This New York Fashion Week has brought us crystal face masks and pearls worn like freckles, but if you’re looking for more practical beauty ideas, we’ve got you covered. The Cut went backstage at the shows to try and extract usable, everyday beauty tips from all the experts. Here are the five best things we’ve learned — from a simple-but-genius lipstick trick to an easy way to keep your braid looking smooth.
1. Use Lipstick All Over Your Face.
Makeup artist Grace Lee made an excellent case for taking shortcuts backstage at Cushnie. In a classic makeup-artist trick (also seen on Beyoncé), she used lipstick in places other than the lips. To create the pretty, universally flattering terra-cotta beauty look, Lee mixed two shades of Maybelline’s Color Sensational Made For All Lipstick in Mauve For Me and Spice For Me and applied it everywhere: to eyelids, cheeks, and lips. The end result was a long-lasting monochromatic beauty base with a ’70s feel.
2. Draw Some Lines on Your Eyelids.
Excellent news: The easiest eyeliner trend of all time isn’t going anywhere. At 3.1 Phillip Lim, Diane Kendal created a very minimalist beauty look focusing on natural skin and graphic eyeliner from soon-to-be-released sustainable brand Unframe the Beauty. Kendal used white liquid liner to draw just above the crease, leaving a gap in the middle and slanting a line down on the other side.
Short strokes of purple liner were drawn underneath the inner corners, and the rest of the face was left looking natural and fresh. “Unframe the Beauty is about thinking outside the box and being more playful with makeup, and this look is about showing how you can use eyeliner in a different, non-conventional way,” Kendal explained.
3. Wear Twice As Much Eyeliner As Everyone Else.
Do you look at the neon eyeliner trend and think, No, that’s too easy? If you want to try a more advanced look, legendary makeup artist Pat McGrath has a suggestion. Anna Sui models walked the runway with double eyeliner. The first: a wide rim of black liquid liner (McGrath Labs Perma Precision Liquid Eyeliner). The second: a halo of colored eyeliner at the eye socket, in melodramatic purple or teal.
4. Spray Dry Shampoo on Your Braid.
Suppose you want a braid that looks as precise as braided challah. You want a sharp braid, not a bohemian one. Redken’s creative director Guido Palau’s trick is to use a cocktail mix of hair texturizers. Start your classic three-strand braid, but before you take one strand of hair to cross over the other, dip your finger into dry shampoo (he likes Redken Dry Shampoo Paste 05) to give it grip. Spray it with hairspray to tame any flyaways, and then cross it over. Repeat down the length of hair.
5. Add a Barrette to Your Ponytail
Everyone at Fashion Week was wearing hair pinned back with barrettes, but we like them in a ponytail, too. The low ponys at Oscar De La Renta looked especially pretty and luxe with hair ornaments gathered at the nape of the neck. If you don’t want to buy anything, look for leftover Christmas wrapping — a velvet ribbon also works.