One of the most surprising beauty trends to emerge from the Spring/Summer 2014 runway shows in Paris, New York and Milan was the colour white. Makeup artists used white liner, shadow and even lipstick to accent luminous, radiant complexions. It was the perfect complement to the whole natural beauty trend and a nice addition to the white fashion palette.
“White is the key colour for me this season,” says Tom Pecheux. “It brings such freshness and brings out the features on a slightly deeper skin. It’s beautiful and pure.” He’s such a fan of the look that he used it in almost every show he did for spring.
“I call it a moon-lit approach,” adds MAC Pro Artist Jane McKay. She says new light-reflecting makeup with opalescent clarity have an energetic, humid sportiness that makes them part of the “healthy” story that is omnipresent for spring/summer 2014. “It’s another mode of looking at the way that light works on skin,” explains Terry Barber. Pro artist Alex Box, who creates the makeup looks each season for Alexander McQueen, says glazes of whites and lights on the high points gives cheeks an immediate contour without adding any colour.
“The easiest way for women to wear this trend is with a white eyeliner pencil,” says McKay. She’s personally a big fan of MAC’s Eye Kohl in “Fascinating. “A think line of white along the lash line looks great on any skin tone and is fool proof. I would wear this without any mascara or brow pencil. That would make the line look too chunky.” She says that matte white shadow is difficult to use. She suggests using white with reflective qualities. “Always exfoliate your skin first if you plan to use white. You need a smooth canvas to work on.”
“I like to accent super-skin with flashes of white, shimmer and frosting,” says Val Garland. “It instantly adds an unreferenced, avant-garde mood to the makeup.” The key to pulling off this look is to use a light-reflecting foundation or moisturizer such as MAC’s Strobe Cream. The white makeup plays off dewy skin. Keep the eye and lip makeup minimal which keeps the focus on the white accent. Applying a tiny amount of white shadow in the corner of the eyes adds brightness and opens up the eyes making them appear larger as is seen in this Alexis Mabille show for spring/summer.