wet, Tropical Hair

How-To: Hairstylist Odile Gilbert referenced photgrapher Herb Ritts—"the girls in his photos had shiny skin and wet hair and looked sexy and sensual"—as she explained the equally sexy, super-glossy look she created at Thakoon. After running gel through the hair, Gilbert took two small sections from above each ear, twisted them back, and tied them in a knot. Then she made a loop and tied them into another knot, which she secured with an elastic. The result? The kind of frizz-free, pretty, effortless hair we all dream of having at the beach.

Backstage Essentials: Kérastase Forme Fatale, $36, kerastase-usa.com.

The Look: Bombshell Hair and Smoky Eyes

How-To: DVF's spring collection was inspired by the French Riviera and the beautiful people—like Brigitte Bardot—who frequented its beaches in the '50s and '60s. So it follows then that the hair was big and the makeup was sultry: "Brigitte was ahead of her time—she was doing bedhead before it even existed," said hairstylist Orlando Pita. He went heavy on the volumizer, then set the hair in rollers which he took out right before show time. Makeup artist Pat McGrath lined the eyes in kohl pencil and blended a mix of dark brown shadows across the lid for the perfect, slept-in smoky eye. "We didn't want it to look retro, so I didn't wing it out at all," she said.

Backstage Essentials: BioSilk Volumizing Therapy Root Lifter, $12.50, and BioSilk Volumizing Therapy Texturizing Powder, $12.50, ulta.com.

The Look: Long Lashes and Graphic White Eyeliner

How-To: It was all about the lashes backstage at Nanette Lepore, where makeup artist Grace Lee applied falsies to the top and bottom along with lots and lots of lengthening mascara for '60s-inspired eyes. To complement the light caftans and keep the dramatic lash look from feeling too heavy, Lee chose white eyeliner instead of black and winged the inner and outer corners out slightly.

Backstage Essentials: Maybelline New York Volum' Express The Falsies Big Eyes Mascara, $9.50, cvs.com.