Find out #WhatSarahSaw as the GLAMOUR Beauty Team brings you all the latest beauty news, pics and gossip from backstage at Paris' hottest shows.
PFW: '50 Shades of Grey' At Elie Saab
For our final show of the season we headed to the Jardin Du Tuileries - come to think of it, it's where we started our Paris journey for Issey Miyake - and this is what we saw….
"The girls have an incredibly rich, expensive feel, but not in a vulgar way," said Eugene Soulieman of the remarkably glossy, lengthy manes at Elie Saab. "Hair is being straightened from root to tip and slicked back with a tooth comb. Each model is wearing a gold headband designed by Saab himself; we're actually pulling hair over the sides of the metallic accessory so that it looks like there's an abstract gold accent in the hair. It's minimal today, but because it's Elie Saab, the girls still have a sexy chicness to them."
"I call this look 50 shades of grey," said Tom Pecheux with a smirk. "It's a degrade of grey hues on the eyes - a veil of taupes and light, medium and dark greys." Pecheux paired this smokey look with clean skin - in fact, he used the word impeccable - matte contouring, mascara on top and bottom lashes and beige lips. After trying to recall the name 'of that vampire movie,' Pechuex said "Think Kristen Stewart in Twilight. Moody, but elegant and feminine."
PFW: Desert Meets CIty at Emanuel Ungaro
"The clothes are bright, as in really really bright," proclaimed Sam McKnight of Ungaro's SS14 collection. "Polka-dots, hot hues, you name it. And as you can see, pointing to model Andreea Diaconu, the hair is the exact opposite." McKnight contrasted the collection by giving girls tousled - almost languid - waves. "The designer was inspired by a girl who lived in Arizona, loved horse-riding and grew up with an outdoors 'kinda' lifestyle. But… (and it's a big but) she now lives in Paris and is exceptionally chic. "We're erasing any frizz and then blowdrying and tonging ends for a rough, lived-in feel." According to Sam, volume is a no for this look. Kiehl's Silk and Groom, £28, is a yes.
The same Arizona-born girl was referenced in makeup by Cristelle Crocquet. "She's a tough girl so the look today is very natural and light," explained Crocquet. "She's glowy - not shiny (yes, in makeup this is a big difference). Besides a thin veil of foundation, I'm blending Coffee Pencil, £14, MAC with Mixing medium, £15, MAC and smudging it onto lids for an imperfect finish; I'm also patting Lustre Drops £18, MAC onto the top of cheekbones for a 'controlled shine'." At this point a journalist quizzed Crocquet on why she chose this product. "It's incredibly transparent and catches the light perfectly." Well, that's a good enough answer for us. Another product to add to the shopping list!
PFW: Just Woken Up Muses at Giambattista Valli
"Simple, beautiful makeup," said Val Garland of the luminescent, glowing Valli girl. "The designer was inspired by an artist's muse who has just woken up. This inimitable glow came courtesy of MAC Pro Sculpting Cream in Copper Beach with MAC Cream Color Base, £15, in Pearl layered on top. "There are no hard lines," continued Garland. "I'm using MAC SS14 Trend Forecast Eye Palette (available to buy now) to create a seamless, rose-gold, mauve eye - the cream-based colours combined give lids a 'tea-stained' effect." On lips, Val mixed the pink and nude shades from the same palette with MAC Mixing Medium, £15, for a muted rose finish.
Note To Self: Must get hands on this SS14 Palette.
On hair, Orlando Pita wasn't able to chat (it happens!) But this is his gorgeous creation for the Valli girl.
And when we're not backstage...
We're smelling the roses, eating delicious breakfasts, drinking coffees, snapping more shots of the Eiffel tower and hanging out with MAC pr Charlotte!
PFW: Plenty Of Fish In The Sea at Kenzo
"Think punk meets California surfer," said makeup genius Aaron De Mey of the edgy, ultra-cool Kenzo girl. "The main focus is the blunt, zinc-like, white lines on the upper lids that I created with MAC white acrylic paint." And why did he opt for white? "I tried black and it was too heavy for Spring Summer; plus there are white ripples seen throughout the collection so I wanted the makeup to complement the patterns."
The white linear theme continued into nails as seen here…
Naomi Yasuda for MAC painted on two coats of MAC, £11, nail lacquer in Nocturnelle. Then using a fine brush, we're sweeping on white, fine streaks for a wave-like effect.
Backstage Buzz: The girls painted over 500 nails before 9am. Now that's impressive!
Hair: Do not try this at home.
"You know when you've tonged hair badly it gets those kinks and jagged bends? Well we're kind of doing that," admits GLAMOUR's favourite Anthony Turner for L'Oreal Professionnel. "The girls are part of a gang in LA; they have an androgynous feel and have gone overboard with products, "We've smoothed in L'Oreal Professionnel Pli, £11.05, from roots to tips, created a deep side part and then slicked it back on one side." At this point Turner acted out a John Travolta in Grease slick-back-hair action. "To finish, I'm adding my trusted Infinium hairspray, £2.75, L'Oreal Professionnel."
PFW: Natural Beauties at Chloe
Don't roll your eyes! We know... Au Naturel has powered its way through one too many shows this season. But the truth is this: If any show has the right to do the 'no-makeup, raw look' it's Chloe. "Today is all about luminous skin," said Diane Kendal of the bare-faced beauties. "This season she's more girly and feminine in a hippy style." We're sweeping MAC, £14, Powerpoint Eye Pencil in Duck along the waterline and then patting it away to create that 'remnants of eye makeup'. I'm curling lashes, adding subtle contours underneath cheekbones and dabbing lipbalm onto lids - in other words she truly is the classic, minimalist Chloe girl this season."
The same nonchalant coolness continued into hair. We were told the Chloe girl is intellectual, but still a little grunge - it should appear as if she hasn't done anything to style it; and that's exactly what the ever-smiling hair genius James Pecis delivered. "They all have clean, centre partings; and were quite simply giving them luxe, soft blowdries. I couldn't do it without Tigi Queen For A Day Thickening Spray, £11.95 - it's my go-to for some (much needed) extra lift and life.
And with that, it's clear: Chloe reigns as the queen of cool... again.
And when we're not backstage...
We're eating cakes at Angelina, drinking cappuccinos-a-plenty, wearing ultra high heels and snapping the Eiffel Tower. PFW: Roman Statues meet Oxfam shoppers at Vivienne Westwood
Confused? You're supposed to be - it's Vivienne Westwood! "The girl today is in EC1" explained makeup maverick Val Garland. "After shopping in Oxfam she was splashed by mud while waiting for her bus."
Val described this look as "dirty" so you may want to leave this for the catwalk but just so you know, this is what she used...
"We're adding moisturiser and a touch of foundation where needed. We're then splatting MAC Acrylic Paint onto their skin for a mud-like effect."
See Val's kit here:
Just as we started to understand this seasons Westwood girl, hair extraordinaire Sam McKnight led us down a completely different path... "Today the girls are Roman statues. Vivienne loves height so we're creating tall silhouettes by backcombing the hair, curling it and pinning it up. We're also using a lot of hairspray (GHD Final Fix Hairspray, £9.95) and when I say a lot, I mean a lot."
Oxfam girls who look like Roman statues also have their nails painted: Cue Marian Newman. "The nails today are distressed, trashed and archaeological," said the backstage talon queen. "It's like they've been digging in the ground. I'm painting basecoats in Quiet Time or Skin and then adding flecks of Rougemarie, Flaming Rose or Forest Green, all £11 by MAC.
Three references - no correlation - and that's why we absolutely love Dame Vivienne.
PFW: Meet the Cool Girls at Vanessa Bruno
The low-maintenance, outrageously cool girl has moved from the Marant mayhem to the Bruno backstage, and we mean that literally.
Girls were being ferried (may we add by motorcycles) from the Marant catwalk to the Bruno backstage. "Another ones arrived!" Yelped the show assistants every five minutes. Amidst the pandemonium we spotted Wella's Eugene Soulieman. "I'm not stressed," he said. "I don't get stressed. And as hardly any girls have arrived, let me talk you through the look." And this is what he said...
"She's the typical Bruno girl - she has that je ne sais quoi but doesn't care. I'm creating an effortless texture with Ocean Spritz Sea Salt Spray, £8.90 Wella. I'm then twisting hair tightly and blow-drying it for a dusty, textured look. To finish, I'm tying a ponytail towards the ends for a 2-day-old, cool (yes, the word cool was used a lot) look."
Lucia Pieroni, on her last show of the entire season gave us "early 90s skater girls". How? "Natural is the key. I'm not even using base if I can help it," said Pieroni of the outdoorsy, fresh-faced Bruno girl.
Lucia's kit as seen here:
MAC Cream Colour Base in Shell and Lunar, £15 on inner corners of eyes and blended into the cheekbones. MAC Casual Colour in Have A Lovely Day (out 2014) layered on top of Lucia's favourite product Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Groundwork , £15 MAC: "The two together create an earthy tan and a pink flush," said Pica.
MAC Velvetease Lip Pencil in Aim To Please for a natural lip colour.
Our thoughts? Total Bruno Babes!
PFW: Drop Dead Gorgeous at Isabel Marant (of course).
Everything about Isabel Marant is ridiculously cool. It's that low-maintenance, I've-done-nothing-but-still-look-amazing nonchalance that most of us spend hours - if we're being honest - trying to achieve. And to continue that theme of not trying, Isabel doesn't even have to push for the big models. "I requested to walk in the show," said Georgia May Jagger backstage. "She's one of my favourite designers and I was so excited to see the new collection."
Keeping Georgia May company on the catwalk were Andreea Diaconu, Bette Franke, Magdalena Frackowiak and Karmen Pedaru - to name a few.
But something was a little different this season. It's not going to make you jump out of your seats or anything, but it's kind of a big deal in the beauty world. "The Isabel Marant girl is famous for no-make up, raw beauty. But this season she's glowing and sun-kissed," explained makeup artist Christelle Cocquet. "I'm giving the girls some much-needed TLC by massaging in Homeoplasmine, £13.50 and Embryolisse, £17.49 - yes, it's the same product again - and then prepping skin with my magic pot AKA Mixing Medium in Sheer, MAC."
Cocquet went on to explain that this season the Marant girl has just got back from holiday, and she's now hanging out on the streets of Paris or New York. The Marant golden glow came courtesy of Sun Beam, £19.50 Benefit and Lustre Drops, £18 MAC. The rest is the same as always: Transparent mascara and a touch up on brows - and that is all.
On hair, Didier Malige was adding extensions for a fuller effect. "She's got back from holiday and has healthy, great hair," explained Malige. "I'm smoothing in HairBody, £10.15 Osis into wet hair and then adding Satin Design Polishing Milk, £22 Shu Uemura for the perfect, natural blowdry.
Another season, another sigh. Oh how we want to be an Isabel Marant girl.
PFW: A love story at Issey Miyake
Paris is known as the city of love; so it made perfect sense that makeup genius Alex Box referenced the Issey look as "tender, innocent and romantic - you want to feel the makeup rather than see it." Box massaged and prepped the girls' skin with Embryolisse, £17.49 - a cult product spotted backstage in every city this season. She then applied foundation mixed with Strobe Cream, £23.50 MAC. "There are no matte textures - it should all have an opalescent, glowing finish," she explained. Using oversized makeup brushes Box dusted Eyeshadow in Vex Frost, £12.50 MAC "in a poetic way; I'm not sticking to a specific technique. This look may seem simple... But it's not easy teaching people how to feel makeup, especially when they're used to a step-by-step lesson." One thing's for sure... We're feeling it!
Hair: It was only our favourite Eugene Souleiman for Wella. "Elegant mohicans," he said. "Sleek and chic from the front with a bushier, matte texture at the back. Think light, minimal and clean."
Eugene's 2 key products: Ocean Spritz Sea Salt Spray, £8.90 Wella Hairspray, £10.50 Wella
PFW: And we're off!
Welcome to the fourth and final city of SS14. We've travelled, trend-spotted and taken over 3000 photos on our phones (fact); and now we're at our last stop: Paris. After a 5am wakeup call (what we do to make sure you get the beauty lowdown), an extra hot, extra-large, extra strong cappuccino - from Le Pain de Quotidien to be precise - and a speedy Eurostar trip; we made it!
And this is what we saw...
