Grunge-glamor at Tom Ford.
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Diane Kendal balanced the luxe velvet textures from Tom Ford’s AW19 collection by bringing deconstructed opulence backstage. Skin was raw, wet and translucent. Kendal applied the Tom Ford’s Traceless Stick Foundation and kept powder minimal, a technique that allowed the makeup to “sweat” and gave the skin its glassy sheen. Meanwhile Tom Ford’s classic smokey eye was given a heavy dose of grunge. Kendal built depth by taking the Tom Ford Esspresso Eye Khol all over the lid, before blending sleet-grey and muted pink tones from the Nude Dip Quad over the eye. The wet base gave the powder eyeshadows their slightly greasy, oil-slick iridescence.
Off the beaten track at Alexa Chung
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Lisa Eldridge balanced pink pouts with blunt, blocked eye-shadow for Alexa Chung’s AW19 collection. Brows were left natural and skin next-to-bare. The taupe tire-track patterns on the lid were an at once earthy and militant statement – perfect for a collection titled ‘Off the Grid’, which Chung said was inspired by a female denouncement of the status quo.
Explosive Eyes and Lips at Ashish
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Can anyone say Mardi Gras inspiration? Beauty maverick Isamaya Fffrench transformed models into eerie, alienesque creatures for Ashish’s AW19 show. Fffrench piled kaleidoscopic glitter in primary hues on eyes, lips and cheeks. Using MAC loose glitter to create textured features Fffrench perfectly, and literally, reflected the kitsch, frenzied energy of Ashish Gupta’s collection.
Gunpowder lips at Oscar De La Renta
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To create the fresh just-back-from-Summer-in-Europe beauty at Oscar De La Renta Tom Pechaux kept skin translucent, and played against expectation with powdery-pouts. The recipe for Pechaux’s gossamer weight complexions? A layer of MAC Face-and-Body foundation, a touch of concealer and a dash of translucent powder. In place of contour a light dusting of bronzer was swept over the temples and across the eyelids, the remnants of a fading summer tan. Pechaux skipped mascara and shadow entirely making the lips the centrepiece of the look. To create the matte, powdery stain he pressed Mac’s blue-red liquid lipstick in “Feel So Grand” into the centre of mouth before diffusing the edges with a q-tip dipped in a nude liquid lipstick closer to the models skin tone. The overall effect was deconstructed old Hollywood – think Grace Kelly, just back from vacation in Vienna.
Glass skin and lids at Preen
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Preen’s AW19 collection was inspired by the rave culture of the late 1980s. The makeup, keyed by Sam Bryant, was minimal with skin sweaty, under-slept and straight from the dance floor. Think Mac Face and Body, clear lip gloss as highlighter and the barest smudging of tawny shadow on eyes and cheeks for the perfect, pared-back, electro-grunge look.
Wuthering Heights at Jamie Wei Huang
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Heathcliff, is that you? English roses were windswept at Jamie Wei Huang. Lead artist Kamila Forini created the look by taking rosy blush wide on the cheekbones and then tapered down towards the jaw. Models looked like they’d just run through a field and they were appropriately dew-dropped, with fresh creamy skin. The rest of the look was minimal, a dusting of faux-freckles, a touch of highlighter on bare lids and curled lashes.
The Lion the Witch and the Mascara Wand Brandon Maxwell
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Once again Tom Pechaux served up classic with a twist, this time at Brandon Maxwell. Pechaux gave us satin skin, crisp peach tones for cheeks and lips and sleek hair, all offset with a little madness around the eyes. Mascara was applied in spidery clumps and jagged individual false lashes were scattered unevenly and accompanied by ragged, painted on bottom lashes. These wintery ice queens looked more likely to eat you up than offer you Turkish delight – deliciously haunting.
Takeaways:
Brows took a back seat this season and there was a iconoclastic energy to the stand-out looks. Come winter we’ll be seeing blurred lips, slick, vinyl finish smokey eyes, bare looking skin and shift away from anything too pretty or perfect. It’s what you leave out of the equation that makes these looks. When in doubt, skip the lipliner or mascara and use a dab of highlighter in lieu of eyeshadow. The trend suits me. While I don’t have a de la Renta gown to match, I am well versed at applying lipstick with my finger in the car. It’s not lazy, it’s fashion.
