After her rendezvous at New York Fashion Week, Janine Gutierrez takes us on her Paris Fashion Week journey where she reveals something extra special, too. Hint: It is a partnership of passion that is of epic fashion proportions.
Related: A Tearful Finale: Karl Lagerfeld’s Last Chanel Collection
When you’ve got it, that lifelong lore called the x-factor, you will definitely be commanding attention at every turn—wherever in the world you find yourself to be. And this holds very much like gospel truth for Janine Gutierrez, actress, It-girl, and permanent fixture on many a best dressed and beauty list, even across borders. Fresh from a very successful whirlwind rendezvous at New York Fashion Week (NYFW) for the spring/summer 2020 shows, the resplendent and ravishing fashion muse made heads turn at presentations for Jason Wu, Chromat, Rebecca Minkoff, and Jonathan Simkhai, catching the attention of The Independent, E! News, and Buzzfeed, further cementing her status as an uncontested style and beauty star.
With barely a second to rest and breathe, the media darling recently made her way to one of the other holy grails of fashion, Paris Fashion Week. “Flying to Paris tonight for #LOREALPFW and I hope you’re as excited as I am! Packed my @lorealparismakeupshop faves to do my own make-up + a new lipstick collection I’ll be unveiling soon,” she writes on her Instagram page. What was assumed to be just your standard attendance proved to be something more, as Janine Gutierrez was set to witness a milestone of epic fashion proportions.
A short stroll from the world-famous and much-photographed Eiffel Tower at the heart of Paris, a new chapter was being cracked open at Rue St. Dominique—an unparalleled coming together of two iconic Parisian houses to create an elegant collection with an ironic twist on the classics. Now, before you glaze on over and file this as another fancied way of presenting something new in fashion, hold your breath, because this isn’t your run-of-the-mill partnership, especially when Karl Lagerfeld and L’Oréal Paris is involved.
Yes, you read that right. One of the last fruits of passion by the late, great Karl Lagerfeld, the unboxing of the project with L’Oréal Paris is not only a first and only one of its magnitude, but it also respectfully realizes his lasting legacy. To further this, key influencers and personalities from across the world, Janine Gutierrez included, were invited to his atelier and workshop to interface firsthand the limited-edition collection, as well as to immerse themselves in the breadth of the legend that is Karl Lagerfeld.
Through the lens of her Instagram Stories, Janine Gutierrez took us on a journey as if we were right with her, witnessing a roundtable talk led by Caroline Lebar, head of Image and Communication at Maison Karl, where an overview of the collection was presented, among other things. “’Personality begins, when comparison ends’ has to be my personal favorite,” explains Zak Yopp, L’Oreal Paris makeup vice-president. “And true to this belief, every piece in the collection is designed for every person to wear and own their signature color. Without comparison to others, as you make it truly your own look, and yours alone.” True enough, this was more apparent when the guests and Janine Gutierrez were led to the room where L’Oreal Paris Global Makeup Director and British Vogue contributing beauty editor, Val Garland, did an onstage makeup tutorial featuring key products from the collection.
“I never want my models to be covered up by makeup–makeup should never be a mask. It should only be there almost as an afterthought,” she details of the lived in look made permanent of the campaign images. The longevity and durability of the tubes of pigment were given a wear-test when the models were made to go through the day in full glam, giving the makeup enough time settle on the face–as any modern woman-on-the-go would. A range of warm brown nudes to a vivid crimson, the four-piece lipstick collection was a hit among the guests, even as they were given an opportunity to indulge in an interactive lipstick laboratory, where given lipstick bases and pigment sticks, they were able to craft their own signature color. Akin to her personality, Janine Gutierrez created an earthy pink type of nude shade that she cheekily dubbed, Kouture.
As if that wasn’t any more memorable than it already was, the Paris Fashion Week experience of Janine Gutierrez was further heightened by sitting in the Doutzen show, where she witnessed the likes of Amber Heard, Eva Longoria, Camila Cabello, Aishwarya Rai, Naomi Campbell, and Dame Helen Mirren take charge of the front row and the runway. We usually do not admit to fashion envy, but this one is definitely a case for that. However, as that case may be, we are grateful that Janine Gutierrez took us along for the ride. In that way, it’s as if we were there, meeting Coco Rocha, swatching the Karl Lagerfeld x L’Oréal Paris Collection, and watching the show, living the Parisian high life, even vicariously. What an experience indeed.
The Karl Lagerfeld x L’Oreal lipstick collection will be exclusively available in limited piece on Lazada beginning October 1, 2019, where it will retail for P500 a pop. Also, a special discount will be made available on the same day for the Lazada Super Brand Day as the collection and all makeup best-sellers go on sale for one day only.
