163 posts tagged "Pat McGrath"
Pink Lips And Ponytails, Backstage At Dior Cruise
“It’s a mouth in full bloom,” Pat McGrath told our man on the ground in Monaco this weekend backstage at Christian Dior’s Cruise show. “It’s more intensely pink,” the makeup artist said, referring to the bold fuchsia color she revived for Resort following Fall’s blurred-around-the-edges iteration of the same color. Looking for a “lightness of skin” and, more specifically, a “lightness of eye—lighter than the ready-to-wear [show]“—McGrath diffused a pearly white, shimmering pewter shadow from the inner corners of the eyes toward the temples, rather than return to the precise liquid chrome pen she preferred back in March. “Raf [Simons] said he wanted to ‘feel the girl’—really see her beauty,” she continued, keeping brows groomed and skin slightly sporty with highlights on the cheekbones.
In an effort to keep things from becoming too “over-referenced,” Guido Palau went with the “sophisticated simplicity” of a slicked-down, center-parted ponytail gathered low at the nape of the neck. “There was a future thought,” he admitted, explaining that Simons did mention the 1997 sci-fi flick Gattaca, but without the theatrical undertones. A damp, piece-y texture through the lengths ensured that strands registered as undeniably modern.
Arch Madness
Remember last month, when we were extolling the virtues of the Diorshow Art Pen that Pat McGrath used to create those painfully perfect cat-eyes backstage at Raf Simons’ Spring Couture show? Turns out, it’s more versatile than previously thought. Behold, makeup artist Yadim’s impressive wielding of the tiny tool, which provided French stunner Marie Piovesan with some seriously avant-garde arches in next month’s issue of Interview Germany—a friendly reminder that it’s called makeup artistry for a reason.
Black Liner, Three Ways
Pat McGrath puts her vast face-painting knowledge on display every time she steps foot backstage at a fashion show: From clean skin and contours to Swarovski Crystal-studded mouths, there is nothing the makeup artist can’t do. No show was more indicative of that than Lanvin this season, where Alber Elbaz asked McGrath for not one, not two, but four different looks. And so she obliged him, whipping up a strong lip, a big brow, and, most interestingly, two distinctly different eyes. It’s a maquillage muscle she flexed again for photographer Steven Meisel’s “White Mischief” story in the April issue of Vogue Italia, giving Edie Campbell at least six stand-alone makeup moments to complement a delightfully mussed-up version of her oft-discussed black wispy shag. At left, we’ve selected three of the more stunning lid looks for your viewing pleasure, which offer up interesting takes on classic black shapes, bleached brows included. For more Edie, click here to watch the Brit catwalking star in a behind-the-scenes video from the shoot.
From Russia—Via Paris—With Love
The international fashion circuit has decamped to Russia for the start of Moscow fashion week, which means a whole new showcase of local sartorial talent is under way. Still, there was a hint of Paris floating around backstage at the Domus Academy Collective Show, where makeup artists took a page out of Pat McGrath’s Dior Couture handbook, adhering crystals to lacquered red lips. Imitation is the highest form of flattery, as they say. Which version do you like better?
Dissecting the “Language of Beauty,” Backstage at Valentino
“The braid is part of the language of the beauty here,” Guido Palau said backstage at Valentino—a language, it should be noted, that has garnered almost as much attention as Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli’s gorgeous collections for this house. (Red-carpet watchers will fondly remember the plaited coronets Palau constructed four seasons ago that made a seamless—and well-documented—transition off the runway.) “They really understand what women want with beauty,” Palau continued, explaining the design duo’s low-on-product, high-on-accessibility aesthetic—the “I could look like that” factor that comes with the soft, pure, innocent styles they so often request.
For Fall, Palau prepped strands with Redken’s Satinwear 02 Ultimate Blow-Dry Lotion before devising a center part and weaving a simple three-section braid through extended lengths that were slung over models’ left shoulders. Referencing Flemish painters, as well as nodding to the seventies and Victoriana, he fastened a thick black leather band around the head and over the ears for a “monastic” touch.
Pat McGrath worked off Vermeer’s Girl With a Pearl Earring portrait that the designers showed her for inspiration, focusing her attention on creating “a softness but a realness” to the face. “There’s always a certain level of color here,” she pointed out, going through a greatest-hits backlog of her work for Chiuri and Piccioli, which has included exquisite lavender and gray contours in the past. This season, although nails were lacquered with two glossy coats of cherry-red polish, McGrath was working with peach, rose, and beige hues that she traced through the crease of eyes, swiped across cheeks, and blotted onto lips, often layering with foundation to “tone everything down.” Powdering complexions to give them the matte, velvety, “put-together” finish we’ve seen so much of this week, McGrath added brown mascara just at the roots of lashes for subtle definition.