We've been sniffing around backstage at Milan Fashion Week to bring you the latest tips and tricks from the beauty pros. You can thank us later.
Ah, the Italians, those sultry paragons of style. If we're being picky, perhaps a little flashy for our more meat and two veg tastes but you have to hand it to them, they know how to perfect a look. And looks they have perfected at Milan Fashion Week so far have been outstanding. Here's what we've learned:
1. Imperfection is trickier to master than perfection. Take it from MAC's Director of Make-Up Artistry, Terry Barber, who admitted his 'urban, worn eye' at Just Cavalli was a challenge. Afterall, 'you have to know how to do perfect make-up in order to de-perfect it.'
2. If you want to give your hairstyle invisible hold you'd better get familiar with a needle and thread. At least that was hair maestro James Pecis' trick at Just Cavalli where he used an elastic thread and an upholstery needle to weave through the wet look hair and keep it contained. 'The elastic means that when the girls move the hair moves with them without opening up', says James. It also means you can chuck out fiddly pins and hair bands.
3. Colouring the hair of 47 model before a show is asking for a coronary. Just ask celebrity colourist Josh Wood, who was looking slightly bleary-eyed backstage at Prada having been up all night colouring every single model's locks appearing in the show. Miuccia's brief? 'She wanted a gang of powerful girls divided into blondes, brunettes, redheads etc. But being Prada, it had to have a slight twist so that each colour is tailored to what suits the girl and the colours themselves are all flattened down and muted for a slightly artificial feel.'
4. Why use a brush when you can use an airbrush gun? Sure, most of make-up guru Pat McGrath's team had never used one before but as the graffiti-inspired eyeshadow at Prada was all about 'anti-perfection' it wasn't a problem.
5. Picture perfect hair can't be achieved at home (sorry about that) Not if it resembles Global Director for Wella Eugene Souleiman's immaculate do at Ports1960, anyway. Souleiman admitted that his intricate mannequin-like bun was not for the amateur. In fact, most of his team worked in pairs, but that was the beauty of it.
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