STYLE : Soft Touches

A subtle evening look like this, created by hairdresser Howard Barr and makeup artist Sharon Gault, both of Cloutier, begins with a natural approach to match the season’s new casual, unconstructed evening clothes.

A second-generation stylist from London, Barr blow-dried the hair with a setting lotion, concentrating on the roots to create body. “Then I put in the Clairol Velcro-covered hot rollers, which are much kinder to the hair,” he explains. “I parted the front section, then dragged the rollers for flatness. Normally, you pull the hair straight up, but that gives a bubble effect.”

Barr brushed out the hair, then applied Redken’s Blueprint Detailing Gel 2L. “That’s what gives the hair its luster. Using a comb, I brought out the wave, then used clips to hold it while the makeup was done. When she was ready to go, I just pulled the clips out,” he says.

The basis of the makeup, says Gault, who appeared in the recent Madonna film, “Truth or Dare,” is the natural look of recent seasons, which she then enhances with strong colors and artful contouring to emphasize good features.

“I wanted the makeup to blend with the clothes, a natural feeling but pastel-y,” she explains. “I applied a translucent foundation and used dark brown for a nice, strong eyebrow. I always use M.A.C. makeup, by the way. I blended Mango eye shadow on the brow with Paisley on the lid for a subtle but colorful effect.”

For “a little cheek action,” Gault used M.A.C.’s Melba blush, then finished with Ginger pencil and Nectar lipstick on the lips. “I always use matte lipstick, even for evening,” she says, “because it stays on the longest.”