Paris Fashion Week Beauty Blog

Backstage photos, news, interviews and more

Stylist's Sam Flowers reports live from the shows.'' A trek through the Himalayas is the look at Maiyet, while aerodynamic eyes and wetlook hair is what's going on at Giambattista Valli...

P.S. Don't miss the beauty blogs from Milan Fashion Week, London Fashion Week and New York Fashion Week and you can leave us a message in the comments section below or @StylistBeauty

Backstage Photos: Taken on the powerful HTC One X+ with instant image capture and Beats Audio™

DAY 4

merci

So, that's it. Four cities. Over seventy shows. 2,000 coffees (and counting. I'm not back in London yet) and I'm done.

I hope you've enjoyed following me over the last month and I've managed to get you as excited for all the autumn/winter trends to come as I am. Why not leave me a note below and let me know which one is your favourite...

Thanks so much for joining me on this travelling circus that is Fashion Month. See you next season!

Sam xx

ps

...just in case you haven't had enough of me, click here and follow me on the Stylist Wedding Blog. I have ELEVEN weeks and counting. No more of these then :(

Au Revoir

GIAMBATTISTA VALLI

make-up

Here's make-up artist Val Garland showing us exactly where to place the glossy highlight to elongate the eye at Giambattista Valli.

The key is in the tools. This flat brush that was invaluable in creating the aerodynamic shape. Under the lights this perfect stroke of highlight looked almost cellophane like as it jumped off the skin.

"Its kinda cool don't you think?" Yes Val, we do!

hair

Orlando Pita mirrored Val's cellophane eye in the super sleek and shiny hair.

He used tonnes of hairspray to get the wetlook effect (I can vouch for that, I think I breathed half of it in. Note to self: do not stand directly behind a hair stylist with a can of Elnett in his hand), blowdried into hair and slicked down the back using a teasing brush. A comb would have left grooves which wouldnt have reflected the light as well and Valli likes everything to be perfect.

good morning from MAIYET...

Where Tom Pecheux is working his magic to turn models into beautiful travellers wandering through the Himalayas.

Maybe if we took MAC eyeshadows in Tailor Grey and Camel Coat with us when we went travelling, we would have looked this glamorous too.

To match the powdery clay-coloured lids, Marian Newman used Kure Bazaar nail polish in Sophisticate:

With the end of the month drawing near, there's only two things that the backstage crew want to be greeted with at 8am: coffee and bacon sandwiches:

DAY 3

CHLOE

"The inspiration behind the collection at Chloe is Northern girls on a night out," explained makeup artist Diane Kendal. Ok. So that's the second time I have heard that this season. Clearly I am in fashion. They must have been inspired by my forthcoming hen party...

However, there wasn't a Geordie tan or a Scouse brow in sight backstage as Diane set to work creating a "handsome, boyish" look intended to contrast with the clothes.

diane's kit

sam rollinson takes the stylist backstage beauty quiz

So what with the collection being inspired by Northern girls and all, there was only one model I wanted to take the Stylist Backstage Beauty Quiz today.

Sam Rollinson, a backstage beauty from Doncaster (my end of the world), who is refreshingly unaffected by everything going on around her. Sam is hot on Cara D's heels this season, having walked in 53 shows and counting. She only had six fittings to go to this evening. Good luck for the last few days of the season Sam...

The models arriving fresh from the Celine show were carrying these...

Inside I caught sight of a cream leather bag and a pair of sunglasses. I wasn't tempted at all...

there he is again...

Remember him from Kenzo this morning? It's Mr Anthony Turner. There was no other way to describe AT than excited because he was quite frankly grinning from ear to ear, "it's my first time doing the hair at Chloe," he told us, "so I wanted to do something different."

"Chloe hair" is usually soft, pretty hair, but this season Anthony wanted to make his mark. "It's slightly stronger, more masculine. I'm spraying TIGI Your Highness Root Boost into damp hair, drying through, side-parting and then pulling into a low pony using a Mason Pearson brush to smooth any flyaways."

Finish with a liberal dose of L'Oreal Professionnel Infinium hairspray and Bob's your uncle.

Northern lass does Parisian cool.

on the catwalk

KENZO

Karlie Kloss works it for the camera (phones)

And Lindsey Wixson eyes us up...

through her evil eye ring.

make-up

It's 9am on Sunday morning. It's the final 48 hours of a long, fashion-fuelled month. Everyone is feeling a little sleepy. Everyone that is except make-up artist Aaron de May who was enthusing about the benefits of no mascara.

"Its just cooler, less try hard. Ok, I get its like a security blanket for some of you but maybe try applying it only to the roots of the lashes for slight definition and leaving the rest of the lash clean. Promise me you'll try it." Erm, yes ok Aaron.

Anyway, onto the look...

Aaron channelled Stanley Kubrick in India when it came to this eye. Kajal-like, smoky and extended, he gave it a punk attitude by adding a dash of clear lipgloss to the centre of the lid.

hair

One of Stylist Beauty Desk's favourites, Anthony Turner, was working with excess amounts of Morocconoil Curl Control Mousse and Cream.

"In the way a teenage boy would apply way too much" to make the hair stringy and separated in texture.

nails

Manicurist Marian Newman is one hardworking lady. She went straight home after Loewe last night and got to work creating these pigment diffused nails (41 girls walking in Kenzo means 410 individual nails to make).

She painted Impress Stick On nails with a glossy black polish, waited until they were almost dry and rolled the edge of one side into a Mac pigment that matched the clothing (red, gunmetal, purple, midnight blue) to create the illusion that the clothes were reflecting off the nails.

good morning from KENZO

DAY 2

LOEWE

It's Saturday night so it's completely fitting then that Loewe's woman is going out to dinner.

"She's a rich uptown woman who doesn't mind doing her own hair. She's too cool to go to the salon," Redken's Creative Director Guido Paolo explained, while prepping hair with Redken Full Frame Mousse.

He then blow-dried with a round brush before backcombing the front section, then pulling it all into a voluminous low pony at the nape of the neck.

"Whilst it looks 'done', the exposed hair elastic gives away the fact she's actually done in herself."

Our kinda girl.

all hands on deck at loewe

Panic stations backstage tonight. Every little helps.

VIVIENNE WESTWOOD GOLD LABEL

make-up

This season's theme at Vivienne Westwood Gold Label is 'The Crusaders'.

Vivienne became so completely inspired by the Medieval era that she did Sam and make-up artist Val Garland's research for them. She knew it all.

"Think David Bowie from Life on Mars meets Westwood Medieval Madness," encouraged Val Garland.

This is the result: the most matte, white skin possible, skinny barely-visible lips and eye sockets that have been hollowed out using acid-green, yellow or cyan blue MAC pro-paints all applied with cotton wool for a softly blurred effect.

"Her man's gone off to the crusades and she's left all alone in her castle waiting for him to return." Oh, Viv. We love the way your mind works.

hair

Question: Why were plastic garment bags the most important thing backstage at Westwood?

Answer: Because Sam McKnight was using them to braid the models' hair.

Sam was using long strips of fabric from the collection within strips of plastic to braid the models' hair, either in two long plaits down the back or one wrapped around the head.

NAILS

Nail artist Marian Newman' s long, pointed false nails on the hands of each model were inspired by stained glass windows.

how to

- Blend a sheer blue shade by adding a clear top coat to half a bottle of blue polish

- Paint one coat into nails

- Trim Nail Rock nail stickers in Gold into thin strips and apply to the edges.

npa: new product alert

We've seen false nails at Victoria by Victoria Beckham in NYC, Mark Fast in London and now at Westwood in Paris. Always one step ahead of the game, Zoe Pocock (the brains behind Nail Rock) told me to look out for "Rock Hold" - a range of pre-glued stick on neon nails she's launching in April.

ON THE CATWALK

And those braids...

DAY 1

VANESSA BRUNO

hair

Want the Vanessa Bruno '90s-chic-meets-teenage-grunge hair?

Eugene Souleiman explains how...

- Give hair a good wash using a clarifying shampoo. (He used Wella Professional SP shampoo and conditioner).

- Blowdry straight using a round brush.

- Twist hair into a rope, spritz Wella Ocean Spritz down the length and pin into a low bun at the nape of the neck.

- Heat with a hairdryer for a minute and then uncoil.

Et voilà! Instant Parisian chic.

make-up

Backstage at Vanessa Bruno, Lucia Pieroni (possibly one of the busiest backstage women this season) told us the one product she couldn't live without: Mac Paint Pot in Groundwork.

Lucia sweeps this minky-brown cream shadow over eyelids for a chic no-make-up look, or buffs it across the cheeks using a Mac 188 brush (her favourite brush) for a healthy, outdoorsy flush. And I will be doing so too. As soon as I get my hands on it.

power pairing

Second backstage appearance today from make-up artist Lucia Pieroni and Wella's Eugene Souleiman....

healthiest backstage of the season award goes to

....Vanessa Bruno.

ISSEY MIYAKE

Ok, so this might look a little reminiscent of troll doll hair but I kind of am obsessed with it.

Bouncy, airy and fun, Eugene Souleiman called this nod to an '80s goth girl hair "organised chaos."

Eugene used Perfect Setting to hydrate the ends and Ocean Spritz on the roots for airy texture....

Essentially stemming from a high pony, Eugene prepped hair with Wella Ocean Spritz, blow dried it in and back-combed the roots and then straightened the lengths. Pulling into a high pony with his hands, he let pieces fall out and then pinned them up "erratically" pulling pieces and pinning to finish.

lightening strikes at issey...

How amazing is this makeup by Lucia Pieroni?

Mix oodles of Mac strobe cream with tinted moisturiser for a super glowy base then add Bowie-esque bolts of light to the cheekbones using a business card held at an angle against your cheekbone then buffing on Pink Opal and White pigments using the 224 Mac makeup brush. LOVE.

on the catwalk

when in paris

...one must make time for a pit stop at Angelina's.

ROLAND MOURET

My first show in Paris is Roland Mouret so it's off to the Westin hotel to hang out with hairstylist Orlando Pita and make-up marvel Val Garland...

"Were channelling Catherine Deneuve in the 1983 film The Hunger," explains Orlando. "She wears a low, round bun in the film but that can look ageing so we modernised it by turning it into a sleek French pleat, finished with lashings of Morroconoil Glimmer Spray for added sheen."

Pair with Val's sexy smoky eye for optimum late-night glamour:

Val Garland knows how to rock a statement nail:

Nars Cream Blush in Penny Lane, Lip Gloss in Vendome and Cream Compact Foundation make a smoky statement eye seem young and fresh.

These products have made the journey with me from New York Fashion Week, through LFW, into Milan and now they're in Paris. To make it through the month and not get ditched half way through is really saying something. Its saying that they're REALLY good.