According to the great Italian poet and dramatist Luigi Pirandello, we all wear “social masks” to be part of the society we live in. The concept of the individual personality is fragmented and shattered: we are not who we think we are, but take a hundred thousand different faces according to the point of view of the people around us. The contrast between “to be” and “to look” becomes tragic in his plays, because men are always forced to conform to social restraints and conventions and thus they lose the perception of their true self. I totally agree with Pirandello: the modern idea of the mask is so full of meanings and interpretations, and this is so much true when it comes to make-up. Don’t we all wear masks, pretending to be someone different, when we put our make-up on? I surely wear a mask every time I go to work (I am a teacher and I don’t like to be there, in front of my students, with shadows under my eyes and the green undertones of my skin in full display) and 70% of this mask bears the sign of NARS on it!
As a NARS-issist, I always try to include at least one NARS item in my make-up, but I am watching out for the new collections of the brand, because my obsession needs fresh blood, right? The latest collection for Fall 2009 is Lolita, featuring Canadian doll-face model Heather Marks. According to François Nars, the collection is inspired to the the coquettish innocence of Nabokov’s character, and to the sophisticated sensuality of Catherine Deneuve in Buñuel’s Belle du Jour [1]: the resulting beauty formula is very sexy, but at the same time ultra-elegant.
The look seen on Heather was created by Diane Kendal. Apart from the gorgeous eye make-up, I am totally drawn by the amazing colour on cheeks, achieved with Cap Vert Multiple bronzer, Angelika (cotton candy with gold particles) and Gilda (coral) powder blushes.
Dallo Spazio 