Orlando Pita

Being a model is nice work if you can get it, but at Derek Lam's backstage, the job really had its perks. Lead makeup artist and creative makeup director Tom Pecheux for Estee Lauder began the makeup process by layering Advanced Night Repair ("the caviar," he called it) under Re-Nutriv Ultimate Youth Cream, then gently working it into skin. "My favorite part is to massage the face," he said. "Massaging gets the circulation going, and it's special for the models. Sometimes they're tired and stressed, but you give a few minutes' massage, and everything is gone."

For more about the hair and makeup, keep reading.

"Usually, people go for rock, romantic, or hippie," makeup artist said of Doo.Ri Chung's design philosophy. "But she's making everything for the modern girl today." The same could be said for Pecheux, who led a team of MAC artists in creating a sparkling, colorful runway look. Inspired by Chung's beaded collection, the makeup featured light contouring and no mascara. But the focal point was a matte red lip coated with glitter. ("It's green and blue, thanks to Avatar," he revealed.) To complement the look, manicurist Jin Soon Choi tweaked the current cement-colored nail polish trend by adding shimmer; the result, she said, was "chic, modern, and sophisticated."

The same could be said of the hair, which featured face-framing fishtail braids on each side of the head. The look was loose — realistic. "I look at the clothes and do a hairstyle that a woman would actually do," said lead stylist Orlando Pita. "If she did the braids herself, they'd be looser." To get the look, he sprayed hair with his Elevate volumizer, then straightened it with a T3 450 iron. Two fishtail braids (learn how here) and a ponytail elastic later, the models were runway ready.