Upside down make-up rules
When we think about the choices we have in make-up, at first appearances they seem endless. We can choose to elongate the eye with a flick of liner, add a healthy boost of peachy blush when we’re feeling peeky, or make a statement with a bold red lipstick.
But while make-up trends come and go from season to season, they often hinge on a signature palette — one that is “acceptable”. We learn from an early age that red belongs on the lips and black belongs to the eyes.
And while lipstick shades change from pink to purple, or even orange, they remain within the boundaries of the same red spectrum. But now the make-up world is undergoing a shake-up, and these colour roles are starting to be reversed.
Nowhere was this more apparent than on the catwalk, as lipstick shades dominated eyes. Donna Karan’s latest offering for Autumn/Winter 2012 embraced this to the fullest, as models’ lids were washed with a scarlet red shadow, finishing just short of the brow. Emporio Armani also chose a postbox shade, winging out shadow at the corner into a thick flick, and a hint of crimson appeared at Phillip Lim, as a jolt of bright red shadowed a black liner flick.
And the reversal trend didn’t stop with the eyes. Blue lipstick was championed at Mary Katrantzou and Vivienne Westwood S/S 12 shows, while a heavy, blackened lip was seen at Ashish and Donna Karan.
But while it can be argued that the beauty world behaves very differently on the catwalk, it seems that make-up brands are also beginning to react. Illamasqua’s newest collection, which launched last week, is centred on the concept of defying beauty preconceptions. The collection, which features a teal-green lipstick and pink eye shadow, is the antithesis of what one would expect from a make-up brand.
“It’s definitely time to mix up the beauty motifs,” says Illamasqua’s creative director Alex Box. “Take, for example, the classic smoky eye and nude lip. Why not make it a smoky lip and a nude eye? It only takes a small shift in perception to challenge the beauty rules that have become locked in our subconscious. This collection is my way of politically shifting people’s perception of what is beautiful and acceptable.”
Topshop’s latest beauty line also begins to embrace a reversal of make-up roles, with two of its newest launches including a fiery red eye shadow and chocolate-brown lipstick. With Topshop’s clientele largely consisting of teenagers, this may mean that the high-street chain has more scope for choice.
“When women grow up, they suddenly think, ‘I’d better put all the fun stuff away now’, and it’s time to be serious and the playfulness of colour goes away,” says Box. “Many more brands should challenge these conventions of what it is to be attractive, to be sexy. We need to educate and provoke a change, and provide people with the option to be different. Because different is beautiful.”
