London Fashion Week SS15: Backstage Beauty Blog

London Fashion Week SS15 digested into bite-size chunks for your easy scrolling pleasure. Here's basically all you need to know about next season's make-up, hair and nail trends...

TUESDAY, SEPT 16

The beauty at Ryan Lo SS15 was very much inspired by the fairytale meets underwater theme of the collection.

Lead hairstylist Chi Wong used Bumble and Bumble to create his ‘mermaid hair’ look to complement the clothes.

He used Thickening Spray, Dry Spun Finish and Spray De Monde hairspray on dry hair before plaiting the hair into 4/5 sections.

He then moved straighteners down the length of the plait which sealed the wave before leaving the plaits to cool down for 2-3 minutes and then brushing out.

Some of the models also had their hair styled into a swept-back up-do that looked like they had ‘just stepped out of the sea’.

To create this effect, Chi applied plenty of Cityswept Finish to the top of the hair before rubbing the brand’s BB Gel to create the wet-look effect.

Mathias Van Hooff led his team of make-up artists to create a look that can only be described with one word - GLITTER.

Glitter on the lids and glitter on the lips, MUAs mixed MAC Mixing Medium with MAC Glitter all over the eyelids and up to the brow bone.

On the lips, they used MAC DazzleGlass Lipgloss mixed with even more MAC Glitter on top (we did say it was glitter galore!).

The skin looked polished and dewy, with a touch of pink cream blush applied to the upper cheekbones with fingers to create a doll-like, flushed look.

Nails were led by Ellie Harry and a team of artists from WAH Nails, who were inspired by the pink and glitter of the designer’s collection.

They created three different sets of false nails using ‘Stack Em High’ / ‘Unreal’ / ‘Baby Girl’ as the base shades and ‘Schragers Touch’ as a holographic glitter top coat.

MONDAY, SEPT 15

Besides the nipple tassels, Bradley Cooper's attendance and dominatrix-esque collection, Tom Ford showcased a grunge glamour beauty look for his SS15 show.

Gunmetal grey smokey eyes were the focal point of the face, with matte nude lips, sculpted cheekbones and bushy brows making up the rest of the edgy make-up.

The theme of the Burberry SS15 show was 'The Birds and the Bees' and head make-up artist Wendy Rowe created an iridescent glow, tawny eyes and deep ruby red lips for today's show beauty look.

Wendy used the Fresh Glow Foundation from the brand’s own beauty range to create a flawless base, before sculpting cheekbones in the brand’s Earthy blush and finishing off the runway-ready look with Burberry Lip Cover in No. 18 Ruby.

Nails were painted in turquoise, green and pink shades to complement the colours on the runway - and the shades themselves have launched online as part of two limited edition sets of SS15 nail collections.

SUNDAY, SEPT 14

At the Matthew Williamson show, make-up artist Charlotte Tilbury led the team to create a beautiful make-up look inspired by hibiscus flowers and the floral prints seen in the designer's SS15 collection.

Make-up artists used Benefit Cosmetics for the show, using Hydra-Smooth Lip Colour in Fling Thing on the cheeks and Creaseless Cream Shadow in Always A Bridesmaid on the eyes, followed by They're Real Mascara and Push-Up Liner.

The make-up look for Xiao Li at Fashion Scout focused very much on the lips, with lead make-up artist Lan Nguyen-Grealis using The Body Shop to create the runway-ready look.

Lan kept the base very clean and simple, drawing attention to the bright pink lips, which she achieved by applying a pink lipstick straight from the bullet before dabbing pink eyeshadow on the lips for a matte effect.

Backstage at Palmer//Harding, models' nails were painted pink for a gorgeous, feminine look, using Morgan Taylor nail polish.

Make-up wise, the face was also kept very natural with the glossy pink lips (created using Susan Posnick Cosmetics) being the focal point of the look.

At the Apu Jan show during Fashion Scout, the models had their hair plaited into fishtails on the top of the head, with rope intertwined within it and pinned to the back of the head with transparent wire.

The make-up was headed up by Claire Degraft from The Body Shop, who created a soft blue effect on the eyelids and a shimmering pink lips for the Apu Jan show.

SATURDAY, SEPT 13

Backstage at Phoebe English, hair took centre stage, with lead hairstylist Tina Outen adding glitter to the hair by creating a paste out of MAC Glitter in 3D Black and Bumble and Bumble Sumo Wax.

The make-up was kept neutral with Inge Grognard leading the MUAs for the Phoebe English show.

Backstage at Fashion Scout, head make-up artist Lan Nguyen-Grealis directed a number of different looks, including sleek, sophisticated ponytails and dewy skin at the Kiev Fashion Showcase.

For Orla Kiely, lead hairstylist Luke Hersheson was inspired by the designer's brief of a 'hippie, poker straight hairstyle', channeling the '60s for the Orla Kiely show.

Backstage at Orla Kiely, the theme of the make-up look was 'Flower Power' and was created by head make-up artist Attracta Courtney for Bourjois, focusing on peach lips and smokey eyes.

Attracta used the ZOEVA 312 Liner Brush to create the 'defined yet soft modern 60's liner.'

We also chatted with head nail artist Marina Sandoval about the manicures for the presentation.

She used the Bourjois shade Rose Lounge on the girls - actually the same shade she used on Kate Middleton for the Royal Wedding! Marina also kept the nails really short and glossy, sealing the colour in with Bourjois 1 Seconde Gloss Top Coat.

FRIDAY, SEPT 12

Backstage at Jean-Pierre Braganza, head stylist Indira Schauwecker created a hairstyle inspired by a ‘hippie on a Harley.’

She described the look as ‘beautiful and contemporary’ with a mystical edge.

Stylists used water spray to create strong side partings with models’ hair tucked behind the ears, before using label.m Blow Out Spray on the lengths and ends.

Next, they tonged locks from the shoulders downwards, holding the tong for six seconds and spraying with hairspray before pulling the style straight down.

Meanwhile, head make-up artist Terry Barber created a make-up look that was inspired by ‘English ‘IT’ girls in California' using MAC.

He kept the base simple (no foundation or concealer), instead focusing on graphic, ‘60s inspired winged eyeliner, calling the look 'Biker Angel'.

He also drew freckles on the models’ cheeks and added MAC False Lashes in #1.

The models’ skin was prepped using the Nair Argan Oil wax strips, with skin specialist Victoria Bond using body oils, moisturizer and illuminating cream to give the models’ legs a gorgeous glow.

Behind the scenes at J JS Lee, head manicurist Amy Streets created beautiful nail art inspired by the floral print in the collection.

The nail pro created 20 different sets of false nails for the models (100 nails overall!).

All the models had mid-length, oval nails, which Amy told us was a key trend for next season.

They started by using Orly’s Bonder base coat, then two coats of the shade Frosting from the Sugar High collection (out April 2015).

They then applied parts of dried flowers, sealing them with the Polishield top coat.

Make-up wise, head make-up artist Lucy Bart used MAC to create a beauty look that mirrored the designer’s colourful collection.

She didn’t want the make-up to overpower the clothes and told us the key trend for SS15 was actually moving AWAY from the ‘no make-up look’.

Models’ skin was uber polished, with a sophisticated sheen that made it look clean and expensive.

Make-up artists used ‘Must Have Melon’ cream blush to create a fresh, spring-like flush to the cheeks and painted the lips with ‘Seasonally Peach’ from the brands’ new palette.

They added a shot of colour to the eyes, applying MAC Chromeline in ‘Sea Blue’ with a clear mascara wand to create a ‘smudgy, cool look’, finished off with navy mascara.

Hair stylist Halley Brisker lead the LOreal Professional team, creating ‘simple, clean hair’ under the instruction of designer Jackie.

He started with a ponytail but then added fabric to give the ponytail a point of interest (the fabric came from the idea of using something, anything when you haven’t got a hair tie!)

The hair stylists doubled over the ponytail so that it resembled a horseshoe shape and then secured it.

Halley also revealed they were using a wet blusher blush to apply L’Oreal Professional techni. art Pli to achieve ‘clean, fluffy hair’ on the models.

[Celebs on the FROW SS15]

[Fashion Week SS15 Backstage]