Makeup

Five Beauty Lessons We Learned at Milan Fashion Week

By Catherine Piercy

The most compelling hair and makeup looks on the runway this week in Milan were a study in extremes, combining the city’s quirky conceptualism with the neoclassic appeal of a bold red lip, a sharply winged eye, or a reworked braid. Here, beauty rules we’re taking with us to Paris.

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    Photographed by Kevin Tachman
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    Rule #1: You need false lashes—lots of them—if a quick look at runways from Gucci to Versace is any indication. Buy them in bulk at Sephora before heading to Paris. When in doubt, reference sixties icons Britt Ekland and Marianne Faithfull and pair with a nude lip.

    Pictured: at Gucci

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    Photographed by Margherita Chiarva
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    Rule #2: Hair that looks like it’s been caught in a Category 5 storm is a good thing—really. Plastered to the head at Marni, spilling out of a deconstructed braid at Emilio Pucci, or scraped into a damp bun at Roberto Cavalli, this season’s hair is made for a polar vortex, extreme winter static, or a torrential downpour.

    Pictured: at Marni

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    Photographed by Kevin Tachman
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    Rule #3: The classic red lip is back. At Max Mara, mouths were painted a deep, dark shade of Bordeaux. At Prada, models applied their own high-impact color straight from the tube backstage, while out front, German actress Barbara Sukowa took the stage to perform with her own slicked-on crimson lip. The message: Red lips don’t have to be so high-maintenance. Why? Because Miuccia says so.

    Pictured: at Max Mara

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    Photographed by Kevin Tachman
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    Rule #4: Good skin is everything. At Jil Sander, Bottega Veneta, and Fendi, makeup artists played with highlighting creams and contour powder to sculpt the face. The trick of the week, picked up at Dolce & Gabbana: dabbings a little bit of gold cream shadow on the center of the lids for a supernaturally rested effect (thank you, Pat McGrath).

    Pictured: at Bottega Veneta

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    Photographed by Margherita Chiarva
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    Rule #5: The more eye pencil, the better. Draw a graphic sixties-inspired double wing or scribble it into your lashlines. We plan on taking a cue from Missoni, where makeup artist Lucia Pieroni was using a sooty MAC Fluidline gel in Blacktrack at the outer corners, then layering on coat after coat of the company’s Haute & Naughty mascara at the outer corners. “Cool girls who’ve been out all night with their boyfriends, waiting for the bus back home,” she said, relaying the beauty inspiration with a wicked smile. Because how good—or bad—you want to be right now is entirely dependent on your eyeliner.

Vogue.com’s Beauty Director is regularly moved to tears by major model haircuts, Tom Ford nail polish, and Valentino Rockstud heels. She takes liquid liner, eyebrows, and napping seriously. ... Read More
TopicsMilan Fashion Week