From the return of the banana clip to natural hair texture and even fringed nail extensions (yes, you read that correctly) designers at New York Fashion Week served up all manner of Instagram-worthy beauty looks. Here’s all the inspiration you need…

No make-up make-up

Seen at: Michael Kors, Adeam, Victoria Beckham

Bare, glowing skin was seen at many a show during NYFW, and the trick to achieving it wasn’t illuminating primers and copious amounts of highlighter, but a pre-show facial. Make-up artist Hung Vanngo injected a dose of hydration to skin at Michael Kors, while at Victoria Beckham the models had a Foreo 90-Second UFO Face Mask Treatment – a fusion of LED light therapy to stimulate collagen production, with thermo and cryo-therapy to help the active ingredients in the mask penetrate deeper. 

Post-treatment, lead make-up artist for Victoria Beckham, Pat McGrath, applied base only where needed for skin that looked fresh, dewy and bare. The trick to the make-up element of no make-up make-up is a “strong brow and a natural lip,” revealed Sada Ito, global artistry director at Nars, backstage at Adeam. “Against the beautiful gowns, we wanted the girls to look as if they were wearing no make-up at all so we used NARSskin Optimal Brightening Concentrate, £51, and Natural Radiant Longwear Foundation, £35, for bare-faced perfection. We then applied neutral colours to create a light and warmth that looked natural. Layers of Nars Copacabana Illuminator, £23, were worked into cheeks. Brows were filled in and set using velvety Nars Brow Perfector, £18.50, and Nars Brow Gel, £18.50. We dotted Nars Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow in Rigel, £21, on the centre of the lids and applied a touch of mascara to finish,” explains Ito.

Smokey eyes

Seen at: Tom Ford, Carolina Herrera

At Tom Ford, Pat McGrath created a Sixties-inspired ‘street’ look. A fusion of Ford’s classic smokey eye and the ‘Edie Sedgwick black cool-girl eye’ to create a modern, silvery black incarnation. Following suit at Carolina Herrera, Diane Kendal put her own twist on the smokey eye by using a navy blue hue for a “rock’n’roll vibe,” says Kendal. How it’s done? Lids were lined with Mac Modern Twist Kajal Liner in Ocean Liner, £15, not only along the upper and lower lash line and tear duct but also in the socket of the eye to create the desired shape and for a stronger colour pay-off. Edges were buffed out and diffused with a brush before Kendal patted Mac Pigment in Naval Blue, £16.50, over the eyelid and blended around the inner and outer corner of the eye. She then used Mac Pigment in Platinum, £16.50, for a pop of highlight on the tear duct and coated models top lashes with Mac Haute & Naughty Lash Mascara, £20, to amplify, lift and define. 

Comb marks

Seen at: Hugo Boss, Prabal Gurung, Alexander Wang

“There’s a move away from organic hair this season as styles become more ‘done’,” revealed hair stylist Anthony Turner backstage at Hugo Boss. For this show Turner created a minimal look that still felt stylised and had a nod to androgyny. His intentional comb marks are what stood out – a symbol of using tools to get your desired look over simply using your fingers to nonchalantly do your hair. Turner also used stretchy comb headbands at Prabal Gurung to get that ‘clawed’ effect at the front of the head, while the return of the banana clip at Alexander Wang left deliberately visible ‘comb marks’ in the hair too. To keep the separation in place, “I spritzed hair with hairspray, created my comb marks then set with the Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer,” explains Turner.

Ornate nails

Seen at: Creatures of Comfort, Libertine 

There’s a real sense of playfulness when it come to nails this season and there were no limits to what could be used to adorn nails at NYFW. From crystals and beads to floor-length fringing – subtle these looks are not. At Creatures of Comfort, manicurist Deborah Lippmann painted short almond-shaped nails jet black and topped with a humongous solitary Swarovski crystal. While at Libertine, CND’s Jan Arnold created a number of fringed nail ‘extensions’. Appliqué flowers were applied to some, while others had ombre or beaded versions. 

Natural texture

Seen at: Coach 1941, Oscar De La Renta, Brandon Maxwell

“Embracing texture is set to continue,” says hair stylist James Pecis. “It’s the biggest change in the last 15 years of hair; if you look back to only five years ago, most girls with afro-textured hair wore weaves. Just look at the Brandon Maxwell show, it’s a great example of showcasing natural textures.” At Maxwell, hair was parted down the centre, smoothed down on either side and worn in a low pony that was full of movement and respected each model’s natural hair texture. Those with afro-textured hair were able to let their hair do its thing and styling products were used to give the hair a healthy shine. At Coach, hair stylist Guido Palau created wet-look waves, and at Oscar De La Renta, Orlando Pita opted for sleek centre partings and textured lengths.

Moody Lips 

Seen at: Bottega Veneta, Cushnie Et Ochs, Jonathan Simkhai 

We’ve been seeing Nineties lips on and off for years and this season New York showed some beautiful interpretations. At Jonathan Simkhai, models rocked an edgy rusty orange while at Bottega Veneta, Pat McGrath bedecked lips with her Lust MatteTrance Lipstick in Divine Brown – a striking, deep brick red that gave us My So-Called Life feels. Another look that was distinctly reminiscent of the Nineties was the ‘python lips’ at Cushnie Et Ochs. Make-up artist James Kaliardos used a rich matte plum that he layered on. To begin, lips were drawn in with liner, then a coat of matte plum liquid lipstick sat on top. To finish Kaliardos used a pop of gold lip shadow on the cupid’s bow. 

Images: REX