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, models transform into otherworldly creatures, with antenna-like eyebrows and architectural eyeliner, all in the name of VAWK’s Insectica theme.

At the show: At VAWK, models of all shapes, sizes and ages were welcome in Sunny Fong’s ethereal world, where butterflies, grasshoppers and ladybugs roam free amongst the skyscrapers, in pleated chiffon gowns and cocktail frocks laced in gold. And insects they became—at once hard and soft, with wet slicks becoming roughed-up curls and straight-winged eyeliner sprinkled in fairy dust. The pice de rsistance, no doubt, was queen bee Frances Coombe wearing cigarette-holder-length black antennas to open and close the show.

For what I’m fairly certain was my favourite hair of the week(s), Eric Del Monaco, Official Hair Artist and Colourist for L’Oral Paris Canada, curled the hair into figure eights using a Babyliss Pro Twin Barrel Ceramic Curling Iron. He fluffed up curls into a heavenly bouffant by turning the models’ heads upside down, shaking up the curls with his fingers and spritzing on some—come on, if you’ve learned one thing this week—Elnett Satin Hairspray. The top of the hair was left straight, slathered in Studio Line Mineral FX Melting Gel, then pulled and pinned back with an excessive amount of bobby pins, criss-crossed for hold. The creative team considered adding butterflies to the hair to tie in with the insect theme, but settled on wing-shaped gold fabric, specially made and placed on top of pins.

For the makeup look, Eddie Malter, Official Make-up Artist for L’Oral Paris Canada, took Fong’s inspiration and interpreted it his own way: “I thought about the antennas of the insect, so I decided to go with a defined eyebrow. For me, architecture is a lot of metallics, windows, reflections, so I went with a gold reflection like the sun and like Sunny Fong.” Very clever, Eddie.

After creating this week’s favourite dewy base using foundation and concealer, and also applying the foundation over the lips, Malter lightly contoured cheekbones using a powder slightly darker than the model’s natural skin tone. To make the eyebrows feel antenna-like, he filled them in, extending them slightly, with an angled brush and the L’Oral Paris Eye Shadow Quad #823. On eyes, he used the yellow gold from the “Bronzes” Eye Shadow Quad on the inner eye corner and smudged it into the crease. Upper and lower lash lines were highlighted using L’Oral’s La Couleur Infallible Eye Shadow in “Time Resist White,” plus with a white pencil along the inner rim for a Bambi effect. He lined half of the lower lash line with Lineur Intense Brush Tip in “Black” and continued the line straight up, continuing the wing thing.

At home: After evening out my complexion with foundation, concealer and a little loose powder, I contoured cheeks with M.A.C Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in “Dark.” I dabbed some Covergirl & Olay Simply Ageless Eye Concealer on my lips and added a touch of the Yves Saint Laurent Palette Metallic Colorama highlighter in the centre. For brows, I used a powder from the Benefit Brows A-Go-Go kit, extending the brow line towards my temple using the kit’s angled brush, and for the eyes, I used Smashbox Eye Shadow in “Lucky Penny” (from the Softbox Eye Palette). I then filled in the rest of the lid and the outer part of the lower lash line with the white shadow from L’Oral’s HiP Matte Shadow Duo in “Animated” and dusted with of L’Oral’s La Couleur Infallible Eye Shadow in “Hourglass Beige.” I used an angled shadow brush dipped in Smashbox Cream Eye Liner in “Caviar” to create a thin line along my bottom lash line and winged it up towards the end of my natural eyebrow, then blended with my finger. A quick coat of L’Oral’s Voluminous False Fiber Lashes Mascara, on the top lashes only, and I was fully insectified. (Temporary orange tips—I’m a monarch butterfly?—courtesy Kevin.Murphy Color.Bug.)

Verdict: DO try this pretty, easy-to-replicate look at home. Just don’t, whatever you do, try gluing black paper antennas to your eyelids la top model Frances Coombe—mostly because, well, you’re not her.