Turns out she was raving with good reason. Just like the clothes, the LV look was beautiful, luxurious, cool and completely covetable. A catwalk look that was unique and interesting but that I could adopt almost verbatim for myself (though not necessarily for a Monday morning in the office).
As youd expect, the hair was totally on-trend sexily unstructured buns and beehives piled high on top of the head were finished with giant pearl hair-pins (we wont mention the outsized bows), adding to the romantic feel thats permeated so many of the shows this season and proving that when it comes to carefully chosen hair accessories, a little can go a very long way.
You can create the same feel by blow drying your hair with loads of volume, rubbing it with a bit of hairspray to add texture and loosely piling and pinning it on top of your head. Ill be trawling my local antiques markets for the perfect pearl hair-pin to finish but in the meantime, check out the decorative hair-pins at www.basia-zarzycka.com.
Pat McGraths make-up also echoed one of fashion months favourite themes models look elegantly wasted with pale but polished skin, muted lips and underplayed eyes. Creamy, nude eyelids were offset with simple, big sweeps of black eyeliner, defined brows and careless mascara, keeping the look sweetly nonchalant and very, very sexy.
The key to DIYing this look is to spend a lot of time on your skin. Mix a good, satiny base such as Maybellines new Dream Satin Liquid Foundation, £7.99, with a little, little balm (Im currently alternating between By Terry Baume De Rose, £30.34 and Goldshield Kamillosan, £4.88) and work it into very well-moisturised skin, Use a fibre optic brush first, then your finger tips to really push product in to skin and make it look more natural.
Dab your usual concealer over dark circles and blemishes, then grab an under eye highlighter such as Collection 2000 Illuminating Touch Light Diffusing Concealer, £4.99, and gently work it in from the inner corner of each eye, along the socket and out towards your temples. This highlighting trick opens up that whole eye area dramatically and helps define your face while keeping the look pale and beautiful. Dab a little Illuminating Touch along your upper lip-line, too, blending any excess product over your lips to give the basis for that very nude, muted look.
Next, blend a subtle, tawny blush such as Chanel Powder Blush in Horizon, £26, under your cheekbones and jaw line to give some gentle contours. I dont normally use powder but I have it on good authority that if you can get it right, it gives skin that serene, polished quality and should be your next step. The best way to put it on, according to the pros? Rub a small amount of loose, translucent powder (Shu Uemuras Colourless Face Powder, £25, is every make-up artists staple) between your hands and dab it on to sides of nose, between brows, forehead and chin.
Eyes next: define your brows with a pencil, making sure you really work that stuff in so it looks like part of the hair. Apply a creamy base all over eyelids (concealer one or two shades darker than your skin tone mixed with balm is ideal), then add black liquid eyeliner along the upper lash line, thickening and winging it out at the edges. Think Angelina Jolie at this years Oscars and you wont go far wrong. Finish with a couple of coats of volumising mascara, such as Benefit BADgal Mascara, £14.50, whose chubby wand and thick, glossy formula makes this a worthy go-to for fat lashes. If it goes a bit clumpy so much the better, but do tidy up any spits or flakes with a cotton bud so the skin around your eyes looks flawless.
Finally, slick over lips with plenty of balm. Not looking nude enough? Pat in a bit more of your Illuminating Touch and layer more balm over that. Or choose a matte, nude lipstick such as Revlon Matte Nude Attitude, £7.13, and pat it on with fingers, blotting and layering with plenty of balm.
Elegantly wasted? You will be.
