Marie Claire UK Marie Claire UK
  • Fashion Fashion
      • Fashion
        • View all Fashion
        • Fashion Trends
        • Shopping
        • Watches and Jewellery
        • Fashion News
  • Beauty Beauty
      • Beauty
        • View all Beauty
        • Fragrance
        • Hair
        • Make Up
        • Skincare
        • Nails
        • Marie Claire Beauty Awards
  • Health Health
      • Health
        • View all Health
        • Fitness
        • Nutrition
        • Female Health
        • Wellbeing
  • Life Life
      • Life
        • View all Life
        • Opinions
        • Travel
        • Sustainability
        • Weddings
        • Money & Work
        • Competitions
  • Culture Culture
      • Culture
        • View all Culture
        • TV and Film
        • Celebrity News
        • Books
        • Royal News
  • Vouchers Vouchers
      • Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Mint Velvet
        • Karen Millen
        • H&M
        • nobody's child
        • ASOS
        • ARKET
        • MANGO
      • Designer Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Reiss
        • THE OUTNET
        • SSENSE
        • Mytheresa
        • Liberty London
        • Selfridges
        • Farfetch
      • Accessories
        • View all Vouchers
        • AllSaints
        • Aspinal of London
        • Charles & Keith
        • River Island
        • FitFlop
        • Kate Spade
        • Vagabond
      • Jewellery
        • View all Vouchers
        • Pandora
        • Abbott Lyon
        • Goldsmiths
        • Beaverbrooks
        • Astrid & Miyu
        • Swarovski
        • Angara Jewellery
      • Beauty
        • View all Vouchers
        • Sephora
        • Cult Beauty
        • Space NK
        • Dyson
        • Clarins
        • Look Fantastic
        • Clinique
      • Activewear
        • View all Vouchers
        • Lululemon
        • Gymshark
        • Sweaty Betty
        • Nike
        • adidas
        • New Balance
        • Helly Hansen
  • NEWSLETTER Signup to our newsletter
  • logoCreated with Sketch.
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Women in Sport 2026
    • Marie Claire Masters
    • Spring Summer 2026
    • Nail Trends 2026
    • Best Investment Bags
    • Best Perfumes
    • Digital Issues
    • Women Who Win
    1. Beauty
    2. Make Up

    Festival Beauty: The Looks You Can Only Get Away With When Stuck In A Field With 100,000 Other Revellers

    Let’s face it, there aren’t many places outside of pre-school that you can get away with wearing welly boots, teeny tiny shorts, face paint and a chicken on your head. Luckily we have festivals to make all that socially acceptable. That in mind, here’s our VIP pass to the looks we wish we could rock every day thanks to a little inspiration from the SS13 shows.

    By Cassie Steer
    Published 25 July 2013 In Features

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    Festival beauty
    Festival beauty
    (Image credit: Imaxtree)
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    Let’s face it, there aren’t many places outside of pre-school that you can get away with wearing welly boots, teeny tiny shorts, face paint and a chicken on your head. Luckily we have festivals to make all that socially acceptable. That in mind, here’s our VIP pass to the looks we wish we could rock every day thanks to a little inspiration from the SS13 shows.

    1. Nail It Those foil/glitter/leopard print/smurf gone crazy nails you’ve been hankering after for months are yours for the taking as, let’s face it, there’s no better place to flaunt them. Stick-ons are a great temporary option whilst glitter has the staying power of Imelda Marcos at a Louboutin sale.

    2. Hear hear! The ear is officially the new erogenous zone with ear cuffs spotted on the likes of Cara Delevingne, Rihanna and any other cool chick you care to mention. Granted, Rihanna is also partial to a pair of thigh high boots with little else to accompany them but this is one catwalk trend that’s ripe for rocking at a festival. It may of course pose problems for sleeping (who needs sleep anyway?) but no pain no gain as they say.

    3. Flower power They may have worked a treat at Woodstock but these days floral headbands do seem, well, a little contrived, if we’re honest. Until we spotted the swoonsome garlands at Blugirl that is, which totally changed our minds. The key is to keep everything else looking understated with an effortless texture to the hair (which shouldn’t be too much of a push after a night in the dance tent).

    Festival beauty

    Festival beauty
    (Image credit: Imaxtree)

    4. Glitter bug If you can’t don a bit of bling at a festival than quite frankly when can you? We loved the Swarovski-encrusted block-colour eyes spotted at Dior, but you don’t need to be a make-up maestro to execute this look as precision is not the aim of the game. Shimmer, sparkle, or good old fashioned glitter, make sure you get ready to fa-jazzle up those features.

    You may like
    • @anoukyve summer in the city outfits I've Spent Weeks Spotting the Chicest Summer Workwear Outfits—These 5 Are What I'll Copy Next
    • The Beauty Digest The Beauty Digest: Head Spas, Coco Mademoiselle Reimagined, and What the TPO Ban Really Means
    • Autumn Nail Trends 2026 From Fawn Print to Milky Matcha—These Are Autumn 2026’s Defining Nail Trends

    Festival beauty

    Festival beauty
    (Image credit: Imaxtree)

    5. Tat’s magic The words ‘facial tattoo’ may sound a bit more Prisoner Cell Block H than festival chic but bear with us. Over at Aminaka Wilmont, delicate black rose transfers were used to adorn the face for a pretty punk look with an ‘animalistic’ edge. Grrr.

    Festival beauty

    Festival beauty
    (Image credit: Imaxtree)

    6. Chalk it up Your boss may not appreciate the complexities of the colour spectrum but your fellow revellers certainly will. Get creative with hair chalks (as a wash out option these are guaranteed not to prompt a back-to-reality bout of hysteria) which can be used in streaks à la the pastel tendrils at Peter Som or for the brave as an all-over wash.

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    Festival beauty

    Festival beauty
    (Image credit: Imaxtree)

    7. Wigging out Faux follicles were spotted all over the SS13 catwalks and they’re not going away if AW13’s trends are anything to go by. The reality is that this isn’t a look we’ll be rocking in our local Sainsbury’s, but a pink wig reminiscent of Natalie Portman in Closer for a festival? We’re ordering the toupe tape as we speak!

    Festival beauty

    Festival beauty
    (Image credit: Imaxtree)

    8. Getting lippy Conventional it ain’t, but we applaud the creativity of the two-tone lips at Holly Fulton (also a great look for the indecisive). The bigger the colour contrast (preferably with a bit of a clash going on) the better, so pout it out loud.

    Festival beauty

    Festival beauty
    (Image credit: Imaxtree)

    9. Lash out Falsies have been having a moment for a while now and these days adding a little oomph to your lashes isn’t something we bat an eyelid about. But glamping it up at a festival is just the excuse you need to rev up your lash appeal to stratospheric levels. Go bold, go brazen, and even go blue like the models at Moncler.

    What to read next
    • Christopher Esber Flip flops From Luxury Beach Resorts to London Streets, Everyone Is Wearing These Designer Flip-Flops
    • Dior Haute Couture AW26 runway From Chanel to Balenciaga—I Can't Stop Thinking About These Incredible Haute Couture Fashion Week Looks
    • Summer holiday fragrances I Asked 16 Beauty Insiders Which Fragrance They Never Travel Without

    Festival beauty

    Festival beauty
    (Image credit: Imaxtree)

    10. Crimp my ride Call a ceasefire on the war on frizz. Our attitude is, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, so reacquaint yourself with the ultimate 80’s hair tool and get crimping to recreate the mermaid-esque locks at Moschino. Heat? Humidity? Bring it on!

    Festival beauty

    Festival beauty
    (Image credit: Imaxtree)

    Image credit: Imaxtree

    FESTIVAL NAIL ART: DANCE THE SUMMER AWAY WITH THESE BRIGHT AND QUIRKY DESIGNS

    12 BEAUTY MYTHS DEBUNKED

    DD CREAMS ARE COMING BUT WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY?

    Cassie Steer
    Social Links Navigation
    Read more
    @anoukyve summer in the city outfits
    Fashion I've Spent Weeks Spotting the Chicest Summer Workwear Outfits—These 5 Are What I'll Copy Next
    The Beauty Digest
    Beauty The Beauty Digest: Head Spas, Coco Mademoiselle Reimagined, and What the TPO Ban Really Means
     
     
    Autumn Nail Trends 2026
    Nails From Fawn Print to Milky Matcha—These Are Autumn 2026’s Defining Nail Trends
    Christopher Esber Flip flops
    Fashion From Luxury Beach Resorts to London Streets, Everyone Is Wearing These Designer Flip-Flops
     
     
    Latest in Make Up
    Fenty Beauty Pro Filtr Fluid Flex Foundation Review
    Make Up Fenty Beauty Just Replaced Its Most Iconic Foundation—3 Editors Put Its “Flexible” Full Coverage to the Test
    Ata-Owaji Victor reviews Clinique Black Honey Collection
    Make Up Clinique Just Turned Viral Black Honey Lipstick Into a Full Collection—I've Tried Them All, and I Have Thoughts
     
     
    UKLASH lash lift gel tested by Dionne Brighton
    Make Up My Stubbornly Straight Lashes Never Hold a Curl—This ‘Liquid Lash Curler’ Kept Them Lifted All Day
    Best foundation balms
    Make Up If You’ve Fallen Out of Love With Foundation in Your 30s, This Hydrating, Blurring Alternative Still Gives Impressive Coverage
     
     
    Latest in Features
    NYFW ss27 outfits to wear now
    Fashion I Just Got Back From New York: These 6 Outfits Deserve a Spot in Your Autumn Rotation
    Michelle Obama Liffner bag
    Fashion Michelle Obama Just Wore the Sophisticated Bag Brand Every Fashion Insider is Obsessed With
     
     
    Poppy Wang
    Fashion 5 Experts Explain the Nuances of the ‘Mandarin Jacket’ Trend
    A woman drinking a cup of tea in bed
    Health and Fitness 5 Everyday 'Life Admin' Habits That Are Secretly Exhausting You
     
     
    logoCreated with Sketch.
    • Site Archive
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Terms and conditions
    • Advertise with us
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • About us
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire UK is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.