We know what we're going to get with Victoria Beckham; as elegantly curated a backstage area as is possible to get, complete with the beauty big dogs - Pat McGrath and Guido Palau - creating a look that we want to take home with us season after season.
They always start by telling us that Victoria is a modern designer who knows exactly what she wants, and this tends to be clean, fresh, simple, smart - just like her collections.
At first glance, the models wafting about with bits of bagel from the catering table look quite pared back. The skin is strobed - of course, this is the skin finish of choice so far this season - but you don't get the full effect until the lights hit it front of house. Pat tells us 'the look is very simple, fresh and modern. In a way sophisticated, but at the same time quite sporty'. She tones around the eye just to give it structure rather than colour (using a suits-everyone taupe), but the thing that really did it for me? The lip accent.
Following a theme that is popping up everywhere, there was an element of individuality to this show, with only five girls picked out to wear an orange-red lip. It's this simple hit of colour (the shade Victoria was particularly loving from her collection) that somehow tied everything in and made the no-lip monochromatic faces make absolute and perfect sense. You see the difference when you add the colour accent in? It's love.
Guido reflected the same easy sophistication with a smoothed but effortless wave. To keep it fresh the girls created their own partings using their fingers. They don't all have to be the same - there's that individuality again - but once that was done hair was twisted up into a low knot. Half an hour before the show it was released and smoothed out so the hair had a natural, gentle bend that 'gave an ease to the beauty on the runway'. More importatly Guido reckons this is so easy for women to recreate. He finished with a soft tuck behind the ears which magics it into sporty territory.
The nails were a simple mix of Nails Inc Kale Superfood base coat, with a mattifying topcoat which made them feel contemporary - as requested by Victoria. Fresh, natural and only rounded for a feminine feel.
When you take Givenchy out of the equation (who can compete?) and factor in the accent lip, this is the beauty look to beat so far.
