10 Runway makeup trends for Autumn/Winter 2012-2013

Prepare yourselves a nice cup of coffee, or tea: this is a seriously lengthy read!

In this post, I've gathered my 10 favourite makeup looks from this season's runways. Feel free to take notes in order to replicate them: I can assure you, they're all wearable and stunning! Mind you, 6 out of 10 were created by Pat McGrath... The woman is a genius!

Ok, that was a lie: the last couple of makeup looks are probably runway-only material, though they can be easily adapted to something less scary/clownish.

Let's start, shall we?

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Michael Kors: CHERRY RED CHEEKS
I love this kind of makeup. It's effortless, so easy to put together, while the cool-toned lipstick&blush combo brighten up the skin to make it glow!!! According to Marie Claire, the makeup artists at Shiseido said the rosy cheeks were meant to look like a "bloody, wonky flush, like after a morning of skiing, an hour in a hot tub or some good sex". At the risk of sounding too prudish, I find this makeup to look more like you've spent an hour out in the cold rather than having had good sex- but, I digress ;)

Point of story:
Dig out your cheek stains + cherry red lipsticks, and put them into good use!

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Nina Ricci: OMBRE LIPS
The first of the makeup looks created by Pat McGrath. I so much prefer that kind of ombre lip than the opposite, with the dark colour worn on the perimeter of the lips! Despite the fierce red tones of the lip colours involved in this look, I think it manages to have a romantic vibe to it. Maybe it's the sheer brown haze aroung the eyes that makes everything softer and more feminine!

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Gucci: DARK ROMANCE
This is how Pat McGrath described the makeup; she couldn't be more accurate! The models' lips are lined with a bordeaux pencil, followed with a dab of red pigment in the center and some clear gloss to top it off. The eyebrows are bleached in this look- which, let's be honest, it's something us normal women wouldn't do to ourselves! However, if you're blonde with light brows and blue eyes, this makeup will look amazing on you ;)

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Jean Paul Gaultier: MODERN '20s

Above all, one has to give credit to Gaultier's genius: the beaded headpieces and the golden chokers look lush! The makeup is equally as gorgeous: smudged charcoal smokey eyes, combined with a fire-engine red lip. If anything, it proves that the "focus on either eyes or lips" makeup rule is pretty dated, don't you think?

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Roberto Cavalli: PEACOCK SMOKEY EYE
Ahhh, the extravagant flair of Cavalli is all condensed into a colourful smokey eye! Pat McGrath smudged some Covergirl black liquid eyeliner on the models' eyelids and covered it with pops of purple, green and gold pigments, then shaping the outer corner into a winged smokey eye. Lisa Eldridge made recently a Youtube vid showcasing that technique, do check it out if you haven't already ;)

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Jason Wu: REFRESHED 40's
According to Style.com, makeup artist Diane Kendal wanted to blend the Old Hollywood style with the warrior look that was reflected on the designer's collection. Granted, the emerald eyeshadow is not what women in the 40's wore, though the winged shape of the eyeshadow and the clean lower lashline clearly echoes the eyeliner flick of that era. Either way, this makeup should look stunning on brown eyes- yay ;)

So, the emerald winged eyeshadow was achieved with Mac Powerpoint Eye Pencil in Tealo smudged on the lids, and Mac Eye Kohl in Minted blended into the crease. Mac Club eyeshadow was combined with Kelly Green pigment and blended on top of the pencils' base; the top lash line was traced with Eye Kohl in Blooz, with a black cream liner used at the very corner of the eye to extend the elongated shape. Haute and Naughty mascara was used on top lashes only, while lips were kept bare with Mac Lip Conditioner.

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Burberry Prorsum: SOFT VELVET 
I'm pretty sure it was Burberry makeup that was used in this look, sadly I can't find any information online for the actual products used! But that's beside the point, the makeup looks fabulous as it is: flawless skin, strong eyebrows, soft chocolate eyes, contoured cheeks... Effortless perfection!

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Valentino: MONOCHROMATIC CHIC
It seems that every season, the Italian fashion house chooses the "no makeup" look for its runway shows- it's a good thing the makeup was a tad more exciting this autumn! Pat McGrath was inspired by the iconic 70's models Penelope Tree and Anjelica Huston, and created a modern monotone look that is uber chic and ladylike. The eyeshadows used in this looks are all from the CoverGirl Eye Enhancers 4-Kit Shadow in Urban Basics, in case you were interested ;)

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Anna Sui: COBALT BLUE EYELINER
According to Style.com: for this graphic eyeliner look, Pat McGrath was inspired by the Eames' style of design, Alexander Girard and mid-century/early 60's. A fabric in the Anna Sui collection set the colour of the eyeliner, thus creating that fun and playful eye makeup. Products used: CoverGirl Liquiline Blast Eyeliner in Blue Moon, Eye Enhancer in Indigo Impact, a white pencil on the inner rim of the eye, and a sweep of Covergirl Lash Perfection mascara.

[The blue dot on the lower lashline was hand-coloured, hand-cut sticker that matched the colour of the eyeliner.]

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Lanvin: PURR-FECT CAT EYES
McGrath strikes again. In order to reflect the empowered and free woman of Lanvin, she created an exaggerated black cat eye that looks glossy on some photos, while on others it turns to a softer cat eye, probably created with eyeshadow instead of eyeliner. On the lips, she used the CoverGirl NatureLuxe Gloss Balm in Marble, the same that was utilised for the Valentino look.

I hope you found some invaluable inspiration from these makeup looks, because I sure did! As much as I love each end every one of them, if I was to pick just one makeup look to wear all through winter, it would definitely be the one worn at Michael Kors.

I can't wait to read your comments:
out of these 10 makeup looks, which one is your favourite?

Evi   xx