Makeup on the runway

eyeshadow for Jour/Ne, blue eyeshadow for Marni, pink eyeshadow for Pascal Millet, green eyeliner along lower lash lines for Altuzarra, and blue eyeliner under the eyes for Elie Saab

Metallic blue eyeliner around the eyes for H&M, neon eyeliner for Dior, graphic racing stripes for Louis Vuitton, neon lashes for Dries Van Noten, and bold matte red lip for Alexander McQueen

Lipstick in shades of bright green or blue for Maison Margiela, smudged eyeshadow around the eyes for Jacquemus, black eyeliner on the outer corners of the eyes for Paco Rabanne, black eyeliner around the eyes with big, crimped hair for Sonia Rykiel, and smudgy winged eyeliner around the eyes with bouffant hair ala Brigitte Bardot for Miu Miu

I’m not exactly the most fashion forward person out there, but if anything about runway shows excites me, it is the iconic hair and makeup looks that brands come up with to represent themselves.

When I was younger, I liked fashion shows for the clothes. That is what fashion shows are usually about after all. I liked looking at what makes a particular set of clothes a collection. What about it reflects the designer. How unique certain designers are and if they have their own styles, or whether they just end up copying each other.

However, as I got older and after I became part of this industry, I learned to assess hair and makeup instead. I think it’s a liability of the job description. Whatever situation, I cannot help but make a quick assessment of hair and makeup. What more during fashion shows?

Let’s take a look at the iconic runway looks from the recent Paris Fashion Week.

Looks went from au naturel, to the subtle, and then headed for the extreme.

Naturally beautiful looks primarily featured full brushed up brows for that deliberately unkempt finish.

Another way this was highlighted was with simple flushed cheeks.

Other ways a pop of color was incorporated on faces apart from blush was with the use of eyeshadow, eyeliner or lipstick — proving that a little color never hurt anyone, as long as you kept the rest of the face neutral. Paris Fashion Week featured a lot of these subtle uses of color. They actually made me want to try incorporating colored eyeliner to my everyday look just for fun.

If playing around with colorful makeup isn’t for you, there were also several looks that made use of neutral shadows and black eyeliner. A little bit on the more conservative side, yet just as fashionable and runway-worthy.

And what kind of a runway would it be if it didn’t have glitz and shine?

Chanel found a way to incorporate that in a muted way with bronze eyeshadow and highlights that were applied from temples to cheeks. The haphazardly done top-knot completes the look.

Then we have Thom Browne’s hair on the other end of the spectrum, slicked back using gold metallic paint and paired with hints of gold eyeshadow on the inner corners of the eyes.

And if that isn’t enough shine with gold, Akris managed to feature gold foil on the eyelids with black eyeliner at the bottom.

Out of all these interesting and notable runway looks, the one that stood out the most was Val Garland’s creation for Giambattista Valli. She layered lip gloss and blew glitter on faces to create her look.

Now, that is a definite way to standout on the runway. Totally unforgettable. If your face sparkles like a galaxy, I’m pretty sure no one can possibly miss that. However, great for the runway, a pass for the everyday. (Anyone who has used glitter knows how hard they are to clean up. Apply at your own risk!) Thom Brown (left), and Giambattista Valli