For the eighth season, Aveda Global Creative Director Antoinette Beenders worked her hairstyling magic backstage at Christian Siriano. To complement the collection's glamorous designs, Beenders created elegant fishtail-braided updos inspired by the golden age of Russian opera. To get the look, she prepped the hair with Aveda Pure Abundance Style Prep, then blow-dried it before parting it in the center and creating two inverted fishtail braids at the side of the head. After massaging the braids to create a little more fullness, Beenders folded them over each other in a crisscross pattern and pinned them in place. Air Control Hairspray held the look in place.
Lead makeup artist for M.A.C Polly Osmond was also on hand creating the dramatic makeup look focusing on the eyes. She rimmed the bottom of the eyes with a heavy line of dark matte black eyeliner and along 1/4 of the top of the eyes, feathering it at the outer corners. She shaded the cheeks and used a mauve-nude lipstick on the lips with sheer lip gloss on top.