New York Fashion week provides inspiration not only for clothes, but for beauty as well. Bonus? You can get the best beauty looks of the season for a lot less than the designer clothes they accompany.
Jason Wu—All that glitters is gold
Paired with a collection of monochromatic, textured looks, Jason Wu wowed everyone with this season’s beauty look: A heavy dark golden lid and slicked back, low ponytails.
The models’ eyelids were swathed in a gold-sparkle shadow by Lancôme called “Bronze Amour” and contoured with dark brown. Makeup artist Diane Kendal swooped the darker shade along the girls’ creases down into the corners of the eye, creating soft, downwards facing wings. The two colors created shape and dimension, which Kendal finished off with a thin line of black liner along the upper lash line and a coat of mascara. The eyes were kept completely clean underneath, with just a touch of mascara on the lower lashes. Kendal finished off the look with clean, matte skin and soft baby pink lips.
The models’ hair was straightened by hair guru Odile Gilbert, parted in the center, coated with a high-gloss serum and swept back into low ponytails fastened with a semicircular gold-toned metal clip.
Victoria Beckham—Grin and bare it
Last week, Victoria Beckham arguably showed her best collection to date: A mix of minimalist looks amped up with geometric designs and sporty touches.
Accompanying the gorgeous clothes was an equally pretty beauty look. Makeup artist Pat McGrath conceptualized the barely-there look, starting with a base of clear, luminous skin. Highlighter was applied in strategic places -the cheekbones and the inner corners of the eyes-to give the models’ skin a glowing appearance. The girls’ lashes were curled, but left bare, and McGrath painted a coral, tan shadow on their lids to give them subtle definition. She finished the look off with the “Always Delicate” lip color from the brand Max Factor.
This look also featured low, straightened ponytails. This time, hairstylist Guido Palau accented with ponies with thick, elastic black headbands to emphasize the sporty yet reserved nature of the clothes.
Prabal Gurung—Neo-neon
Prabal Gurung’s retro-inspired, bright collection was quite a departure from his previous looks. Hence, a fresh new beauty look was in order.
Makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury left the models’ brows, skin and eyes essentially bare, except for a flick of brown liner. For this look, the lips were the focus. The girls wore one of three matte shades, depending on their outfits and natural coloring. The color options were quite correctly described by Style.com as “Pepto pink, acidic lilac and bright orange with a kick of red.” In addition to the colorful lips, manicurist Ana-Marie outfitted the girls with nails in Lemon Shark, Brisk Blue or Mint Condition. To play with texture, she created a matte base and painted just the tips of the girls’ nails with a clear topcoat in order to create a sort of French manicure that contrasted textures instead of colors.
Under Gurung’s direction, hairstylist Paul Hanlon wanted the girls’ hair to look “quite fake” and have the quality of a liquid or wax. To achieve this, Hanlon created deep side parts and used a combination of serums and sprays to make the hair very flat and shiny.
Cushnie et Ochs—Where there’s smoke, there’s fire
Over the past couple of years, the duo Carly Cushnie and Michelle Ochs have skyrocketed to fashion fame with their easy-to-wear pieces. This season, they infused their usual glamour with something a bit “off,” taking inspiration from straightjackets. The collection was mostly neutral and the looks were monochromatic; some of the pieces even seemed to reference Alexander Wang’s spring collection from last year.
To complement the neutral clothes, the designers had makeup artists execute a look that was all about the top half of the face, namely strong brows and lids. The darkened brows topped off heavy, smoky-metallic eyelids. Unlike the look at Jason Wu, the shadow here extended all the way up to the brow and was blended softly into the lower lash line. The models’ eyes were finished with shiny black liner on the waterline and plenty of white luminescing dust at the inner corners and underneath the eyes to revitalize the look. The rest of the face was essentially bare, featuring touched-up skin and pale gloss.
This look was once again finished with a low pony, this time a partless rendition with plenty of gel, with the ponytail left hanging lank down the girls’ backs.
The best beauty looks of this season are ones that are totally do-able in real life. Which, if any, are you likely to try?