Backstage at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia we spotted more than a few beauty trends, but we also kept a tally of the most-used products. Session stylists and makeup artists work hard and fast behind the scenes, and it's the "heroes" that become their multi-tasking, fix-all, use everywhere and on everything products. If you're wondering what your next beauty purchase might be, step this way.
After a week perusing the hair and beauty at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia, we've come to appreciate the wear-ability factor of a runway beauty look. No one does neat and chic quite like Christian Dior, and overnight in London, Gwyneth Paltrow proved it's easy to take a high fashion beauty look and adapt it for the red carpet. She's rocking not only the house's pre-Fall threads, but also the poker straight hair tucked behind her ears. To see where she got her inspiration and find out how to get the look at home, keep reading.
Lisa Ho's Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia show was always going to be a goodie in the makeup department, thanks to Mac Cosmetics queen, Val Garland. Val worked on the sublime Romance Was Born makeup look on Monday night, and she brings her signature flare to Lisa Ho. She wanted the dark, crimson lip to have life and depth — much like the swirls seen in murano glass — while the rest of the face is contoured. Ghd's Alan White impressed with hair, taking inspiration from the Helmut Newton power woman. More custom-mixed lips and even some midnight blue hairpieces. It's day three — let's go!
Emma Mulholland's inspiration came from the ski seasons of the '90s, so the collection is very bright — think ski punk. Ghd's Alan White created hair that was very on story, with colourful hair pieces and rebellious styling. When it came to makeup, Maybelline NY's Nigel Stanislaus went for gritty shades of soot and pewter which gave a real feel of non-conformity and self expression. Come and see the models getting made up before the show.
Photo courtesy Maybelline NY
Dion Lee is one of our most celebrated designers — best known for exquisite tailoring and unique fabric techniques — and so the hair and makeup really played into his strong design aesthetic last night. His private presentation was held at Guillaume at Bennelong (the Opera House), and Napoleon Perdis partnered for makeup, KMS California and ghd for hair. The focus was on the eye, a rich navy blue, while the hair was constructed with military precision. We were behind the scenes, join us.
Photo courtesy KMS California
Remember the cool milkmaid braid from Alice McCall's 2012 fashion week show? Well this year she's taking the beauty look deep down into the sea. The focal point for the makeup is powder blue lashes, while ghd's Sophie Roberts wanted the hair to look like the models' have just emerged from the water looking all ethereal with haphazard knots and texture. Click, click?
When asked to describe his inspiration for his Maticevski beauty vision, makeup maestro Napoleon Perdis used the words "tomboy heiress". What does that conjure up? Lots of feminine shades, bold brows that scream "refined", mauve lips that hark to a slightly grungy era and an overall sporty-femme beauty look. As for the ghd-styled hair? If you can picture the result when origami meets Grace Kelly, you're on the right track. Come see. . .
A popular show on the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia calendar, the makeup for Manning Cartell is headed-up by Max May for Mac Cosmetics. Max drew on both the top line collection colours and the cold, industrial feel of the Carriage Works venue. Hair took on a tribal feel thanks to ghd's Alan White, who used their newest straightening hero to take strands to new levels of sleek. Click through to see the action from backstage.
We arrived at a famous art gallery in Sydney's Surry Hills for today's first show, Karla Spetic. The hair is headed-up by ghd's Sophie Roberts, and she used Karla's Croatian heritage to inspire low-slung plaits and glass-like texture. Napoleon Perdis is on makeup, and is also calling on "subtle religious motifs" to create an ethereal beauty look. Things are warming up for day two of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia, click through.
There's one show at fashion week that always wows in the hair and makeup department, and that's Romance Was Born. The design duo are known for letting hair and makeup artists flex their creative muscles backstage. Luckily for them, one of Mac Cosmetics' most talented and legendary artists is at the helm this year — Val Garland. She's worked on the likes of Lady Gaga and Kate Moss, so the magical beauty characters she created really are quite special. Ghd's Alan White added his own flare to the hair, creating "Candy Land Shrooms" — each hand-dyed and unique in colour. Want more? Let's go!
