FASHION Magazine

With back-to-back shows spanning four international cities, it’s easy to blink and miss some of the best looks from the Spring 2014 runways. That’s why we’re taking a deep dive and offering you a step-by-step look at some of the best beauty moments, complete with tips and tricks for mastering it at home. So grab your makeup bag, sit down in front of the mirror and read on.

See the Rodarte Spring 2014 beauty tutorial »

For the Rodarte Spring 2014 collection, the Mulleavy sisters reflected upon their own past. Their collection was inspired by their shared childhood in Los Angeles and models were decked out in looks fit for any wild child of the ’80s. Makeup artist James Kaliardos, working with Nars, created a look that played upon the graphic aesthetic of Hollywood circa 1980. He sculpted the models’ features with matte bronzers and made their eyes pop with a sharp black and white cat eye shape. It’s a totally wearable look for spring and easy for even makeup beginners to do.

See the Spring 2014 nail art looks up close »

The nails at New York Fashion Week were right in tune with the ’90s minimalism style we saw on the Spring 2014 runways. Sheer is in, colour is out and the nail art trend seems to be winding down. The bare and buffed nails of last spring are still going strong for 2014, with designers like Altuzarra, Alexander Wang and Jeremy Laing opting for pale shades of pink, lavender or beige instead of punchy pastels and neon brights.

“You’ll have to stretch this into a story,” said makeup artist Dick Page by way of explaining the extremely simple beauty look he created for Marc by Marc Jacobs Spring 2014. But simple in this case didn’t mean neutral or natural; it meant one big swoop (Page called it a “half-moon”) of bright blue shadow, a blend of Shiseido Shimmering Cream Eye Color in “Ice” and a blue powder shadow from Shiseido’s limited edition Eye Color Bar. And that was it: no cheek, no lip, no brow. “She’s lazy or high or both. It’s kind of like, homemade glam.”

The hair also shared that languid, DIY feeling. Guido Palau for Redken gave the models a grungy, but natural look. He used a barrel iron to give super-straight hair a nice bend at the neck and some movement at the ends, and worked in Redken Diamond Oil near the roots to give it a lanky quality. “It’s a little rock and roll, but not in a beachy way, more in a nighttime way. The flatness to the head and off-centeredness are the keys to the look.”

See the Rodarte beauty looks up close »

“Today we’re doing an ‘80s intention,” said hairstylist Odile Gilbert backstage at Rodarte. What that meant was a side part, a hair flip, and lots and lots of mousse. And she added a very Rodarte touch: zebra-print extensions: black-white, black-gold, blonde-black, all hand-painted.

Add some graphic eyeliner and serious contouring, and you’re instantly transported to the Sunset Strip: “The [Rodarte] girls were very inspired, since they grew up there, by L.A. This is a kind of wild LA girl. The real L.A., not the red carpet L.A.,” said Nars artist James Kaliardos. “She has brushed-up brows, and they’re quite wild and animal-like. It’s that feeling of a rock chick from L.A.” Are you getting the sense that the look was inspired by Los Angeles?

See the Spring 2014 beauty photos from Jason Wu, Prabal Gurung and Alexander Wang »

Backstage at Jason Wu on Friday, I spotted it from across the room: bright, metallic sparkle all over the models’ eyelids. Diane Kendal for Lancôme created a dramatic but refined eye look for Wu inspired by Marlene Dietrich. “We wanted the eye to reflect light,” said Kendal. “To give it that feeling of summer.” The base was a caramel-y brown shade (Lancôme Color Design Eye Brightening All-in-One 5 Pan Shadow & Liner Palette in “Bronze Amour”); then she used a damp brush, dipped it in fine glitter, and applied it to the centre of the eye. The effect was completely luminous. And the rest of the face was bare…a trend that would continue backstage at the weekend’s other Spring 2014 shows as well.

See all the Fall 2013 backstage photos of the hair clip trend »

Backstage at the fall shows, we spotted all manner of ways to keep hair off the face and crease-free, from playing cards to pastel hairnets. Bow-and leaf-shaped clips are stylist Guido Palau’s signature, while Bumble and Bumble coiffeurs keep a handy supply of logo’d cards.

See the backstage pictures from Greta Constantine Fall 2013 »

“A sense of tribal,” is how Stephen Wong—one half of the Greta Constantine design duo—described the beauty look for the label’s Fall 2013 collection. When presenting the looks last night, models were turned into fierce warriors, goddesses and Amazonians with textured hair, smoky eyes and geometric, neutral nails. “We took our cues from Oribe [Canales], a hairstylist who did all the supermodels in the ’90s,” Wong says. “I remember looking at the shows he’d do and thinking the hair was amazing. It had a sense of tribal, but very cool and modern feel to it.”

Sebastian core stylist Daniel Di Tommaso was the lead for the three different hairstyles, inspired by three variations of tribal. “All three hair looks were tight on the sides but textured on top to blend all the girls together.”

Read all the backstage tips from Missoni Spring 2013 »

Nothing says Missoni like colourful knitwear. So when the 60-year-old Italian label strayed from its trademark in favour of new shades and textures for the Spring 2013 collection, it was a shock to all. The Missoni runway show started with white, ended with black and featured a selection of amped-up pastel shades in between. The label went even further out of its comfort zone in applying layers of futuristic looking organza and embellishments over the signature raschel knit. When it came to beauty, a whole other set of surprises was in store. The au-naturel look typical to the Missoni runway was ditched in favour of a playfully amped up, space-age anime aesthetic.

Read all the backstage tips from Peter Som Spring 2013 »

More was more on Peter Som’s Spring 2013 runway when it came to beauty. Bright orange eyelids were mixed with washed out pastel hair extensions, resulting in the ultimate cool-girl vibe for spring.

The Peter Som beauty team—led by Wella Professionals global creative director Eugene Souleiman and makeup artist Tom Pecheux—matched the collection’s watercolour-print boardshorts and billowy floral dresses with bright pops of colour. However, the models’ natural skin tone played a key role in the look. “There is no blush, no highlighter—no need,” said Pecheux, noting that all the models were returning from summer vacation with flawless, toned skin. As our spring trends guide reported, skincare products play a major role when it comes to the “natural” skin look. Pecheux used hydrating gel, foundation and a translucent powder to ensure complexions looked fresh.

See the makeup and nail art from Lucian Matis Fall 2013 »

It may have occurred at the very end of Toronto Fashion Week, but the makeup and nails at Lucian Matis set the bar for Fall 2013 beauty trends. Of course, having some talented heavyweights on board certainly helped: Revlon global artistic director Gucci Westman and Revlon nail expert Leeanne Colley were behind the retro look.

Despite a scheduling conflict that prevented Westman from actually being backstage, she didn’t want to pass up the chance to work with Lucian Matis. Skype sessions allowed for proper collaboration with the designer and once the look was finalized, her right-hand gal, Mimi Imanishi, led the team in Toronto.

“The inspiration for this look was Lucian’s gorgeous, monochromatic colour palette while incorporating safari khaki tones to the eye. This look is also very much inspired by the ’60s, specifically, the German model, Veruschka,” Westman said, via press release.

As Essie Canada’s lead nail artist for World MasterCard Fashion Week, Rita Remark certainly had her hands full last week. She was in charge of creating nail looks for eight shows, including Mackage, Chloé Comme Parris and Pink Tartan—and with some shows casting more than 20 models, that meant Remark and her team had to file, prep and paint 1500 false nails in advance. Curious about the process of painting so many nails, I met Rita in her studio space at Toronto’s Gladstone Hotel. After getting a sneak peek at the nail art designs for upcoming shows, it was my turn to try painting.

See the full backstage gallery from Joe Fresh Fall 2013 »

There’s always been a pretty predictable pattern to the beauty for Joe Fresh: clean faces, rosy cheeks, a poppy lip and straight, simple hair—usually pulled back into a low ponytail. It’s a beauty routine that plays into the mass appeal of the brand, while also literally playing into the “Fresh” part of the Joe Fresh name.

For Fall 2013, however, the beauty was dictated by that other thing Joe Fresh is known for: being right-to-the-minute on-trend. As such, the cute ponytails were kicked to the curb in favour of punk-inspired cropped cuts. After all, with Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton covering up models’ hair with dark brown wigs and brands like Dior, Chanel and Givenchy all embracing short hair this season, it really is the time to cut it all off.