A huge contrast from Prabal Gurung’s show on May 14, Ashely Isham’s beauty look for his show at Singapore's Audi Fashion Festival 2014, was set to ride on the tomboy trend previously seen at the Spring Summer 2014 shows of Stella McCartney and Missoni.
All images © Wesley Kow for herworldPLUS
At first glance, the models presented themselves with pale skin and an intense smokey cat eye that flicked back. Upon closer inspection, the entire look was completed with thick brows that were lusciously matte and angled throughout the brow bone, while lips were stained maroon with a blood-like bleed. I stood observing Mr Sada Ito, Nars lead makeup artist, slather on concealer after concealer with sniper-like precision, with the entire look taking more than forty minutes to complete. And darlings, trust me when I say this look takes some serious makeup skills to accomplish.
BASE
There was just the basic prepping of skin before concealer was being dabbed and brushed all over the face. For oily areas such as the T-zone, radiant creamy concealer was being gently dabbed onto the skin.
This was then followed by Nars concealer (a matte concealer stick) being spread throughout the face, with an extra focus along the areas of the eyes and lips. Mr Sada Ito explained that this was to ensure that the face stayed matte throughout. I also figured that the concealer would give the skin a stark contrast against the intense colour palette for the eyes and lips.
Once the whole face was concealed, Nars Full Face Sheer Glow Foundation was generously applied with Loose Powder pressed on all over. The end result is a very clean and obviously made-up canvas. Due to the heavy eye makeup, the cheeks were only given a hint of contour with the contour blush Paloma and Olympia, highlighting the cheek plane to further enhance each model’s vivid look (as if they needed it, really).
If you are thinking of recreating this at home, bear in mind that Singapore’s humidity doesn’t do very well with this much concealer and foundation. The trick will be to generously apply primer before adding on concealer and powdered foundation. This will allow the makeup to stay on your skin, while still giving it room to breathe.
LIPS
The lips had an understated ooze of class ─ as compared to the eye makeup fiasco. Two lip colours were used to give extra dimension and depth, while a very sharp cupid’s bow was drawn on every model.
To start, the makeup artist used the lip liner pencil in Amazon to line and colour the entire lip, paying special attention on the inner portion of the mouth, and of course, the cupid's bow. After patting off the excess and setting the colour with tissue, a semi-matte lipstick in Trenis Siberian was applied on top.
The look is then finished with a matte concealer surrounding the outer corners of the lips. The use of concealer gives the lip colour an additional plane of contrast, while making the lip colour stay within the lip line. You wouldn't want smudges while walking down the runway!
What I love about this maroon and red mix was that it gave the lips a heightened dimension and colour, which was a good contrast to the complex eye makeup that Ashley opted for. The lips were also the most wearable look from the entire show. If recreating this at home, breathe out while lining your lips, so that you will have steady hands to draw your perfect cupids bow.
EYES - BROWS, LIDS AND LASHES
The highlight of the entire face, this eye makeup was so complex that I had to watch it being done three times before I finally realised what was going on. Using layers and layers of the Soft Touch Shadow in Empire and Calabria, the smokey eye effect was created through the use of a soft brush and precision smudging. Once that was done, Duo Eyeshadow in Brumes was brushed on to soften and create the cat eye effect.
Interestingly, an eyeliner was not used to define the eyes, instead, the Night Series Eyeshadow in Moon Breed was used to line both the lower and upper lash line. Due to its glitter base, the eyeshadow was applied using a damp brush, which will allow for a more intensive application of colour, as well as make sure the glitter is held in place on the skin.
The complexity of this look stems from the fact that it is not a simple blending of different colours. The colours used were variations of black, with the exception of Calabria, a deep purple. Just imagine you’re attempting to create a three dimensional smokey eye, but you’re only given one solid colour. Like I said earlier, this look is certainly not for the unskilled.
To pair this fierce eye makeup, thick brows were drawn using the Brow Defining Brush and brown eyeshadow. When I asked about the reason behind this look, Mr Sada Ito, the lead makeup artist, said that the thick matte eyebrows compliment the eyeshadow and matte look of the entire face. Apart from the technical application of the eyeshadow on the brows, the eyebrows were simply filled in according to each model’s brow shape. This gave the look a touch of individuality, normally unseen on the runways. Last but not least, lashes were plumped up with the Nars Larger Than Life Volumizing Mascara, giving it extra drama and curl.
If you really want to create this look at home, I suggest taking some serious make-up classes first, and then contacting me so I can give you my video recording of what the artists did.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Apart from the maroon-hued lips, this makeup look is almost strictly for the runway. The extremely complex eye was pretty to look at, but would be too fierce for any normal occasion (even if you’re about to hit the clubs on a Friday night). I love that the makeup was an extension of the tomboy look we’ve seen for Spring/Summer 2014, but I would have preferred something I could recreate more easily in the comfort of my own home. Perhaps next time Ashley and NARS will be kinder on our (lack) of makeup skills.
Nars is the official makeup sponsor for Audi Fashion Festival 2014. Unless stated otherwise, all products used are available at Nars Cosmetics counters. For more information, visit www.narscosmetics.com and follow Nars Cosmetics on Facebook and Instagram.
Audi Fashion Festival 2014 is held at the Tent@Orchard from May 14 to 18, 2014. Tickets are available at sistic.com. For more information, go to www.audifashionfestival.com. Get updates on AFF 2014 on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AudiFashionFestivalSingapore, on Twitter @AudiFashionFest and Instagram @AudiFashionFest and by following the hashtag #affsg.