MFW Backstage Beauty: Moschino Cheap & Chic
MFW Backstage Beauty: Moschino Cheap & Chic
Moschino Cheap & Chic is always a fun one and they kept up the good work for SS2012. It was my last show in a loooong day so when I arrived backstage to see models having their eyes painted in varying hues of pink, turquoise, sky blue and lilac, it lifted my spirits and made me happy (the intended effect, according to make-up artist Lloyd Simmonds). He told me the collection was all about colour, joy, light and freshness so he wanted the make-up to have a really young, fresh attitude too. He colour-blocked different shades onto the models\' eyes - pink, turquoise, lilac or blue, depending on their skintone and which outfits they were wearing on the runway.
MFW Backstage Beauty: Moschino Cheap & Chic
Milan Fashion Week SS12, Backstage Beauty, Hair and Make up Trends
MFW Backstage Beauty: Moschino
To create the colours, he used MAC Primary White Paintstick as a base and then pressed MAC Eyeshadow or Pigment over the top - Aquadisiac Eyeshadow to create the turquoise green, Violet Pigment for the purple, Bright Fuchsia Pigment for the pink, and Mutiny Pigment gor the blue.
MFW Backstage Beauty: Moschino Cheap & Chic
Milan Fashion Week SS12, Backstage Beauty, Hair and Make up Trends
MFW Backstage Beauty: Moschino
He used lots of black mascara for definition (MAC Hot & Naughty) and kept the skin really fresh with just a little Face & Body Foundation where needed. On the cheeks he used MAC\'s new Love Cloud and Immortal Flower Powder Blushes, along with a bit of Cream Colour Base in Shell to highlight the cheekbones. All the focus was on the colour accent on the eyes, so lips were just left bare with a bit of MAC Lip Conditioner for sheen. Totally gorgeous - it made me wish we could skip winter and just fast-forward to Spring!
MFW Backstage Beauty: Moschino Cheap & Chic
Milan Fashion Week SS12, Backstage Beauty, Hair and Make up Trends
Sam McKnight\'s hair for the show was just as cool and fresh. He kept things really simple - just giving the girls low ponies and then looping them up so the ends hung out. He told me he washed most of the girls\' hair first (using Pantene Colour Protect Shampoo and Conditioner) because he wanted the hair to have a really clean, schoolgirl quality. Then he used Pantene Volume & Body Mousse before blow-drying to give the hair a bit of guts for the pony.
MFW Backstage Beauty: Moschino Cheap & Chic
Milan Fashion Week SS12, Backstage Beauty, Hair and Make up Trends
MFW Backstage Beauty: Moschino Cheap & Chic
Once he\'d created the \'pony-loops\', he dressed them with either black ribbon or straw (the show had a bit of an eco-produce theme going on and by the runway there were actually fruit and veg stalls!) \'Moschino doesn\'t take itself too seriously,\' Sam told me. \'It\'s just cute and fun and fresh. We thought, \'why not put straw in the girls\' hair then?\'\' And why on earth not.
MFW Backstage Beauty: Iceberg
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MFW Backstage Beauty: Iceberg
The Iceberg make-up was amazing - beautiful but with a rock\'n\'roll punky edge. Charlotte Tilbury created a gorgeous blackened-blue eye using MAC Pro Chromographic Pencil in Black Black all round the eye and inside the waterline, and then MAC Cream Colour Base in Airforce Blue over the lid and all the way up to the crease, smudging it with the fingers to make it a bit more broken. More black pencil was then layered on top (MAC Kohl Pencil in Smoulder) and MAC False Lashes mascara was applied to the top lashes but just at the roots. She didn\'t curl the girls\' lashes (\'cool girls don\'t really do the curled thing\', said Charlotte); she just groomed the brows and filled them in a little with pencil.
MFW Backstage Beauty: Iceberg
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MFW Backstage Beauty: Iceberg
Just before the girls went out to the runway, MAC Gloss Texture was added all over the lid, starting just above the liner so it didn\'t smear it all off. The cheeks were sculpted with a little MAC Cream Colour Base in Midtone Sepia under the cheekbone and Cream Colour Base in Pearl on top of the cheekbone (two Tilbury favourites). Lips were downplayed - just a bit of MAC Lip Conditioner patted on with a bit of foundation to take down their natural colour.
MFW Backstage Beauty: Iceberg
Milan Fashion Week SS12, Backstage Beauty, Hair and Make up Trends
MFW Backstage Beauty: Iceberg
Hair (by Paul Hanlon) was a mix of masculine and feminine - a braid at the back, teamed with a severe, slicked side-parting and then a messy section on the other side. Had a kind of a punky, hip-hop feel - little bit grungey, little bit raw.
MFW Backstage Beauty: Etro
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MFW Backstage Beauty: Etro
Charlotte Tilbury did dreamy, glossy, watery make-up for the show, creating a contemporary feel to contrast with the 20s-inspired clothing. She gave the models a glow with MAC Studio Sculpt foundation mixed with a bit of moisturiser. Then on the eyes she did a dreamy silvery-grey-blue with taupe undertone, using a mix of MAC Cream Colour Bases - Midtone Sepia and Robin\'s Egg (a gorgeous new icy grey-blue). On top of that she used MAC Gloss Texture to make the eyelids really glassy and create what she called a \'Lady in the Lake\' feel. She used MAC Pro Sculpting Cream to contour the girls\' cheekbones and added MAC Shine Mixing Medium on the top of the cheekbones to give them a high gloss. On the lips she used MAC Lip Conditioner and a bit of MAC Midtone Sepia Cream Colour Base mixed with concealer to give them a subtle caramel tint. Very Monet-esque.
MFW Backstage Beauty: Etro
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MFW Backstage Beauty: Etro
The Etro hair look changed last night - at midnight! It was going to be a romantic up-do but at the last minute Eugene Souleiman (hair god) decided that was too boring and planned a whole new look (not at all stressful then). The Etro collection had a 20s and 30s feel but Eugene wanted to do something different with the hair so he created an amazing style that was a mix of wet and dry textures - a sleek side parting, slicked down with loads of gel (Wella Scuplt Force), two ponytails at the back, one on top of the other, and then a section left loose at the side. He pulled out the hair from the top pony a little to create a curved shape at the back of the head. V cool!
MFW Backstage Beauty: C\'N\'C Costume National
Milan Fashion Week SS12, Backstage Beauty, Hair and Make up Trends
MFW Backstage Beauty: C\'N\'C Costume National
The C\'N\'C look was gorgeous - exactly how you\'d want to look. The clothes were quite sporty with lots of sheer pastels and a lot of yellow, so make-up artist Hannah Murray made the girls look very polished, focusing the make-up around the theme of rose gold. She used two of MAC\'s new Metal X Eyeshadows (a big hit backstage this season - they\'re cropping up everywhere!)
MFW Backstage Beauty: C\'N\'C Costume National
Milan Fashion Week SS12, Backstage Beauty, Hair and Make up Trends
MFW Backstage Beauty: C\'N\'C Costume National
First she used Metal X in Rusty all over the eyelid and then she added Gold Fusion to the centre of the eyelid and on the inner corner of the eye. She used a little MAC Zoomlash Mascara in Lofty Brown on the top lashes and MAC Clear Brow Set through the brows, brushing them up to make them thicker and slightly boyish. MAC Pink Rebel Lustre Drops on temples, cheekbones, forehead, nose and chin gave the models\' skin an amazing glow, then MAC Cream Colour Base in Hush was applied to the hollow of the cheeks to sculpt, and Cream Colour Base in Pearl added on cheekbones to highlight. To give a bit of edge to an otherwise very pretty look, she added a chalky pink gloss (MAC Kissable Lip Colour in Enchantee), patting it onto the girls\' lips for a bit of effortless cool.
MFW Backstage Beauty: C\'N\'C Costume National
Milan Fashion Week SS12, Backstage Beauty, Hair and Make up Trends
MFW Backstage Beauty: C\'N\'C Costume National
Hair was similarly cool and simple. Hairstylist Shon gave the girls a 90s grungey look - Kate Moss hair basically, keeping the texture as natural as possible. He prepped the hair with Bumble & Bumble Thickening Spray, them tonged it very gently, just to give movement. He didn\'t want the hair to look too perfect so he used Defrizz for a bit of separation and then Brilliantine to give it a bit more texture.
MFW Backstage Beauty: Blumarine
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MFW Backstage Beauty: Blumarine
The Blumarine show is always a mix of incredible and depressing. Incredible because it gets the best models IN THE WORLD. They\'re seriously the most insanely beautiful creatures you\'ve ever seen - so perfect, they make other models look ugly, never mind real people. And depressing because...well, for exactly the same reason. I find it best not to even think of these models as humans - it\'s just not good for your self-esteem. \r\n\r\nAnyway, aside from the all the ridiculously good genes kicking about, the Blumarine hair and make-up look is always gorgeous too - healthy, honeyed, groomed and glossy. This season was no exception - the make-up aim was a cross between a supermodel and Beyonce (kind of superhuman perfection). \r\n
MFW Backstage Beauty: Blumarine
Milan Fashion Week SS12, Backstage Beauty, Hair and Make up Trends
MFW Backstage Beauty: Blumarine
A lot of the girls were just back from holidays but on any that looked pale, Charlotte Tilbury rubbed a few drops of MAC Face & Body Foundation in C5 into their skin to give it a honey tanned look (think Gisele skin and you\'re there). She gave their brows an 80s supermodel shape - full, thick and defined - and buffed MAC Metal X Eyeshadow in Fusion Gold onto their lids, making it really sheer. MAC No 30 Lashes were added all the way through the models\' own lashes. with a little black mascara to make them really feathery. MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Bronzing Powder on temples, cheekbones, nose and chin gave the girls even more of a sculpted glow, combined with MAC Shine Mixing Medium to highlight the top of the cheekbones. Lips were muted again with MAC Lip Conditioner mixed with Barely There Lip Pencil to create a nudey pinky beige.
MFW Backstage Beauty: Blumarine
Milan Fashion Week SS12, Backstage Beauty, Hair and Make up Trends
MFW Backstage Beauty: Blumarine
The lovely Sam McKnight was heading up hair, doing a gorgeous, easy ponytail with some height on top and a bit of a bump at the back to add some sexiness. Somehow he managed to make a simple ponytail look so much more exciting than it should be - flirty and beautiful with a healthy, Mediterranean feel; very Dolce Vita and very Italian (and worlds away from the kind I do when I don\'t have time to wash my hair). He had to wash lots of the models\' hair because they had gel left in from other shows so he used Pantene Aqua Light Shampoo and Conditioner and then added the Nourishing Mist to detangle. He used a bit of Pantene Volume Mousse at the crown too so that when he back combed that area, the hair had a bit of bite. Then he finished off the ponies with a light spritz of Pantene Classic Hairspray - bellissimo!
MFW Backstage Beauty: Pucci
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MFW Backstage Beauty: Pucci
I\'ve been loving all the strong, sexy eyes in Milan this season and the Pucci ones were seriously hot. The collection was inspired by 80s Madonna - lace, lingerie and with a bit of a gypsy spirit. Lisa Butler, heading up the make-up team, wanted the make-up to have a gypsy feel too but she didn\'t want it to be too literal (so not red lips and black kohled eyes). Instead she gave the girls dramatic bronze eyes, lining the upper and lower lashline and waterlines with MAC Smoulder Eye Kohl, and smudging it with the 219 brush and a bit of MAC Blitz and Glitz Fluidline. Then she added MAC Metal X eyeshadow in Venetian Tarnish (Metal X again!) to the upper and lower lids using her finger to give it slightly unblended finish. Zoomlash Mascara top and bottom amped up the lashes and the brows were left natural. On the lips she used MAC Tendertone Lip Balm in Hush Hush (a warm bronzey gold with a slight gold shimmer). In case you\'re not familiar with MAC Tendertones, they\'re AMAZING thick glossy lip balms with just a hint of colour. MAC discontinued them a while ago but everybody went crazy so THEY\'RE COMING BACK!! I\'ve been told they\'ll be on counter again in March so put it in your diary!
MFW Backstage Beauty: Missoni
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MFW Backstage Beauty: Missoni
Missoni was in an amazing venue – stunning gardens, bathed in sunshine and thronged by the world’s fashion elite. The beauty look brought things back down to earth though – all slightly sweaty and dishevelled, to offset the rich, opulent feel of the collection. Hairstylist Eugene gave the girls’ hair a post coital sweatiness, using a thick white paste at the roots (Wella Professional Rugged Fix) and then heating it with a dryer to melt the product into the hair. He used Wella Perfect Setting spray too to give the hair a raw, dishevelled texture, rubbing the hair with his hands to maximise the messiness. Ten he pulled the hair into a low pony, looped it round and tied it with elastic, leaving the ends hanging out. To finish, he pushed the loops up against the back of the head and secured it with a Missoni comb (snake-embellished, in either turquoise, blue, coral or red). ‘It’s about the beauty of imperfection,’ he told me. \'If I closed my eyes to do it, it would look even better.\'
MFW Backstage Beauty: Missoni
Milan Fashion Week SS12, Backstage Beauty, Hair and Make up Trends
MFW Backstage Beauty: Missoni
Make-up continued the sweaty vibe. Make-up artist Lucia Peroni said she was inspired by a flamenco dancer who’s been dancing all night and got a bit sweaty. ‘Her make-up’s all melted off but in a gorgeous way,’ she told me. Lucia made the girls’ skin very dewy, using MAC Face & Body Foundation and highlighting their cheekbones, cheeks and the bridge of the nose with MAC Metal X Eyeshadow in Fusion Gold. Just before the girls went onto the runway, she spritzed their skin with MAC Fix+ Setting Spray to really amp up the dewiness. Eyes were shaded with MAC Groundwork Paintpot, keeping the shape big and soft with no hard edges. The same product was used under the apples of the cheeks to shade the cheekbones. Brows were very thick and bushy (definite theme this season) and a little MAC Coffee Eye Pencil was used in the waterline to give the eyes extra depth. Lips were nude with MAC Lipsticks in Fresh Brew and Freckletone just pressed onto the lips with fingers. Strangely my make-up doesn’t look quite this good when it melts off...
MFW Backstage Beauty: Missoni
Milan Fashion Week SS12, Backstage Beauty, Hair and Make up Trends
MFW Backstage Beauty: Missoni
Lucia made the girls’ skin very dewy, using MAC Face & Body Foundation and highlighting their cheekbones, cheeks and the bridge of the nose with MAC Metal X Eyeshadow in Fusion Gold. Just before the girls went onto the runway, she spritzed their skin with MAC Fix+ Setting Spray to really amp up the dewiness. Eyes were shaded with MAC Groundwork Paintpot, keeping the shape big and soft with no hard edges. The same product was used under the apples of the cheeks to shade the cheekbones. Brows were very thick and bushy (definite theme this season) and a little MAC Coffee Eye Pencil was used in the waterline to give the eyes extra depth. Lips were nude with MAC Lipsticks in Fresh Brew and Freckletone just pressed onto the lips with fingers. Strangely my make-up doesn’t look quite this good when it melts off...
MFW Backstage Beauty: Marni
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MFW Backstage Beauty: Marni
I was a big fan of the Marni make-up because it was completely different from anything else I’ve seen this season. It was inspired by some of the accessories from the collection, with liner the colour of tan leather (using MAC Pro Colour Correctors in Terracotta and Caramel, rather than eyeliner), combined with white eyeliner (MAC Fascinating Eye Pencil) inside the eyes and just below the lower lashline.
MFW Backstage Beauty: Marni
Milan Fashion Week SS12, Backstage Beauty, Hair and Make up Trends
MFW Backstage Beauty: Marni
The lovely Tom Pecheaux told me the liner was to represent summer warmth and heat, and the white eyeliner to give the eyes freshness. ‘It’s all about a young woman who’s grown up a bit,’ he told me. Lips had their outline faded out with foundation (seen a lot of that this season), leaving the natural pink to show through in the centre.
MFW Backstage Beauty: Marni
Milan Fashion Week SS12, Backstage Beauty, Hair and Make up Trends
MFW Backstage Beauty: Marni
Hair was a fabulous bird-nesty affair – a bit like a French twist but with the hair rolled underneath and down, rather than to the side. The texture was really dry, matt and teased – hairstylist Paul Hanlon told me he wanted to create a ‘Jackie O gone wrong’ kind of look. ‘It’s inspired by the kind of woman who goes to the salon to have her hair done every week – only this is the day before she’s due to go back in,’ he said. ‘You can see that it was once beautiful but now it’s all dishevelled and deconstructed.’ Now dishevelled is definitely a look I can do…
MFW Backstage Beauty: Just Cavalli
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MFW Backstage Beauty: Just Cavalli
The Just Cavalli girl was a cool, bohemian rock\'n\'roll chick, hanging out backstage at a gig. Hannah Murray was heading up make-up and gave the girls amazing shimmery eyes using MAC Metal X Eyeshadow in Vintage Coin as a base (Metal X being undoubtedly THE eyeshadow of the season) and then dabbing MAC Glitter in Gold onto the eyelid and MAC Glitter in Pink just onto the centre of the lid. She lined the lower eyes with MAC Eye Kohl in Blooz, creating a thick, intense, shimmery blue line along the lower lashes. Then she layered MAC Pro Longwear Eyeshadow in Thru The Night (a deep navy) on top and gave the girls long thick lashes with MAC Opulash Mascara in Optimum Black. Lips were toned down with concealer with MAC Lipstick in Coconutty on top, and cheeks were warmed up with MAC Cream Colour Base in Bronze. But what made the look fun and different was the addition of freckles dotted over the models\' noses and cheeks (with MAC Taupe Eye Pencil). I spotted drawn-on freckles at the Jeremy Scott show in NY too so maybe this is a bit of a micro-trend emerging..?
MFW Backstage Beauty: Moschino
Milan Fashion Week SS12, Backstage Beauty, Hair and Make up Trends
MFW Backstage Beauty: Moschino
The overall inspiration for the Moschino look was Frida Kahlo Meets Helmut Newton. The make-up by the fabulous Tom Pecheaux was all about a smudgy black eye. He used MAC Kohl Power Pencil in Feline in the waterline and along the lashes, and blended it out with a 219 brush. Then he pressed MAC Carbon Eyeshadow into the lashline and addded MAC Zoomblack mascara to the top and bottom lashes but just at the roots (not to lengthen the lashes, just to give definition). He used this mascara on the brows too, brushing them up and out but not giving them too much of an arch because he wanted them to have a boyish feel. He used concealer on the outer edge of the models\' lips (MAC ProLongwear Concealer) to cover up the lipline, letting the natural pink colour of the lips show through in the centre. There was no blush, just MAC Bone Beige Sculpt and Shape Powder to contour under the cheekbones.\r\nThe models were all super tired (me too!) because of the 6am call time, so before doing their makeup, Tom gave them a bit of a face massage with MAC Care Blend Oil to hydrate their skin and get rid of puffiness. He used a very small amount of MAC Full Coverage foundation to make their skin loon flawless - pretty impressive given all the models have already done New York fashion week and London!
MFW Backstage Beauty: Moschino
Milan Fashion Week SS12, Backstage Beauty, Hair and Make up Trends
MFW Backstage Beauty: Moschino
The hair was a braid over the top of the head and then another braid at the back twisted into a little chignon.
MFW Backstage Beauty: Salvatore Ferragamo
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MFW Backstage Beauty: Salvatore Ferragamo
Ferragamo was my last show in Milan and it was a goodie. It was all inspired by Jerry Hall on holiday in Mustique in the 70s or 80s – sexy, glamorous and expensive. Hairstylist Luigi Mureno gave the girls gorgeous luxe waves (his signature), worn with a clean side-parting and swept onto one shoulder. He used John Frieda Luxurious Volume Mousse to blowdry, before tonging the hair with quite a narrow tong (so that the waves looked a bit more natural). John Frieda Frizz Ease Serum on the ends gave the hair a luxe, expensive quality, combined with tonnes of John Frieda 100% Shine Glossing Mist to finish. Then just before the girls went out to the runway, he broke up the waves a bit with his fingers to give them a slightly less perfect feel. It was that kind of rich-bitch hair you wish you could achieve on holiday – high maintenance, glossy and totally hot.
MFW Backstage Beauty: Salvatore Ferragamo
Milan Fashion Week SS12, Backstage Beauty, Hair and Make up Trends
MFW Backstage Beauty: Salvatore Ferragamo
Tom Pecheaux’s make-up was equally glamorous but also a bit understated. \"The clothes have so much colour and shine – lots of silks, lots of chiffons, all super vivid – so I’m going to slow down on the make-up,\" he told me. \"I’m keeping it very fresh, with just a touch of luxury coming form the gold on the eyelids (MAC Pro Gold Set Powder). I’m adding white pencil (MAC Fascinating Eye Kohl) inside the rim of the eyes and along the top lashes, blending it into the gold. The white makes the eye look fresher and more romantic, and it makes the black of the lashes stand out even more.\"
MFW Backstage Beauty: Salvatore Ferragamo
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MFW Backstage Beauty: Salvatore Ferragamo
The cheeks were warmed slightly but not properly tanned, and lips were left colour-free with just a light coat of MAC Clear Lipglass. Gorgeous but without shouting about it – big fan.
