The fashionistas were out in force this week as Sydney hosted Australian Fashion Week – front row politics, anything goes street style and champagne galore pretty much sums it up – but it’s backstage where the real magic happens, beauty playing the completing element to the success of each designers show.
Image via Flaunter
Once again the runway beauty looks were quite minimal – raw skin, lots of glow and highlight and even some shows opting for no mascara (Please don’t try this at home).
Glowing skin though is one thing we all want to achieve and being backstage, especially when models are running frantically from show to show, you do see how quickly and easily products can be applied, to achieve wearable and effortless looks that are hitting the mark with trends.
Colour was kept to a minimum, with very few shows opting for a blush of some sort and the lip of the week was nude or the total contrast of deep plum seen at the We Are Handsome Show.
Lets break it down and see the top products used for the week!
SKIN
Skin was a huge part of beauty this year and it showed on Day 1 at Maticevski where I witnessed models being pampered to a deluxe mini facial thanks to the smart profile Clarisonic device – ‘Getting dressed in beautiful skin’
The biggest trend with foundation was minimal – only apply where needed on areas of concern like touches of redness around the nose/cheeks and to lift darker areas of the skin.
Victoria Baron, Makeup Director at Dion Lee for M.A.C Cosmetics applied this rule to all models and described that makeup should not look artificial on the face and everything should have purpose being there, otherwise do not apply it – sounds simple enough.
I also loved little tricks used by top artists backstage to bring life to the skin, the new style of highlighting is very minimal and a lot of the time happens underneath foundation rather than over the top as in past years.
Nigel Stanislaus, Makeup Director of Maybelline, used the brands lip balm – ‘Baby Lips’ as a skin highlighter, dabbing small amounts on the highlight points (top of cheekbone, brow bone and cupids bow) of the face for Maticevski – how cost effective!
Contouring was not a huge focus this fashion week and we saw more details in getting the glow!
I loved a tip from Victoria Curtis, founder of Curtis Collection, backstage at the Aje show, where the team used a pale pink lipstick just under the apple of the cheek, before their CC Cream to then lift the skin from within, adding a flush of colour, but not looking placed – very fresh.
EYES
Designers this year chose very paired back looks for the eyes, with little or no mascara, opting for nude or rusty tones and virtually no colour.
Brows were definitely a feature and even if they were not bold, they were definitely filled in and brushed up for frame and lift to the face.
Carol Mackie, Makeup Director from M.A.C Cosmetics, created a visible lower lash liner for the Ginger and Smart show, using 3 different shades of chromacake.
The end result was a warm, rusty brown and gave a wider eye look when on the runway.
These warm rusty tones are great for all eye colours as they contrast even brown eyes to make them pop!
With eye looks so paired back this year, one can see why pops of anything where needed to feel completed, whether it was brows, liner or for the Tome show, Swarovski crystals were used in conjunction with M.A.C Cosmetics to dazzle the runway.
Brows were basically left as natural, but filling in any required gaps, rather than completely styling them.
Brushing brow hairs upwards also gives the face the illusion it is lifting upwards – perfect for those days when you are feeling a little flat!
I did personally love the tough girl look of the We Are Handsome brow, styled with Gel Eyeliner by Maybelline.
There was one show that had a touch elegance, refreshing to see after so many shows of pulled back beauty and that was Steven Khalil.
Alphie Sadsad, Makeup Director for Bobbi Brown, giving great glow for the show, but also defining the lash line with pairs of Arteme Lashes – Finally a lash, subtle yet elegant.
LIPS
Nude, nude and more nude was the main trend for lips… Some with even only lip balm – easier for the wallet, but fun? Eye Catching? Colour lifting, I think not.
We did have a dark wine, pop of orange and my favourite lip was from Rebecca Vallance a bright matte red!
Carol Mackie from M.A.C Cosmetics used ‘Feels So Grand’ in Retro Liquid Matte Lip and ‘Anything Goes in Velvetease Pencil over the top and lip edges.
Matte lips are definitely a huge trend, especially for colour – Just make sure your lips are smooth before applying.
BODY
St Tropez Tan worked with 3 designers – Rebecca Vallance, Bec and Bridge and We Are Handsome – and glowing skin seemed to rule the runway.
A tan should lift ones skin colour, not necessarily change it, and this was clear this year with St Tropez Tan.
Luxe Dry Oil from St Tropez is still considered a new product to the tanning scene, mainly because of its highly nourishing dry oil base, giving bodies this incredible sheen, whereas a typical tan can look more matte because of its drying nature.
As models walk, the lighting hits the body mimicking real pops of sunlight, plus giving skin the healthy glow of todays ‘active’ world as you saw at Bec and Bridge.
HAIR
This year we saw no bouncy blow waves, little curl, and rather more relaxed texture and lots of ‘wet look’ sleek styles.
The done, yet undone approach to hair was still a big trend with hair artists manipulating hair with minimal product and fingertips to create added volume and texture.
The braided hair trend has been huge since the rise of celeb re-creations of late and what once was a very feminine look, braids have become slightly tougher with an active wear feel and a slight masculinity.
John Pulitano, Hair Director at Redken, created this uber cool and very trend directional hair look for Yuxin and recommended Wax Blast 10 Finishing Spray Wax for finish and control of the hair.
Another fave pulled back look of mine was a geisha inspired ponytail x chignon, created by award winning stylist Richard Kavanagh for Redken, at Jennifer Kate.
A pony or topknot sometimes needs jazzing up and this look was striking from all angles. Richard recommends Redken Diamond Oil Shatterproof Shine to give weightless and workable shine – this captures light and the ‘Geisha’ shape very well.
A very on trend look right now is ‘Dishevelled Elegance’ – basically meaning, not too styled with a lot of texture (but not a frizzy mess either).
Creative mastermind for Moroccanoil, Lauren McCowan, at Aje did just that – Dishevelled Elegance – This allows for individuality and not copying a style that may in fact be too overdone for ones personality.
The Moroccanoil Dry shampoo (it comes in two shades too and therefore fit for everyone) played a big role in this look.
Now, I couldn’t leave out one for the glamours… Who doesn’t love the look of loose bouncy waves.
Thanks to Byron Turnbull from Edwards and Co. for this masterpiece using evo.
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