FASHION Magazine

See all the backstage pics from Chloé Comme Parris Spring 2013 »

It was dewy skin like we’ve never seen before for Chloé Comme Parris Spring 2013, where the theme was California’s Venice Beach and models looked like they’d just emerged from the water. “It’s all about layering different kinds of textures to create this really beautiful, metallic skin,” explained M.A.C makeup key Melissa Gibson. To start, she used M.A.C Cosmetics Mineralize Charged Water Face and Body Lotion ($40, maccosmetics.com) followed by Studio Finish SPF 35 Concealer ($22, maccosmetics.com)—though dabbed only where necessary. The almost supernatural glow, however, came courtesy of Mineralize Skinfinish in “Soft and Gentle” ($34, maccosmetics.com) which Gibson generously applied with a brush “literally all over the face.”

See more backstage pictures from Rochas Spring 2013 »

The bold red lip at Rochas Spring 2013 has quite the enchanting quality to it. The shade? A deeply pigmented rosebud red. The texture? Perfectly matte. Paired with a fresh-faced no makeup look it’s the sort of colour that shows just how much influence a well-done lip can have. (Anyone who’s ever thrown on her favourite lipstick in place of doing any other makeup knows this trick well.) Makeup artist Lucia Pieroni used two different Clé de Peau lipsticks to create the velvety look for Rochas, applying “R1,” a blue toned brick-red shade first and then layering and “R2,” a cherry-red colour, on top. However, the almost vibrating lip colour has another trick: hot pink blush. According to Into The Gloss, Lucia Pieroni finished the look by brushing on pink pigment. She started at the centre of the lip, blending outward with a Q-tip, which both enhanced the matte texture and added depth to the colour. It’s a different take on the two-toned lip that’s been popular the last few seasons—less colour blocking, more multi-dimensional. Lucia Pieroni called the final colour “beetroot berry” and we’re just going to go ahead and rename it our favourite lip colour for Spring 2013.

Brunettes overshadowed the Fall 2012 runways. Celia Ellenberg reports on the power colour.

Need hair dye inspiration? View our brunette photo gallery »

For two full seasons, Guido Palau made an indelible mark on the backstage beauty game by dyeing models’ hair a frothy colour often described as “Balenciaga blonde” because of its prevalence on Nicolas Ghesquière’s runway. But last September in Paris, the Redken creative consultant shocked the show-going set with some black magic—make that brown magic—by taking a previously platinum Kasia Struss to a warm shade of chocolate. “She just looks tougher with brown hair,” he said at the time.

All eyes are on Milan now, but let’s not forget some of London Fashion Week Spring 2013’s best in beauty. Most refreshing was the influx of bright lips, an area of the face that didn’t get a lot of play at New York Fashion Week, where the general trend was minimal makeup and manicures—nude polish dominated as did completely bare, buffed-to-shine nails. In fact, backstage in the Big Apple makeup artists often skipped putting pigment on the mouth entirely opting for clear gloss. (One of a few notable exceptions, the matte raspberry lip at Jason Wu was awesome.) When they did pull out the colour, they applied it to the top half of the face: take Dick Page’s green and blue over-the-eye arches at Michael Kors, and Tom Pecheux’s abstract smears on lids at Peter Som. But, where New York left us wanting for bold, colourful lips, London made up for it in spades. Even bare-face-loving Burberry Prorsum busted out the rouge lipstick, hopefully a sign that lips won’t be silenced from here on out.

See our top 5 makeup looks from London Fashion Week Spring 2013 »

Remember when makeup artist Francois Nars created 65 different looks for the Marc Jacobs Fall 2009 show? Well, that didn’t happen this time around at New York Fashion Week Spring 2013 but some designers did decide to deviate from a uniform beauty statement, creating a few different looks for one show. Here’s our rundown of the best double takes from backstage:

Alexander Wang
Though Guido Palau gave every girl at Alexander Wang a tight, low ponytail, the accessory that ran down the centre part differed—a glow-in-the-dark adhesive strip on blondes and a black one for brunettes. The fair-haired set also had a different experience in the makeup chair: Diane Kendal bleached brows and created luminous skin, while their dark-haired counterparts had strong brows and matte skin.

Read on for multiple looks from Anna Sui, Michael Kors and more! »

Backstage at Rodarte, I bumped into former FASHION cover girl Jessica Stam, who opened the show. I almost didn’t recognize her because of her raven hair, which she switched to a few months ago for the Met’s Schiaparelli and Prada exhibit. The shade really seemed to suit the “modern medieval” look and severe side parts Odile Gilbert crafted to appear as though models had shaved one half of their head. “I did it [again] a week ago,” Stam said of her new colour, leaving out the part about it being a cover up for a dye job gone wrong.

“I always love a greasy eye,” said Dick Page, backstage at Marc By Marc Jacobs describing the punked-out makeup for the show. “I guess [for this look] I’m pre-empting the morning after, because if it’s pre-destroyed it can’t go bad, you already know it looks like shit,” he further explained. His greasy-eye-making product of choice? “I use a stupid-expensive lip balm from Shiseido. What I like about it is that it’s got a little pink in it.” There’s a worn-in tube of Shiseido Benefiance Full Correction Lip Treatment ($38, at department stores) on his makeup table that verifies his love for the product. For Marc by Marc Jacobs, Dick Page layered the slick balm over top of beige and black cream eye shadows on lids and upper and lower lash lines.

While the trend so far at New York Fashion Week has been minimal makeup that wasn’t the case at Peter Som. For starters, rainbow-hued extensions (dyed the day prior by colourist Aura Freidman) were tucked randomly in hair, styled by Eugene Souleiman. On the face, Tom Pecheux also wanted randomness and he used his finger tips to apply colour on the eyes, with the goal of looking like a child’s painting. Finally, you know how we feel about French manicures at FASHION. (If not, let me bring you up to speed: ewww!) But when done right (i.e., no acrylics and no white, squared off tips) we can get behind the style. A perfect exception-making example: the creamy orange and mint combo that used two out of the three shades from Zoya’s custom nail polish range for Peter Som.

Read on for more backstage beauty at New York Fashion Week »

See the full gallery of backstage pictures! »

While bushy eyebrows may not yet be synonymous with beach babes, bronzed skin and smoky, dark features were a staple at Miami’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim 2013. At Brazilian label Poko Pano, the beauty was inspired by youthful beach goddesses. Make Up For Ever Alliance artist James Vincent served as key makeup artist for the show and created a look that pulled from the metallic trend that’s dominated traditional runways the last two seasons—but did so with the goal of making it beach-ready and “appropriate for everyday.” After applying smoky layers of Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in a selection of taupe and brown shades, he accented with a hit of gold and bronze.

While temperatures have been sweltering all summer long, this past weekend things got even hotter south of the border for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim 2013 in Miami. Models strutted down runways surrounded by sand and palm trees, and front-row guests kept complimentary fans swaying throughout the shows. So what better way to test-drive beach-approved beauty than in a city full of salty air and sunshine? As MBFWSwim’s official makeup sponsor four years running, Make Up For Ever knows a thing or two about creating looks that can withstand sweaty summer days. We spoke with their key makeup artists James Vincent and Lottie about summer beauty trends, and have five makeup tips to keep you looking pretty all season long.

Non-shiny sunscreens, lipsticks trends and more! Read on »

Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night served as the reference for Rodarte’s runway look for spring. The midnight-blue smoky eyes were complemented by smooth waves with a youthful twist. We break it down step by step for you.

How to get this look »

See our gallery of backstage beauty snaps »
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Clean, simple and slightly androgynous was the idea for hair and makeup at Jeremy Laing. “It’s masculine, but with feminine tones to contrast the gender-bender look,” explained CoverGirl makeup pro Greg Wencel. Eyebrows were defined with a brow pencil, but the desired effect was for a full, soft brow—not a harsh or bold statement. Eyes were equally soft, with a light wash of CoverGirl Intense ShadowBlast in “Beige Blaze” and a dusting of warm eyeshadow on top. In a very Downton Abbey sort of move, no mascara was applied—this further impressed the idea of a masculine, androgynous look.