Beauty

10 Unforgettable Beauty Looks From London Fashion Week

Featuring glossy skin, indigo lips, and checkerboard nails.

by Hilary Shepherd
Models backstage ahead of the David Koma show during London Fashion Week September 2021 on September...
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There’s always an assortment of eye-catching beauty looks to be found across the pond, from the dramatic to the innovative (those tassel ponytails at Halpern!) and everything in between. Here, the most stand-out hair, makeup, and nail moments from London Fashion Week.

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Indigo Lips

At Mark Fast, MUA Pablo Rodriguez painted models’ lips a glossy violet-slash-indigo hue — specifically, he used a blend of Illamasqua’s Lipstick in Kontrol and Loaded Lip Polish in Glaze. With brushed-out brows and moody black eyeliner, the pouts did all the talking.

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Victorian-Era Curls

Yuhan Wang looked to American frontierswomen for inspiration for her show. In line with the theme, hairstylist Teiji Utsumi created romantic curls, pinning pieces around the hairline and crown of the head for a messy, Victorian-era look.

Checkerboard Nails

Matty Bovan showed digitally, but the many incredible beauty moments were noticeable beyond the screen. The nail art — checkerboard designs in different combos of OPI polishes, according to nail artist Emily Rose — added to the colorful, collage-like theme.

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Wet Hair & Glassy Skin

At David Koma, MUA Pablo Rodriguez gave models a dewy, “million-dollar mermaid” look using Illamasqua products, while hair pro Cos Sakkas parted their hair on the side, keeping it slick and wet-looking, as if they just emerged from the water.

Cat Eyes & Tassel Ponytails

For Halpern’s dance-themed spectacle, Daniel Sallstrom created a sharp cat eye, using black and white eyeliner on the tops and bottoms of eyes. On the hair front, Sam McKnight wove colorful tassels into ponytails, which shimmied as the models danced.

Icy Lips

There was so much pastel and iridescent makeup at Knwls, all equally stunning and creative (especially around the eyes). But it was the icy, silver-blue lips — courtesy of Thomas de Kluyver — that really stood out and gave the beauty a cool, futuristic feel.

Club Kid Liner

Charles Jeffrey Loverboy always puts on a creative, forward-thinking spectacle, and his Spring 2022 show was no different. Candles (and hardened wax) sat atop models’ heads, while Lucy Bridge outlined the lips, eyes, and brows with black lines for an artsy effect.

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Bleached Brows

At Richard Quinn, hairstylist Sam McKnight and MUA Miranda Joyce transformed models into “alien angels.” In addition to bleached brows and matte, almost non-existent makeup, hair was pulled tightly back into a low twist, with the middle top slicked straight back.

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Gothic Eyes

Eftychia delivered truly haunting makeup inspo. Makeup artist Rebecca Wordingham gave models a dramatic — and kind of creepy — black eye makeup with sharp points extending downward and upward for a clown-like feel (apropos for the show’s theme, “Happiness Gone Wrong.”)

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Shimmery Metallics

Makeup artist David Gillers didn’t skimp on the stunning metallic beauty moments seen at Osman Yousefzada’s show. The pro covered models’ eyes, cheekbones, and lips in shimmery shades of gunmetal silver, orange, gold, blue, and purple.