The BEAUTY TRENDS

You shouldn’t miss out on

This fabulous book from M.A.C Cosmetics landed on my desk a while back. M.A.C collections are very cool, think Brooke Shields or their work with Proenza Schouler, but they are also the masters backstage. Many make-up artists, like Lucia Pieroni, Charlotte Tilbury and Path McGrath work with M.A.C and have created the most beautiful looks, that always become trends. So what is happening this spring? 

The starting point for these trends are classic beauty items like eyeliner and black mascara. So it’s a fairly classic look, but with a twist. As make-up artist Terry Barber, explains; “It’s all it-girl, not princessy or glamourous.” You’ll see extreme lines made with eyeliner and heavily applied lashes or exciting lines applied with liner. At the Altuzarra show for instance, the middle section of lashes were heavily made up to create a strong doll-eye look. Shows like Costume National and Pucci used extreme mascara, with the lashes even sticking together. Anything for a major doll-eye look. Eyeliner inspiration can be found at Giamba and Iris van Herpen. For extreme looks it’s  Jean-Pierre Braganza and Masha Ma. They apply eyeliner in thick, heavy lines. Ann Demeulemeester is another designer to put forward an extreme look. It even looked like a bit of mascara had been smudged on the eyelid. Sounds bizarre, but it’s oh so cool.

There is a big difference between the no make-up look and this trend. This trend creates a lighter look, with gloss and clarity as main theme. Angelic. The look is clean, soft and serene, but with an etherial sheen. Sounds spiritual but looks very pretty. It is important to know where to apply the sheen. You don’t want to become a luminescent ball. Shows like A.F. Vandevorst, Aquilano Rimondi and Christophe Lemaire applied their gloss to the eyelid in soft metallics. Donna Karan New York and Giambattista Valli applied their gloss to the lips and cheekbones, giving a healthy and fresh effect. Issey Miyake also does an awesome job and gave the entire skin a soft shine. Especially on the nose, eyes and lips. The lashes were kept matt to for the balance.

There is always one in-between trend that is playful and celebrates color. Okay, this trend embodies the festival feeling. Fun for summer parties. Think a touch folklore, a little urban and clown-esque in a new jacket. Mix but don’t match. All colours can be combined and they don’t need to match each other. Sounds a little over the top. That’s okay. Doesn’t have to be. I mean take a look at Antonio Marras and Lulu & Co, they went playful with colourful dots and various colours on the eyes, but MaxMara and Holly Fulton went more subtle with a bright liner on the eye. Even more subtle but still fun, is Tom Pecheux done by Derek Lam. He used a violet color on the eyes (the color for spring). So basically do whatever you feel like. Want pastels, go for it, but sequins is fine if that’s what makes you happy.

And I’m closing off with the easiest trend of them all. No make-up. Sounds super easy, but you need a fabulous skin to carry this one off properly. Most models have nothing to complain about, but sadly we need to smear and scrub like crazy to have perfect skin. Believe me. The shows would have us believe that no make-up at all is used, but there really is a make-up artist waving their brush around backstage. The secret to this look is to give the models a ‘just been on vacation’ look, sun kissed with a few freckles here and there. Balmain and Blumarine used bronzer on the cheeks. So what to do? Take a vacation, or use a bronzer and most of all cleanse and moisturise well. You might not even need make-up after a while.

Image: MAC Cosmetics