As London Fashion Week wraps up, most eyes will be on the runways, decimating the sartorial stylings of the city's established and up-and-coming designers. But it's not just all about the clothes—beauty is integral too. Each season, I'm lucky enough to be invited backstage as make-up and hairstylists work their magic. It's in these very rooms that trends are decided or consolidated, right down to the bare bones of how we will be prepping our skin and finishing our hair. Read Marie Claire UK's beauty report for LFW AW25 below.
Ethereal, structured hair
Two words that don't usually go together are tousled and controlled, yet that's exactly what Anna Cofone, Global Creative Advocate for Authentic Beauty Concept (and Lana Del Rey's hairstylist) achieved at SS Daley.
While AW beauty always has preppy connotations, the hair here gave "back to school" but with a "party" edge. Backstage, Cofone told Marie Claire UK that she drew on the interplay between masculine and feminine to create looks that were incredibly controlled; replete with elegant coifs that swept the hair off the face, and tousled waves, where—if you looked carefully—not a hair was out of place.
But still, there's that feel of a late night. Cofone explained that despite the structure, the looks were "lived in" to the point of being ethereal; it was as if the models had come in from a night out, and despite that, were having an excellent hair day. To achieve the look, hairstylists prepped the hair with Authentic Beauty Concept’s Nymph Salt Spray. Hair was kept back using the Pliable Styling Paste, and set in place with a fine mist of the Working Hairspray.
Authentic Beauty Concept Nymph Salt Spray 250ml
Tonal eyes and lips
At SS Daley, tonal make-up was dialled up several notches. Models sported a soft, dusty sweep of yellow, burnt ochre and terracotta on their lids. Artists used big fluffy brushes to seamlessly blend the colours from the inner corner up through the brown bone—forming an ombre halo, which looped around the undereye to resemble the break of dawn. The same eyeshadow was then pressed into moisturised, satiny lips. It was matchy-matchy, but firmly rooted in the here and now.
Renaissance Romance
Annie's Ibiza was a big wink to Renaissance beauty and youthful romance. Sam McKnight used extensions to achieve long, softly waved and crimped lengths, which were topped with braided updos and dropped plaits. The real stars of the show, though, were the chunky, glossed braids, which McKnight described as "little horns" on the day. There's a real wearability factor here too: it looked like the models' hair had been left braided for days, and finally let loose.
M.A.C’s Dominic Skinner led the make-up, which he described as an ode to the “love lorn warrior woman”—harking to historical, religious heroines like Joan Arc. “These women are powerful, they are strong, they are in control, they are warriors,” he said, channelling the idea of “power” through a strong, blood-red lip (he used M.A.CXIMAL Silky Matte Lipstick in ‘D for Danger’ and the lip pencil in ‘Nightmoth’). The eyes gave “blessed” thanks to a subtle gold line, which you could barely see, and Skinner tied it together with a ruddy cheek and matte, velvety skin, which had an opalescent, lit-from-within glow.
Hair by Sam Mcknight Modern Hairspray Multi-Task Styling Mist 250ml
M.a.c Macximal Silky Matte Lipstick in ‘D for Danger’
Crimping is back
Cafone also presided over the hair at Chet Lo on Sunday. It was an altogether more simple affair but with one crucial statement: panels of crimped hair, which resembled and reflected the patterns within Lo's clothing. These ultra-precise waves were given the editorial treatment, proving that the style—which has largely been relegated to the 90s and 00s—can also be super modern when you get creative with it.
OTT lashes
Lashes either loomed large or they didn't, at all. The biggest impact came at Harris Reed where models sported inches-long sculptural lashes in shades of cobalt blue, black and metallic gold.
Reed collaborated with Charlotte Tilbury once more on the make-up front. The brand's Global Artistry Director, Sofia Tilbury, kept complexions neutral and glowy to prioritise the eyes, using Charlotte Tilbury's limited-edition palette of Beautifying Eye trends in Super Neutral, The Feline Flick eyeliner and lashings of the Exagger-Eyes Volume Mascara to dial up the drama.
Charlotte's Palette of Beautifying Eye Trends
Charlotte Tilbury Exagger-Eyes Volume Mascara 10ml
Glass hair
If there is one resounding hair note from the past four days, it is glass hair. For Reed's 'Gilded' collection, which redefined fashion as armour, lead hairstylist Ali Pirzadeh drew inspiration from the sharp lines and cage-like shapes to create truly sculptural barnets. Key looks saw the hair pushed away from the face, and lifted in the temples, in the form of a highly-glossed ponytail and modelled bun—which was quite literally screwed into place.
Backstage, I watched as Pirzadeh glazed each model's hair with Dyson's new Chitosan styling range, in particular, the Post Style Serum, which delivered ultra-sleek, healthy-looking shine without any crunchiness.
Dyson Chitosan™ Post-Style Serum
Soft 60's and the return of strobing
While most of the beauty looks this fashion week read minimalist, Richard Quinn embraced classical beauty tropes during his ethereal, winter wonderland of a show.
Terry Barber, Global Creative Director of Artistry at M.A.C, referenced "IT girls" from the 60s, including Julie Christie, Jean Shrimpton and Dianna Ross. There was a swipe of duck egg blue shadow across the lids, a "putty beige" nude lip, and opalescent highlights, with just the right amount of sparkle to reflect the snow in the show. While highlighter has fallen off the grid since 2016, Barber said backstage that he's bringing it back for the upcoming season, albeit in a more editorial form: a light dusting of a cool-toned highlighter across the eyes, cheekbones and nose, to tie the whole face together.
Satin skin reigns supreme
Skin really can be a great accessory. Across the board, we saw almost translucent skin, replete with a satiny sheen. At Chet Lo, skin prep came courtesy of Kate Somerville. Aestheticians used the brand's HydraKate Water Cream and HydraKate Recharging Serum—but signalling that our obsession with skincare is only getting more high-tech—finished their skin with a machine; a five-minute oxygen therapy boost, which delivered a fresh, hydrated and bouncy glow.
Similarly, at Emilia Wickstead, the skin was prepped by EVE LOM's master facialist Jon Rummins, who used the brand’s Radiance Repair Retinol Serum, Daily Rejuvenating Cream and Renewal Treatment Oil for “modern, luminous, fresh skin”. Backstage, the memo was less about "covering", and more about prepping the skin for absorbing product, and even then covering only what needed to be covered.
Kate Somerville Hydrakate™ Recharging Water Cream 50ml
Eve Lom Renewal Treatment Oil
90's post-Glastonbury eyes
I spied a hint of indie sleaze at Dreaming Eli, where models sported a sultry, burnt-out black eye, which had a small amount of clear balm applied on top.
M.A.C's Senior Artist Carly Utting said backstage: "It's not an Instagram-perfect look, it's like you've had it on for six hours... It’s like Alexa Chung in the 90’s post-Glastonbury, with a Shirly Manson chunky lash. Thick lashes are definitely having a moment, we’ve seen quite a lot in the past few weeks in New York." To achieve the look, Utting used the brand's Connect in Colour Eyeshadow Palette: High-Fi, 'Do It For The Glam' and eyeshadow in 'Charcoal Brown'.
Connect in Colour Eyeshadow Palette: Hi-Fi Colour
Mac Small Eye Shadow in 'Charcoal Brown'
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