Derek Blasberg's social calendar reads like WWD's "Eye" column or a Bravo reality series and an episode of  "Gossip Girl" rolled into one. Before you ask, "Derek who?," we'll tell you: Blasberg is a New York-based fashion scribe for Style.com and V Magazine, who made a boldface name of himself after escorting A-list celebrities such as Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Emma Watson and Chloe Sevigny on the global society whirl.

Blasberg decided to parlay his time spent on the arms of social butterflies into an etiquette book, "Classy," positioning himself as a latter-day Emily Post, who advises what one should or not tweet or upload to Facebook.

Tonight, Blasberg is in L.A. for a "Classy" book party hosted by Kate Bosworth, Nicole Richie and Margherita Missoni. He took time out of his coast-to-coast book tour to speak with All the Rage.

All the Rage: Who's a contemporary classy lady?

Emma Watson -- the girl from Harry Potter films. She just turned 20. She's part of the biggest movie franchise of the last decade but still seems to have to her head on her shoulders. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are two self-made, hardworking, diligent young girls. Kate Bosworth. Nicole Richie was sort of trampy in her childhood but is now a full-on lady.

I know we’ve been bombarded with images of less than classy ladies -- a lot of reality skanks.

"She's so easy-going, I would have hated to have 'gone to town' on her," said makeup artist Sara Glick, when discussing the soft makeup look she created for supporting actress nominee Anna Kendrick (for "Up in the Air.") 

"She's not a fussy, wearing-tons-of-makeup girl," she added, "And this look got to show how ridiculously milky and flawless her skin is."

Kendrick, who matched her natural-feeling makeup with a blush-colored Elie Saab gown, looked particularly fetching on Oscar night.

Here's how Glick played up the young actress' best features, without piling it on:

-First, she cleansed Kendrick's skin with Arcona Triad cleansing pads, which also tone and moisturize – following up with an application of Arcona Magic White Ice moisturizer ("It's really light, and doesn’t clog pores," Glick said).

-Next, she applied Temptu's Retouch highlighter (instead of foundation) in Champagne Shimmer to eyelids, cheeks, nose and any other planes that pick up light.
 
-Then she accented the apples of Kendrick's cheeks with Tarte Eco Cheek (a warm, peachy stain).

-Glick also used a Tarte stain on Kendrick's lips in Charmed (a deep pink). And to "create a soft healthy lip," she added a pale cotton-candy pink lip gloss.

-For her eyes, Glick also chose neutrals, using Dior's 5-color eyeshadow palette in 
Sunset Café. "I just really blended the colors for a very soft look," she said. She also brushed a bronze shadow into her lash line in the place of eyeliner.

-Then the artist added a couple of coats of Dior Show Unlimited mascara in black, eschewing fake lashes because "Anna has incredible lashes already."

-To give her a dewy glow, Glick spritzed Kendrick's face with Arcona Lavendar Hydrasol spray.

--Emili Vesilind

Photo: Amy Sancetta / Associated Press

RELATED: More Oscar fashion | Red carpet interviews | Cheat sheet | Printable ballot | More

A new Times database puts readers on the sidewalks of Hollywood, using more than a century of archives to track the lives of the stars, including current Oscar nominees Jeff Bridges, James Cameron, Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman, Sandra Bullock and Meryl Streep.

Supporting actress nominee (for "Up In the Air") Vera Farmiga took a fashion risk with her huge, ruffled fuschia-toned Marchesa gown — so her hairstylist, Lona Vigi, wanted to keep her tresses low-key but big enough to balance out her bombastic ensemble.

"It's a lot of dress," Vigi said, "and it's beautiful and vibrant, so we basically wanted to keep the hair off her face, but also keep it strong." Key to the look was making sure Farmiga's hairstyle complemented her narrow face shape. "We wanted to make sure we saw hair on the bottom when you looked at her straight-on -- it's good with her face shape. I didn't just want to have no hair."

Here's how Vigi achieved volume on top and bottom, without losing the pretty proportions:

--She dried Farmiga's hair with a Velecta Paramount Paris blow-drier, using Volumizing Catalyst (a product that helps lift the roots) from LiQWD. For added volume on top, she round-brushed it dry, concentrating on the roots. 

--Vigi gently back-combed the hair on top and in the back to get a little lift all-around.

--Then she tied the bottom section to the nape of her neck with an elastic, wrapping the ponytail, section by section, into a loose chignon secured by bobby pins. "Vera's like me, we don't like hair super constricted, so it looks really serious," she said.

--Next, the hairdresser added a Fred Leighton diamond brooch to her hair on the left-back side for a little razzle-dazzle.

--And finally, she sprayed the entire look with L'oreal Elnett hairspray for a light hold.

--Emili Vesilind

Photo: Jason Merritt / Getty Images

RELATED: More Oscar fashion | Red carpet interviews | Cheat sheet | Printable ballot | More

A new Times database puts readers on the sidewalks of Hollywood, using more than a century of archives to track the lives of the stars, including current Oscar nominees Jeff Bridges, James Cameron, Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman, Sandra Bullock and Meryl Streep.

Fashion plate and supporting actress nominee Maggie Gyllenhaal sported a gorgeous, shapely Oscar-night up-do that perfectly complemented her paint-brush-printed Dries Van Noten gown.

Hairdresser Mark Townsend achieved the look by adding extensions to the actress' chin-length bob once it was up and secured with bobby pins. "I was talking to her makeup artist, Molly Stern, and we both thought we made Maggie look like the muse of spring," noted Townsend, who kindly broke down the steps for creating the up-do for us:

--First he smoothed a few drops of Moroccanoil hair treatment through her short locks to give them some volume. 

--Then he applied Sally Hershberger's Style Primer (a waxy product) through her hair, and blew it dry with a small, round brush.

--Townsend then set the crown section of her hair in barrel curlers and sectioned off the sides of her hair, pulling the back portion up and securing it with "a lattice-work of bobby pins."

--Next, the hairdresser attached clip-on hair pieces (from garlanddrake.com) with bobby pins. "I wanted a really big shape," he said, "because the texture of the dress is what I wanted for the texture in her hair. With dark hair, you have to add lots of texture to have it show up on TV." 

--Townsend free-styled the twists and turns of the faux pieces, adding, "I took the inspiration from the brushstrokes in the dress — so I just started grabbing hair and twirling it around and pinning it."

--For added oomph, he pinned in a jet-black crystal hair piece behind Gyllenhaal's right ear from hair accessory designer Jennifer Behr. "I didn't want to put bling in her hair," he said,  "I just wanted the camera to pick up the shine."

--Finally, Townsend spritzed the actress with Morrocanoil Glimmer Shine spray to give her high shine "before she walked out the door."

--Emili Vesilind

Photo: Matt Sayles / Associated Press

RELATED: More Oscar fashion | Red carpet interviews | Cheat sheet | Printable ballot | More

A new Times database puts readers on the sidewalks of Hollywood, using more than a century of archives to track the lives of the stars, including current Oscar nominees Jeff Bridges, James Cameron, Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman, Sandra Bullock and Meryl Streep.

"Avatar" star Zoe Saldana worked with NARS makeup artist Vera Steimberg on a beauty look that matched her dazzling (and daring) half-champagne, half lavender gown.

"We wanted to give her the sexy, sophisticated look, but fresh," Steimberg said. "So I concentrated more on her eyes and her skin, keeping colors neutral for the lips and cheeks." And there was nary a speck of blue involved.

Here's how the edgy look came together, using NARS products exclusively:

--Steimberg didn't use much in the way of concealer and foundation, but wanted her "skin to show and glow." She used the Orgasm skin illuminator, followed by contour-style stick, Lamu, to make the actress' cheekbones really pop.

--Next came the neutral (but not boring) lip, which was created using Love Devotion (a muted pink) lip color, topped by Ophelia pink gloss (another pale pink).

--Then the artist swept a touch of Enchanted cheek color to add a bit of depth for the camera.

--Finally, Saldana's eyes were made to smolder using Stylo black liquid eyeliner, and a custom shadow mix of purple and black "to give a little more sexy, sophisticated look," said Steimberg.

--Emili Vesilind

Photo: John Shearer / Getty Images

RELATED: More Oscar fashion | Red carpet interviews | Cheat sheet | Printable ballot | More

A new Times database puts readers on the sidewalks of Hollywood, using more than a century of archives to track the lives of the stars, including current Oscar nominees Jeff Bridges, James Cameron, Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman, Sandra Bullock and Meryl Streep.

Best actress front-runner Sandra Bullock paired her pale gold Marchesa gown with old Hollywood beauty. Chanel makeup artist Angela Levin, who regularly works with Bullock, said the look was "all about the lips."

Here's how she took a thoroughly modern star into classic territory, using all-Chanel products:

--Levin applied Sublimage fluid to her face to prep the skin, then used Vitalumiere foundation to smooth out skin color (using Chanel's synthetic brush #30).

--Then she applied Rouge Coco lipstick (#22) -- a pinky-red color -- to her cheeks and lips (no lip liner was used, to get an imperfect look "like a girl would wear," said Levin.)

--Then came a breezy brush of powdery bronzer on the cheeks (Desert Corail) to "warm up the skin," said Levin, who added, "We went for that slightly exaggerated cheek color."

--Eyes were defined using a mauve-y grayish brown shadow, with a darker brown shadow applied to upper and lower lash line in the place of traditional liner.

--Levin topped off the look with #10 Inimitable mascara (in black). A waterproof formula was key, she said, because, "this could be a very big night for her."

--Emili Vesilind

Photo: Matt Sayles / Assocaited Press

RELATED: More Oscar fashion | Red carpet interviews | Cheat sheet | Printable ballot | More

A new Times database puts readers on the sidewalks of Hollywood, using more than a century of archives to track the lives of the stars, including current Oscar nominees Jeff Bridges, James Cameron, Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman, Sandra Bullock and Meryl Streep.

Shimmering copper lips paired with bold blue eyes defined the sun-kissed, 70s-feeling makeup at Derek Lam's fall 2010 runway show.

Conceptualized by Estée Lauder's creative makeup director Tom Pecheux -- who led 15 makeup artists working on 22 models -- the fierce look also included matte skin (which should always be the case when you have shimmery eyes and lips), bare cheeks and neutral nails created by Estée Lauder's Jin Soon Choi.

To reflect the soft shades of gray Marc Jacobs used throughout his fall/winter 2010 collection, Creative Nail Design painted models' nails with combos of taupe, light lavender and putty gray.  

Beige and gray nails have been trendy since OPI released “You don’t know Jacques” and now with the parade of cloudy nails that went down the Marc Jacobs runways, this storm doesn’t show signs of stopping.

Artists from CND created custom blends in order to achieve each shade of gray, greige and lavender. Below is what they concocted from the CND line of nail polish to get tones that complemented Jacob’s collection. It looks like a lot of chemistry and color balancing, so those who love to be on trend might find themselves mixing batches of nail lacquer to make their own custom color.

See the looks below the jump.

It was all about a bit of bed head and sexy, smudgy eyes on the Marc Jacobs runway. The designer wanted models to have a dirty look as if the hair and makeup had been slept in.

“This look is what you’d see on a girl from the East Village or St. Germain des Pres--an existentialist with a modern twist,” said Nars Cosmetics founder and Creative Director François Nars in a news  release.

To get the girls' makeup looking accurately grungy, Nars used the following steps, finishing with a shade of sheer-peach lipstick called Barbarella that Jacobs specifically requested be applied to models'  pouts.

FACE

• Sheer Glow Foundation

• Enchanted Blush (NEW for summer 2010)

EYES

• D. Gorgeous Single Eye shadow (NEW for Spring 2010)

• Black Moon Eyeliner Pencil

• Nuits Blanches Eyeliner Stylo

• Larger Than Life Volumizing Mascara

 LIPS

• Barbarella Lipstick

--Melissa Magsaysay

RELATED:

PHOTOS: Celeb sightings at fall 2010 New York Fashion Week

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Photos: Top: the makeup look at Marc Jacobs fall/winter 2010 show, Bottom: Francois Nars gets models ready backstage/Nars

For his fall/winter 2010 runway show, Thakoon Panichgul complemented his fur-heavy collection with strong eyebrows and cheeks that glowed in a deep peachy hue.

Panichgul's inspiration, which were the costumes in Chopinot & Gaultier’s Le Défilé, led makeup artist Diane Kendall to create a look that she said highlighted the eyes showing depth and boldness in a way that wouldn’t compete with the heavy layers and textures of the clothing.

Anyone who’s a fan of these Nars colors will have to wait until next fall to get them. Kendall used mostly shades that aren’t hitting stores until the end of August, but she provided some alternatives to tide fans over until then.

FACE
• Douceur Blush (new for fall 2010); try Lovejoy or Madly Blush for a similar effect.

EYES
• Coconut Grove Single eye shadow (new for fall 2010); try Bali Single eye shadow.
• Tzarine Duo eye shadow (new for fall 2010); try the Orgasm Illuminator on brow bones.

LIPS
• Tashkent Pure Matte Lipstick (new for fall 2010); try Belle de Jour Velvet Matte Lip Pencil.

-- Melissa Magsaysay

Photos: Thakoon Panichgul's fall 2010 runway

PHOTOS: Celeb sightings at fall 2010 New York Fashion Week

More from New York Fashion Week

Follow All the Rage on Facebook and Twitter

Photos: Two looks from Thakoon Panichgul's fall/winter 2010 collection. Credit: Nars

In this new blog feature called “Fashion Math” we trace the inspiration behind some of the stylish individuals snapped for our “Street Style” galleries and break down the clothing, cosmetics and accessories, offering similar items for anyone who wants to get the look.
 

Chanel Cross, 20, was strolling on Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade channeling Yeah Yeah Yeah singer Karen O’s statement-making style. The skinny red pants, graphic top and signature crimson pout--Cross is giving us the rocker's off-stage ensemble. Find out the answer to this equation after the jump.

Every time I see those features in the magazines where people write in to find out where to get the dress/lipstick/handbag that appears on a celebrity, I'm suspicious that they're all just made up inquiries.

So I was surprised to receive an e-mail recently asking the Rage crew for a little bit of fashion forensics. It read in part:

"Hoping you might be able to help me.  In last week's episode of "Curb" (Episode 8 of Season 7, "Officer Krupke"), Cheryl is wearing an animal-print blouse that my mother is OBSESSED with.  Would love to know where to get it for her for Christmas ... Do you guys know how I can find out who makes it?" 

It took a little bit of digging -- since the "Curb Your Enthusiasm" cast members have been known to mine their own wardrobe for the clothes they wear on-screen -- but I'm happy to report that the blouse in question is by Nanette Lepore.

What I'm not happy to report is that the blouse in question is from the designer's Resort 2009 collection and the folks at Nanette Lepore tell me it's no longer available in stores.

But at least now our Christmas elf (whose name I won't divulge in case the hunt turns out to be successful) now has some search terms to help as she scours the far corners of the Internet.

And, if you've seen something on screen and want to know more about it, feel free to post a comment on the blog or shoot me an e-mail (at adam.tschorn@latimes.com) and I'll try to get the back story.

-- Adam Tschorn

Photo: Cheryl Hines (left) and Elisabeth Shue. Hines, as Cheryl* David, is wearing an animal print blouse from designer Nanette Lepore's 2009 Resort collection. Credit: Doug Hyun.

*[Updated 11/23/2009 11:05 AM: In an earlier version of this post, the "Curb" character played by Cheryl Hines was incorrectly referred to as Laurie David.]

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