Every day for two weeks, we send beauty writer and punishment sucker Lindsay MacAdam to one Toronto fashion show. She’ll go backstage to get step-by-step instructions from a makeup pro, then follow them herself, delivering each time a verdict: do, or don’t, try this look at home. Today, a bunch of teenage models get “facelifts” courtesy of Lucian Matis.
At the show: With a collection as bright and de trop as this one, it’d be all too easy to go overboard on hair and makeup. Instead, Lucian Matis went for a sleek, simple look that kept the attendees’ eyes looking right where they should be—on the intricately detailed clothes. He must have thought these prime-of-life models needed some fine-tuning, though, as the beauty look involved face-tightening ponytails and a makeup technique that promised surgery-free lift.
Hair was slicked up, way up, with amped-up shine and hair wrapped around the elastic. To achieve maximum straightness, the Schwarzkopf Professional team applied BC Hairtherapy Oil Miracle and Osis Soft ‘n’ Straight on wet hair. For additional heat protection, they used Osis Flatliner, then finished off the look with Osis Elastic Hairspray for flexible hold and Osis Sparkler for extra sheen.
Makeup was kept clean and fresh, with an all-over radiance, jewel-toned smoky eyes and nude lips. To make these models look younger (as if!), Shawn Hlowatzki, National Trainer for Smashbox Canada, used a fancy technique to apply the foundation and highlight. This, he insisted, would provide the same effects as Botox—minus the immobile forehead and the dreaded, Nicole Kidman-perfected ugly cry. Seriously? OK, I’m listening.
He applied Studio Skin 15 Hour Wear Foundation SPF 10 in strategically placed lines: centre of chin to corner of ear, corner of mouth to top of ear, corner of nose to corner of eye, corner of brow to hairline. You still with me? Then, he blended the lines in an upward motion. On the brow bone, under the eye, and from chin to ear, he used the Halo Highlighting Wand in Gold, followed by the Fusion Soft Lights Baked Stardust Powder all over for a flawless, luminous finish. On lips, he mixed a nude pencil with the Reflection-High Shine Lip Gloss, and the eyes were made delicately smoky with a mix of brown powder liner, shadows in nude, soft white and amethyst, and black mascara on the top lashes only.
At home: It’s not as tricky as it sounds, promise. I used a Smashbox Photo Finish Hydrating Oil-Free Foundation Primer, with L’Oreal Visible Lift Smooth Absolute Instant Anti-Aging Makeup in “Natural Beige,” duly applied in contouring lines, plus The Body Shop’s Illuminating Face Base (bonus points to the Body Shop for being able to describe a product in fewer than one million words). Sadly, I didn’t experience the alleged Botox effect, but I’m really digging the subtle glow and softly shaded eye. For that, I used Smashbox’s “Softbox” Eye Palette and M.A.C. Eye Shadow in “Stars ‘n’Rockets” and “Shale, with L’Oreal Voluminous Mascara on lashes. For nude lips, you just need a creamy base and a mega-gloss on top: I used Denis Gagnon for Lancme Color Design Pale Lip Cream and Smashbox Reflection High-Shine Lip Gloss. Whew!
Verdict: DO try this at home. It’s an easy, natural look that’s pretty enough for any occasion, and it’s next to impossible to get wrong. Just one warning: don’t leave home without blending your foundation lines, or you’ll look like a bad oil painting.
