Beauty Trends at Spring 2011 Paris Fashion Week: Braids, Ballerinas and Bleached Brows

by Jennifer Appenrodt 

Braids at Valentino and McQueen. Photos: Francois Guillot, AFP / Getty Images | Pascal Le Segretain, Getty Images

Today is the final day of Paris Fashion Week. But before saying "au revoir" to Paree, we wanted to give you a beauty breakdown of the city's final days in the spotlight.

There were braid-based concoctions weaving their way through many a hair look, brows getting bleached, and a ballet-inspired theme pitter-pattering across the runways. Read on for more.

Here Comes The Braid

The runways were laden with braids getting all sorts of twists. At Valentino, the plait du jour was structural, but softened and loosened with wispy flyaways encircling faces, and at Alexander McQueen models looked like medieval princesses, wearing messy but intricately woven hair 'dos that were fashioned into pigtails.

Braids and twists at Emanuel Ungaro and Yves Saint Laurent. Photos: FirstView

At Emanuel Ungaro, the look was still a wet, high-shine head, but hairstylist Guido Palau constructed a braided headband this time-inspired by a German/Austrian girl who's all grown up. "We decided on a Heidi-inspired-braided-headband look," says Palau. "There is something very innocent about this style, but once the girls have their makeup done with dark lips, she turns into this very sexy, decadent, Helmut Newton woman." Palau also created a wet, high-shine look at Yves Saint Laurent, but this time it was an inverted roll around the head. "The designer wanted a very structured look, so we went with a style that is very close to the head," says Palau. "And the shine adds a bit of drama."

The manicures at Chanel and McQueen Photos: Pascal Le Segretain, Getty Images | Imaxtree

Mega Manicures

Chanel, which often sets the seasonal trends with their much-watched manicure shade, showed an iridescent blue-gray-green called Le Vernis Nail Colour in Black Pearl, which will launch in January as part of their Spring Makeup Collection. The shade, which is a dash lighter than the moody grieges that are hot right now, matched the show's smoky green eye makeup and the shade a pillar for Chanel's spring offerings, which were previewed backstage at the show. At Alexander McQueen, manicurist Marian Newman applied custom nails by Minx that reflected the collection's earthy undertones with leafy illustrations and textured matte-gold finishes.

Bleached brows at Giambattista Valli, Valentino and Yves Saint Laurent. Photos: Patrick Kovarik, AFP / Getty | Antonio de Moraes Barros Filho, WireImage | Francois Guillot, AFP / Getty Images

Carte-Blanche Brows

It seems like brows were getting bleached all over the Parisian runways recently--creating a very clean (and sanitized!) eye look that let other features shine. Valentino ladies strutted the barely there brow, and at Giambattista Valli, blonde models got a bleached brow, white mascara, and a slick of gloss on cheekbones for a very sleek, modern effect. Yves Saint Laurent even got in on the white-out, and we love how it was paired with a glossy, deep-burgundy lip. Makeup artist Pat McGrath was going for a "fresh and strong" look, which she achieved perfectly with the minimal eyes (sans mascara, too) and the bold, dark lip.

Ballerina-inspired looks at Colette Dinnegan and Chloe. Photos: FirstView

Get-Pretty Pirouettes

Romantic, ballet-inspired beauty took center stage at Colette Dinnegan and Chloe. Makeup artist Alex Box was going for 'the color of a ballet slipper' on models' cheeks at Colette Dinnegan, which she achieved with the soon-to-produced MAC Pro-Scultping Cream in 'Cheek.' She patted it on high on the cheekbones, right under the eyes, using the palms of her hands for a gentle glow. The rest of the look had a sort of celestial feel, with oyster highlights and a wash of watery silver on lids. Over at Chloe, hairstylist Luigi Merenu was inspired by vintage photos of classical dancers, which meant models were given low-slung, side-parted chignons. "The texture is really what gives it softness," Murenu said of the sleek style that he prepped with John Frieda's Luxurious Volume Thickening Mousse. "A lot of girls have thin hair, so this mousse helps, but I used it in a tricky way because it has good hold for a ponytail and it keeps the shine."

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