Monday 15 September

 

For me Monday was all about one show. Giles. Not only was the rave catwalk complete with strobe lighting and Bare Necessities passes for backstage very fun, the hair and make-up was playful from inspiration to finish.

Eyes were the focus, a blend of green and black shadows done by Team Mac. This alternative smoky effect followed through to the nails, which were half and half of these same shades. Why? Well the invite to Giles was based on a monster claw from the deep – a pink leopard print hand with green and black claws. Random, but it so worked.

And while make-up and nails were out there alongside the disco-esque collection, hair was the absolute opposite. Victorian Grunge to be precise. Created by Label M and Toni & Guy, it was a mash up of deep v-parting, hair worked back using salt spray and a bed head style ponytail to finish. Slightly dishevelled, totally hot.

 

Tuesday 16 September

 

And the final day of LFW SS15 when out in one big shimmery, glitz-fuelled, glam bang. With some last summery neutrals thrown in for good measure of course.

The theme at Osman was a modern take on Woodstock – yep the 60s are defos back for SS15 in so many ways. But it wasn’t grungy hippies, more fresh, clean and fun-loving ones. Or as make-up artist heading up this show for Maybelline, Sharon Dowcett said, ‘these girls sleep in tepees not tents.’

Her specially created look was all expensive boho, complimenting the peaches and blues of the collection. She kept the base fresh, but used a velvet crayon in a dusty, nudey pink for the lips and added festival flush to the cheeks using Maybelline Baby Lips Fluro in Stirke a Rose. The effect? Like the Osman girl had been dancing in a field all day. Only the top lashes were treated to mascara while the brows were simply defined and eyes had a soft brown liner gently blended around the socket line. A little bit 60s but not too Twiggy, so to keep things current.

Hair-inspo came from one of the models when she was casted for the show. Nick Irwin using Catwalk by Tigi, worked from her freshly washed hair that had a whole lot of movement asking all the girls to rock up post shower for pre-show prep. He then simply spritzed a little spray on mousse up top and through the ends, pressing locks down a little around the ears. Minimal product, impressive effect.

And the final backstage beauty spying we did was at Ashish. Showgirl minus the drag was the make-up inspo and fresh skin, moisturised lips and then full on, statement, bejewelled eyes was the end result. One of the models told us wearing the layered up glitter, gems and shimmering shadows was like having kaleidoscopes on her eyes. ‘I can see them sparkling,’ she said. And it looked incredible. There was no mascara or liner, instead an ordered gem-ladden structure along the lower line, structured out ballerina style with a nude liner. Then up top it was chaos the bronzes, golds and coral eyeshadows used as a base, then craft shop gems stuck on in clusters, at random and right up to the brows. Sharon Dowcett, heading up team Maybelline, revealed the best way to get your gem on. First dab on lash glue using tiny cotton buds – Muji do amazingly small ones – then dip a bigger cotton bud in water to dampen before using this to pick up the little studs. It stays wet long enough to grip the gem and then hold it in place on the face until it’s stuck. Clever.

Hair was just as cool. Ali Pirzadeh for L’Oreal Paris Professional, wove strings of multi coloured tinsel into slicked down locks to give the impression of a girl that had been out dancing all night. Fun.

And for nails, Michelle Humphries, started off with two coats of a silvery base, before layering on a further two coats of Maybelline Colorshow{CORR} in Glitter It. Then the gems came out again, attached in cosmic clusters around the cuticles and tips. Disco just got served, in a fresh, modern style. What an end to an awesome SS15 showcase.

 

-Carly Hobbs (Instagram – Twitter)