Spring-summer 2023 is here and what better way to start the season than with the most inspiring makeup looks on the runway? While bare yet luxurious skin dominated the catwalks of Schiaparelli, Valentino, and Hermès, a great deal of designers also took strides in refashioning other features of the face.
All eyes were on the cat’s eye at Dior, as makeup artist Peter Philips created criss-crossed flicks extending past the waterline, while Versace played with purple smoke in sharply shaped wingtips. On another end of the spectrum, colorful hues and unorthodox applications were seen at Etro, Chet Lo, and Jean Paul Gaultier’s collections.
Here are a few ways the runway animated this season from nude naturals to strong eyes and deviant color arrangements.
Spring’s Color Code
While pigment placements have often been restricted to particular areas of the face, this year’s spring collections saw changes leading to a fluid, free-for-all color wonderland. With experimental shapes and shadows extending past the eye, versatility became the name of the game on the runway.
Jean Paul Gaultier Couture focused on hyper-pigmented shades around the eyes. Then, Chet Lo showcased colored drapes around cheekbones and temples in lieu of blushes, while Simone Rocha took a minimalist-maximalist approach with fuschia-red liners.
To replicate these play on colors, celebrity and editorial makeup artist, Robbie Piñera, recommends starting with a good eye primer like NARS’s smudge proof eyeshadow base (PHP1,450) to keep shadows in place and help makeup from creasing and fading. To capture the season’s colors, “Choose a matte pastel color like cerulean blue, neon fuschia, or canary yellow on the upper lids. Play it up with contrasting glitter bombs to highlight under the eyes.”
Apart from pairing range-wide palettes with muted lips, Piñera, the makeup artist behind Chloe Magno and Anne Curtis’s Vogue cover shoots, also divulges how “a good black mascara will amplify the colored eye more.” “Apply multiple coats to achieve a full false lash effect,” Robbie advises.
The New Cat’s Eye
The feline flick, over time, has evolved in the way we see and shape the eye. Celebrity makeup artist, Gela Laurel Stehmeier, shares that, not only has it been historically situated as an aesthetic tool, it, too, has served as a representation of one’s status, power, cultural beliefs, and even hygiene. From the immemorial wing of Cleopatra, the fashion flicks of the 50’s, to the raccoon looks of the 80’s, Gela conjectures that “the feline flick continues to evolve along with fashion.”
The classic cat eye, in elongated and experimental forms, for one, dominated the Dolce and Gabbana stage. Makeup in Christian Dior, on the other hand, took the trend to greater lengths in eyeliners sharply extending beyond the eye. Veering from convention, the runway also showcased colored liners in Off-White, Dries Van Noten and Mugler Couture. In a subtle-shiny fashion, Fendi juxtaposed glimmer-filled flicks over bare eyes to add a twist to the trend.
For recreating the flick, Gela starts with a clean face and preps the eye area with a good base or a foundation that can work as a concealer or makeup base. In the makeup artist’s collaboration with Vogue, she used the M.A.C COSMETICS hyper real serumizer skin balancing hydration serum (PHP3,500) to set her canvas.
When it comes to hooded lids and bleeding liners, Gela advises changing formulas. “Try going for a waterproof liquid liner or a waterproof cream one,” she recommends. On the other hand, for shaky fingers, use a flat eyeliner brush and dab wet on the lash line. “That’s a sure easy way to create straight lines,” says Gela.
To get this season’s wing tips, Gela advises creating markers using nail art tape or powder, or masking tape, provided they don’t irritate skin. Stehmeier directs: Follow that mark, start with the angle of your lower lash line, and work your way up at 45 degrees towards your temple. One can also buff brushes or liners at the opposite end to create an emo liner look.
Ethereal Season
While flowers continue to bloom on land in time for spring, the runway had plans to take the season elsewhere. With a head-first, deep-dive into the ocean, variations of blue from cobalts to indigos decorated the eyes of Off-White’s models, while cerulean to turquoise shades were spread across faces of models in Etro.
At the Chloé show, models’ eyelids were rendered with shimmering silver accents paired with the season’s trending wet hair look, creating a fresh out of water finish exquisitely emulating the spring season’s mood.
“Cool and metallic tones are making a comeback for the ultimate sultry eye and a more lived-in and grungy application is also trending,” says go-to editorial makeup artist, Sylvina “Slo” Lopez. With this, Slo recommends the DIOR BEAUTY 5 color palette in black bow (PHP4,500) which offers a concise array of dark and light glitter tones.
Lustrous skin also dominated the Giambattista Valli and Gucci shows, with the latter showcasing the latest shine innovation, the flashbulb highlighter. Fendi couture, too, brought subtle silvers, and pure and pearlescent eyes to keep the mood afloat on the runway.
Taking cue from the trend, Slo likewise advises mixing clear gloss with glitters or highlighters and applying them on bare skin to easily achieve the glassy hyper-real skin texture. With this, Lopez makes magic with the M.A.C COSMETICS strobe cream (PHP2,550) which, according to her, “can be used as a primer and moisturizer to prep or as a mixer and even on the body for a healthy glow.”
The No Makeup Makeup Look
“This season is all about healthy, glowy, beautiful skin and natural makeup,” says Marissa Vossen, long-time makeup artist of R&B singer, H.E.R. It’s all about “enhancing features without looking like you have tons of makeup on,” she explains.
From Schiaparelli and Valentino Couture to Hermès, Sacai, Miu Miu and Max Mara Ready-to-Wear collections, makeup artists broadened the trend from moistures and mattifies to smooth skin sans coverage. Fendi, for one, showcased real skin textures, while Balmain brought glowy faces, naturally groomed brows, and effortlessly curled lashes to the fore. In a distinct fashion, Givenchy and Loewe focused on the eyes with sky high volume lashes and shadows then contrasted them on a bare canvas.
As having a flawless canvas is at the heart of the no makeup makeup movement, good skin on and off the runway is essential. For creating the look, begin with a luminous formula to elevate the base. Vossen recommends CLÉ DE PEAU BEAUTÉ’s concentrated brightening serum (PHP8,400) which leaves the skin glowy and moisturized. “It goes on smooth and even without feeling heavy,” she details, “it’s perfect for use before makeup.”
Marissa follows the look up with DIOR BEAUTY’s forever skin glow foundation (PHP4,250). “This foundation gives just enough coverage without looking like you have a heavy foundation on,” the Hawai’i-grown artist vouches, “it also allows you to keep a natural glow to your skin.”
As brows also add a statement to the look, we recommend shaping them with DIOR BEAUTY’s diorshow on set brow gel (PHP1,800) and diorshow brow styler (PHP1,800). Vossen, too, shares: “Chanel lipsticks, whether matte or satin finish, are moisturizing and pigmented without drying out your lips,” she says, “ I love them.” Finish strong with a swipe of CHANEL’s rouge allure velvet in intemporelle 60 (PHP2,600).
