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"The collection is meant to be like a jewel box," said Acra, who staged her first Pre-Fall ’08 presentation on Wednesday, Dec. 12. "The house is becoming more and more couture-like, so we wanted to make the exhibit like a museum."

For this jewel-box of a collection, then, jewel tones – rich amethyst, deep plum, jewel green and blue black - naturally played a starring role. A Grecian-style draped gown in a vibrant amethyst played to a gold embroidered neckline with great effect, while a jewel green halter dress in chiffon evoked ’30s-era movie stars like Jean Harlow.

"I dye all my own colors," said Acra, and the result is a flawless palette with rich, unique tones – perfect for standing out on the red carpet today. Acra’s contemporary version of classic Hollywood glamour has earned her a celebrity following, having outfitted Catherine Zeta-Jones, Angelina Jolie, Beyonce, Ashanti, Star Jones and Eva Mendes, to name a few.

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The products, in lip, face and eye categories, come in sleek transparent lucite packaging designed by Fabien Baron ("Little mini pieces of sculpture for your dresser," said Carrigan), will feature a base of colors but will add trend colors once a season, as well as a new product exclusive to the season.

Highlights of the new collection include a mini brow kit with two tones of shadow for blending, a magnifying mirror and mini tweezers and brow brush (a steal at $22) and a brush-on concealer pen that goes on wet with a dry finish that won't cake, even when applied later in the day as a touch-up over foundation.

Designed to be accessible, with price points that encourage experimentation (the average product is around $20), Carrigan sees the collection having broad appeal.

"It's about an attitude rather than an age," he said. "She's into fashion."

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Carrigan said the approach at the counter will all be related to what's going on in fashion - makeup artists will be called "stylists" he said, and they'll be looking at all the latest fashion news and runway images each season for new ideas on how to use a product.

Mark Carrasquillo, ck Calvin Klein global makeup artist who works with Carrigan, reinforced the notion that one of the main tenets of the collection is to show women how to use color.

"You might put a green and blue eyeshadow together, but it's all about the application and how you wear it to make it new," said Carrasquillo, pointing to another model wearing the two colors in a fresh, not gaudy way - muted shades of the colors, applied lightly to the eyelids and extending slightly past the length of the brow.

The products, in lip, face and eye categories, come in sleek transparent lucite packaging designed by Fabien Baron ("Little mini pieces of sculpture for your dresser," said Carrigan), will feature a base of colors but will add trend colors once a season, as well as a new product exclusive to the season.

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For instance, explained Carrigan, when they were developing the colors for the new beauty collection, which will roll-out with over 200 new products for Spring '08, they took inspiration from the runway and the way that color was used in the collections. A swatch of fuchsia fabric with a cellophane overlay might be translated into a similar shade of lipstick with a touch of gloss, giving the pigment an element of shine and transparency akin to the fabric. Or, a navy patent leather shoe might become a high gloss nail varnish in the ck Calvin Klein beauty lineup.

"It's about updating the face to go with the outfits they're wearing," said Carrigan. He pointed to a model with a classic nude makeup look, but with a twist. "Everyone knows how to do a nude face," he said, "but adding gold to the eyelids, going back to all the metallics on the runway, is a new way to do a nude face."

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