Image: Nars International Lead Stylist Jane Richardson, and German model Anna Veronika
If you haven’t heard of Guo Pei before, you might know her as the designer of that iconic “omelette” gown that Rihanna wore to last year’s Met Ball. Well, the very same renowned haute couture designer from China is opening the show this year at Singapore Fashion Week, and we went backstage with Nars International Lead Stylist Jane Richardson to find out how to get the runway look.
With Guo Pei’s show, the look was all about playing up the eyes. Keep reading for all the insider tips and tricks you need to try it out for yourself at home.
Image: Guo Pei’s runway look is all about the eyes
First, Jane uses a large domed brush, sweeping a soft peach shade from the Dual-Intensity Blush in Sexual Content all over the eyelid. For a little dimension and sparkle, she pops some Rigel Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow on the middle of the lid and blends it outwards. Some Nars Eyeshadow in Goldfinger gives the inner corners a lovely and subtle golden glow.
With the base shadows done, she presses some Black Valley Eye Paint along the upper lash line with a flat liner brush, building it up so that the liner becomes thicker towards the outer corner. The idea of pressing the liner close to the lashline is to give the illusion of fuller lashes. To set the eye paint and smoke out the lash line slightly, she applies some black eyeshadow from the Pandora Duo over top. I wonder why she isn’t being as precise about the black eyeshadow, and she explains that she is going to blend it out next, so it doesn’t have to be perfect.
As her transition shade for the look, she mixes two eyeshadows from the Nars range: A matte brown shade called Bali, and a shimmery light bronze one called Cyprus. She sweeps it lightly over the lashline, diffusing the black shadow before blending towards the crease to add more depth to the eye. To ensure that the edges of the shadow aren’t too harsh, she uses a loose powder to blend that out as well.
Only the upper lashes need mascara. She carefully applies two coats of the wonderfully lengthening Audacious mascara to give the eyelashes more intensity.
The lower lashes are left bare in order to better show off the signature aspect of this look: White eyeliner. Taking the Larger Than Life Long-Wear Eyeliner in Santa Monica Blvd, she generously rims the model’s lower waterline with the eyeliner, making sure to get the liner smudged over the lashes as well.
The effect is an almost natural-looking eye that is actually quite wearable for an everyday look – elevated with a surprise jolt of white that not only makes the whole look pop, but also lends the added benefit of making the model’s eyes look larger and more awake.
To finish off the look, she very lightly taps on a bit of Desire Blush on the cheeks, and applies a mix of the Velvet Lip Glides in Unlaced and Playpen onto the puckers in order to mimic the model’s natural lip colour. The epitome of my-lips-but-better!
