Lifestyle Mirror

When ’80s-inspired rock chic rolled down the runways recently at Chanel, Lanvin, and Cavalli, editors everywhere sang their praises. The decade is a beauty favorite—at Marc Jacobs’s Fall 2009 collection, the designer convinced François Nars to come out of self-imposed exile and do makeup for his show: a comeback inspired by the ’80s club scene. More recently, cosmetic junkies everywhere celebrated MAC’s Beth Ditto collaboration, a line full of neon and rock-ready shades. And now, the movie Rock of Ages, where Hollywood’s prettiest (Tom Cruise, Malin Akerman, and Julianne Hough) become rock icons. The film is entertaining, but oddly nostalgic and evocative of the decade that continues to inspire our industry’s innovators—a time when people had fun dressing up. In a revival effort, we consulted Whitney James, the movie’s makeup artist to Malin Akerman and Julianne Hough, on how to rock and roll in style. —Phillip Picardi