Two days ago I ventured out to London Fashion Week as the lovely team at L'Oreal kindly invited me backstage to not one, but three (!!) shows that they were creating looks for Kinder Aggugini, Holly Futton and Issa. To have the amazing opportunity of being able to go backstage and see makeup artists work their magic has always been a bit of a dream, so off I went to Somerset House, notepad and pen at the ready, to bring you some insight into the goings on backstage.
Having never been backstage before it was exactly how I imagined it, absolutely incredible. At one point I even counted 10 people to 1 model - hair, nails and makeup, all at once. After being introduced to L'Oreal's makeup artist Val Garland she gave me the scoop on her inspiration for choosing her looks, the products that were used and tips and techniques for best application.
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| Val Garland & I |
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| Going through the products |
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| Products Used |
First show of the day was Kinder, which was based on the free spirited outdoorsy girl. The look consisted of everything you could think of that represents a rural girl - blush, freckles and rusty lips. The fresh faced look started off with some BB Cream for 'a real natural skin finish'. This was then followed by a product that's not out until March - BB Blush, which will be an extremely exciting release. It's a clear gel when first applied but after being warmed up with fingertips or a brush turns a beautiful warm pink shade, which made the models appear as though the colour was coming from within. The last step for the skin was to add some freckles. Val stated the key to natural looking freckles was for them to be in different shapes and colours. To ensure the freckles looked natural Val took a powder puff and pressed it into the skin, giving them a 'worn in' look. Lips were coated in a rusty colour, L'Oreal Colour Riche 253 Nude, eyes were swept with a shade of caramel, L'Oreal True Match Blush in 365 Brun Nude, and brows were bushy, messy and uncombed. The overall aim was to make models look like they weren't wearing makeup at all.
After all that excitement the lovely ladies at L'Oreal then invited me to the actual fashion show! Having seeing all the goings on backstage, hair and makeup preparations it was an absolute dream seeing it all come together on the catwalk, seeing how the makeup and hair ties in with the clothes.
Issa was absolute madness, there were 28 models to prepare as opposed to the usual 16 as well as a really complicated and delicate hair and makeup look to master. It got rather crowded backstage to the point where no press were allowed in! Luckily enough, with the help of the lovely L'Oreal team I managed to squeeze my way in, hiding out in the four corners of the room, making sure I didn't get in anyones way as my camera snapped away. Val's inspiration for the look was a 'Marie Helvin exotic creature...on a yacht to Bora Bora going to meet Marlon Brando...a rich, fabulous woman'. The look consisted of bronzer, highlighter and contouring all paired with a very bright lip - orange, red or pink depending on the model's skin colour. Val relied on the 'easy wand and a steady hand' to create the graphic, bold eyeliner with the L'Oreal Super Liner, which I raved about here, followed by lashings of the latest L'Oreal mascara, which isn't on counter for a while. For dewy skin, the makeup artists pressed a pump of Lumi Magique Pure Light Highlighter into the skin as a base, followed by some BB cream and the amazing BB Blush that I mentioned above. Continuing with the bright theme the model's nails were painted in L'Oreal Colour Riche shades of purple, pink and red.
It was so interesting seeing the L'Oreal artists at work and how the looks tied in with designer collections. I think my favourite element of it all was at one point at Issa, Val Garland was working her makeup magic on a model and I sat next to her and was able to have a private viewing! I was absolute mesmerized at the way her hands move, how gentle she is with the skin and how perfectly she creates a cat flick!
It was so interesting seeing the L'Oreal artists at work and how the looks tied in with designer collections. I think my favourite element of it all was at one point at Issa, Val Garland was working her makeup magic on a model and I sat next to her and was able to have a private viewing! I was absolute mesmerized at the way her hands move, how gentle she is with the skin and how perfectly she creates a cat flick!
Thank you very much to the team at L'Oreal for having me backstage - it was beyond incredible and I thoroughly enjoyed my day!
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