Beauty Editor SARAH HALLIWELL went backstage with MAC Cosmetics at London Fashion Week and got the inside track on all the looks, beauty tricks and brilliant new products that will be EVERYWHERE COME AUTUMN …
Zipping round town in our special LFW London taxi, we spotted everything from metallic nails at Westwood to a skin highlighting stick that’s set to sell like hot cakes. Pick up a few early pointers fresh from behind the scenes at the London shows right here…
1. IT’S ALL ABOUT LIPS. It’s a big glamorous lips season, no question. From Roksanda to Gareth Pugh, the beauty look was all about the lip colour. Burgundy rules – think the glossiest maraschino cherry – with a strong matte red still current. We advise stocking up on MAC Cherry Lip Pencil (used at Roksanda and Peter Jensen) and the brilliant Retro Matte Liquid Lipcolour (below) in Dance with Me (which looked incredible at Mary Katrantzou, above) as soon as possible. For shape, a 1940s-style focus on the cupid’s bow was prevalent.
2. JUST ONE TRICK. MAC’s yet to be launched Quik Trik Stick is the best new invention being tried and tested at every show (though the name makes it sound like a tube of glue). It’s a double-ended multitasking product that creates a brilliant high-octane sheen, and we have to wait until September for it. “I use this stick for everything – to contour and highlight, for lips, eyes and sculpting the skin,” enthuses legendary make-up artist Val Garland. At Paul Smith, for example, the light really bounced off the models’ skin, and that’s down to this little beauty. “It really lifts the skin to another dimension,” says MAC Senior Artist Rachel O’Donnell. “It makes skin look really glossy and fresh – it really glides across the skin and melts into it, for a flawless finish.” The way to do skin now is tons of prep, the smallest amount of the most natural-looking foundation, and that radiant sheen zipped on. Time to lay off those heavy foundations, once and for all.
3. SHINE ON. The other skin essential is MAC’s classic Strobe Cream – arriving in new shades for autumn. “I’m nearly out of the new Strobe liquid in silver,” said MAC’s Lesley Keane backstage at Peter Pilotto. “It adds a cool iridescence to skin and makes it gleam.”
4. NEXT TO NOTHING. What else do the pros use to make skin look its best? Practially every make-up artist we met was using MAC Studio Waterweight Foundation. “It’s amazing, and perfect for this clean, minimal and matte look,” said Irish make-up artist Niamh Quinn backstage at Danielle Romeril. “Next to Nothing Defining Powder is not too heavy but removes shine, and I also used Cream Colour Base in Luna on highlighted areas – I never do make-up without it.”
Vivienne Westwood approves the beauty look for her show, with Val Garland
5. LOW-KEY BEAUTY. Surprisingly, perhaps, nearly all the main make-up artists, including Alex Box and Val Garland, wear very little make-up themselves (though Box was wearing her trademark bright lipstick at Brazilian designer Barbara Casasola’s show). Vintage glasses are the dominant accessory.
6. TWIST AGAIN. A popular hair look was a pulled-back twisted bun, held with lots of Bumble and bumble classic spray, as at Holly Fulton (below).
7. PRECIOUS METALS. Metallic is going to be a “thing” next season, whether it’s gold nails or silver eyeshadow (we loved the crackled effect at Holly Fulton, above). The reflective gold- and silver-dipped nails at Vivienne Westwood, created by nail guru Marian Newman, will definitely inspire us to go metallic next season.
8. BE SQUARE. The square moon is a new way to add a small detail on nails: at Anya Hindmarch, nails were natural, painted in MAC Skin polish, but with a tiny sophisticated detail. “It’s far easier than a moon, and more modern,” says Newman. “Just paint two stripes down the nail and then go across, leaving a small square.” She was also getting through lots of bottles of Delicate, another favourite nude shade.
9. GLOSS AND GLASS. From the shiniest Lipglass – used on eyelids to great effect at Peter Pilotto, above, and on lips just about everywhere, preferably over a matte cherry lipstick –to several layers of clear top coat on nails, the “Perspex” effect is everywhere, creating a clean, immaculate and fresh look against dark winter clothes.
10. IN TONE. The “wind-chilled, weathered” look at Teatum Jones, with a “medieval” feel, was so pretty and natural-looking – aim for a soft plum shade and keep tones consistent from lips to cheeks. At Mary Katrantzou, make-up artist Lynsey Alexander also talked about a “consistent tone of burgundy”. Val Garland calls this “double-dipping”: she used a rich plum mascara at Berardi (above) to echo the beautiful soft burgundy lips (a mix of three MAC lipsticks, Rebel, Film Noir and Hangout).
The MAC AW16 colour palette
11. COLOURED LASHES are going to be popular, as seen in the beautiful burgundy lashes at Berardi to thick, twisted cyan blue lashes at Richard Malone. Try a blend of MAC’s High Def Cyan pencil with Lash Mixing Medium and lash it on.
12 BRUSH UP. Try make-up artist James Molloy’s brushes, from www.mykitco.uk – backstage at Mary Katranzou, make-up artist Lynsey Alexander was raving about them. “You have to use the right brush for this lip look – I used the brilliant curved brush 3.1 by James Molloy.”
13. BEST IN SHOW. Bumble and bumble’s Don’t Blow It isn’t just good for enabling us to forgo a blowdry – at Paul Smith it was used on ends of hair to smooth and hold them in place. Also spotted at every make-up artist station was Bioderma cleanser, along with MAC Lip Conditioner and plenty of L’Oreal Fresh Dust Dry Shampoo. We hear that MAC are creating their own micellar-type cleanser, so keep an eye out for that.
See our Instagram page @theglossmag for more pictures behind the scenes at LFW16
Sarah Halliwell
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