Beauty trends spotted on the Haute Couture runways

The week dedicated to Haute Couture SS24 has just ended, offering us a visual journey into the magic of fashion, among sophisticated and dreamy creations, the result of the hands of skilled artisans who spent months embroidering, cutting and sewing. Capturing the attention, however, were not only the clothes, but also the make-up and hairstyle. The runways marked the triumph of bowcore, bare faces and a hint of color, which could focus on the eyes as happened at Armani Privé or on the super glossy and pigmented lips at Valentino. There was no shortage of eccentric flicks either, such as Maison Margiela's doll faces or Giambattista Valli's XXL and feathered eyelashes.

Here are the beauty trends spotted on the Haute Couture runways.

Bare faces, but glowing

Never as in this season have fashion houses chosen to focus on a perfect but luminous complexion. Bare faces, but super glow, have dominated the catwalks. Fendi and Chanel have opted for very natural make-up, water and soap. For the French Maison, models wore only a touch of rosy balm on the lips and illuminating powders and blush on the cheekbones to sculpt the features. Valentino has created radiant and dewy glass skin that makes the face and body of Mona Tougaard and the other models almost iridescent. At Alaïa, Pat McGrath used Divine Skin: Rose 001 The Essence, Skin Fetish: Sublime Perfection Primer, then added Skin Fetish: Sublime Foundation and Skin Fetish: Perfection Concealer, all from her own beauty line, to enhance the complexion with effortless luminosity. McGrath also worked on the Schiaparelli show. Inspired by the retro-futuristic creations of Daniel Roseberry, she played with powders and illuminators to achieve an almost alien glazed skin. The secret of these looks? Hydration and products with pearly white or pink tones to dab on the cheekbones and all over the forehead to shine more than a night sky full of stars. Among the products used by the makeup artist, all from her brand, are Skin Fetish: Highlighter + Balm Duo, Sublime Perfection Foundation, and Divine Blush: Legendary Glow Colour Balm.

Dramatic Lines

Graphic makeup takes center stage and becomes extreme. At Georges Hobeika, the mood is Swinging sixties with bouffant hairstyles paired with a bold line that starts from the lower lash line, meets the inner corner of the eye, and extends to the temples. But Haute Couture catwalks tell us that eyeliner alone is no longer enough for drawing extra-long lines; one must resort to real extensions to carefully apply for a look that leaves onlookers in awe. The make-up team at Alexis Mabille opted for pieces of fabric and feathers placed on the upper lash lines. Lengths become bold even at Giambattista Valli, where makeup artist Karin Westerlund created feathered lashes that perfectly match the dreamy and romantic style of Collection N°26, with its voluminous and poetic dresses inspired by flowers and nature. The secret to making these graphic and extreme eyes work is to focus on a luminous, perfect complexion and a make-up no make-up look.

Face Jewels

If there's one thing Euphoria has taught us, it's the charm of using small crystals or colorful, sparkling applications on the eyelids or the lower lash line to give a special twist to our beauty looks. A trend embraced by both Schiaparelli and Jean Paul Gaultier and Simone Rocha. "At Schiaparelli, there's always a bright and surreal element, and this season it came in the form of a crystal ear created on many of our beautiful alien beauties," explained Pat McGrath to Vogue UK. The makeup artist opted for ear make-up, a process that took about three hours for each model who showcased it on the runway. McGrath used silver paint and hundreds of tiny crystals, then paired them with large earrings that enhanced the dramatic effect of the look. For the Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture collection by Simone Rocha, which delightfully combines marinière and coquette style, Thomas de Kluyver glued small gems on the eyebrows, around the eyes, and on the lips of the models. Small jewels also sparkled on the arms and on the nail art created by Ama Quashie.

A Bold Touch

If bare faces are the favorite trend of the Haute Couture SS24 fashion week, a bold detail is enough to give a twist to the beauty look. Some chose to focus on the eyes like Dior, others, like Valentino, preferred the lips, while Armani Privé dared with both. Peter Philips, creative and image director of Dior makeup, designed a two-phase eye look emphasized by black shading along the lower lash line (Diorshow On Stage Crayon Kohl Liner) and brightened by a chocolate shade (Diorshow 5 Couleurs no. 539 Grand Bal) on the eyelid. For Maison Valentino, Pat McGrath opted for a lunar mood, focusing on scarlet vampy lips with a glossy finish. Finally, at the Armani Privé show, Hiromi Ueda drew inspiration from the 1920s for eyelids that looked like a painting. Blue eyeshadow alternated with mahogany with blue-violet reflections on the mobile eyelid, combined with matte pink applied in the central area, faded champagne in the inner corner of the eye and along the brow arch, and points made with liquid eyeshadow #8 Flannel with pink reflections. The same bright shades were also applied to the lashes and eyebrows. To complete the look, two lipsticks were combined, Lip Maestro in the color 201 Dark Velvet and Lip Power 403 Fighter. The brand that dared the most? Maison Margiela. John Galliano brought a theatrical show to the runway that evokes a Parisian burlesque club from the 1800s, with Pat McGrath creating a super wet makeup look with blue eyes, red lips, rosy cheeks, or yellow-shaded accents, turning the models into living porcelain dolls.

A Bow in the Hair

The aesthetics of coquette and hyper-feminine, girlhoodcore, and balletcore are here to stay. According to the beauty trends of 2024, they will evolve into New Romantics with 1980s influences, but a non-negotiable element will remain: the bow that decorates nails and, above all, hair. Parisian haute couture catwalks confirm this. At Chanel, large black silk bows added a touch of chic to the semi-updo hairstyles of the models, completing the contemporary ballerina style created by Virginie Viard for The Button, a collection made of tweed, tulle skirts and white tights. At Giambattista Valli, Pierpaolo Lai envisioned ponytails with two or three XXL velvet bows, the first placed on the top of the head and the others at the ends, paired with beautiful blooming roses. At Dior, on the other hand, Guido Palau opted for girly and romantic but more discreet crop. He tied a thin black velvet ribbon in the models' hair and then slipped it, as if it were a sort of headband, behind their heads. "Women love braids," the hairstylist said, adding that the hair is not brushed, requiring "just a little texturizing spray."