The designer behind the Pamella Roland collection, Pamella DeVos, has created a nautically inspired spring-summer 2008 line, which includes such eclectic looks as short, geometric-patterned shift dresses, sleeveless tunics and Bermuda shorts, lightweight pantsuits, and form-fitting evening gowns.

A woman who favors Pamella Roland is “an easygoing gal, yet very confident,” Ms. DeVos, a Michigan native, said. “My inspiration for the collection is how I live. I’m a woman with children; I’m from the Midwest.”

Bright citrus hues, inspired by the designer’s trip to the coastal city of Valencia, Spain, are a unifying theme in the relaxed, but elegant collection. These designs provide the perfect starting point for the head makeup artist for Laura Mercier Cosmetics, Luis

Soto, to create a peachy, sun-kissed look for the designer’s September 9 runway presentation at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.

While some of the shows during Fashion Week, which begins tomorrow, are sure to feature bold, over-the-top makeup applications, Mr. Soto is opting for a simpler look: dewy, bronzed skin and natural lips. On the runway, the look will be paired with tousled beach hair. It’s “a natural, neutral look that really isn’t about one trend,” Mr. Soto, who worked at Estée Lauder and MAC Cosmetics, before landing a job at Laura Mercier, said.

A lighter look is less likely to distract the audience from the collection.

For next spring, the line features glamorous embellishments such as beaded macramé, feathers, and delicate lace to Ms. DeVos’s raw materials of charmeuse silk, chiffon, organza, linen, and lightweight metallic tweed.

At the pre-fashion show makeup run-through last week at the Pamella Roland showroom in Midtown, Mr. Soto began with a sheer, tinted moisturizer on a makeup model with an olive complexion. “It shouldn’t be applied all over the face; only where it needs to be,” he said. “We want to see skin, not makeup.”

Next came the application to the apples of the cheeks of a sheer apricot blush. Then, there was a dusting of the cheeks, forehead, and nose with a shimmery peach powder that acts as a highlighter. For the eyes, Mr. Soto turned to Laura Mercier’s Indian Summer collection, choosing the complementary shadow colors of khaki and gold dust to create “a sandy eye color with sparkle.”

Mr. Soto used a deep navy liner to rim the eyelid. “I want the liner tight and focused, but not super thick,” he said as he coated each lash individually with Thickening and Building mascara. “I want to use enough to make the eyelashes look wet.”

He left the bottom lashes bare. On the lips, Mr. Soto used his fingertip to stain the pout with a sheer coral tone called Tunisian Moon, and then applied a gloss Champagne Glace, which has “a seashell finish,” Mr. Soto said.

Ms. DeVos said she was pleased with the makeup artistry, and is anxious to see what her 17- and 21-year-old daughters have to say about the runway look. “They’re young and creative — and they have no problems giving me their opinions,” she said.