When I saw images of the models at Viktor & Rolf’s Fall 2013 show huddling together backstage on Into The Gloss, I let out a little swoon. With not a sniff of ‘boldness’ in sight, the makeup was light, fresh, groomed and defined all finished off with a slept-on effect braid of which I have a particular penchant for. I just had to give it a roadtest. With my knotting skills being somewhat limited I waited till I could schedule in a trip to see my sister who’s a bit of a whizz when it comes to plaits. Unfortunately no hair ‘how-to’ to be seen here, I secured a spot on the floor and let her do her nibble finger thing, I then did a few flicks of a makeup brush and here’s my Viktor & Rolf-esque look, complete with close-up of my extremely small ears…

Braiding business out of the way, to recreate the polished yet pretty look from the girls/goddesses who walked the show, I used just seven products to thinly cover and colour the face. For base I pumped with Giorgio Armani’s Maestro Fusion Makeup in 4*, an option I flirt with every now and again however always move on from; but actually the satin-like finish and medium pigment formula works well for the au naturale look. A touch of Bobbi Brown’s Creamy Concealer in Sand over circles or blemish bothers and a very light-handed dust of Bobbi Brown’s Blush in Pastel Pink* over the apples (yep you read that right, a pink blush!? I’m diversifying, people) and that’s the complexion finito. I dipped back into the Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette* for some subtle definition on the eyes; washing the cream shaded Venus all over the lid, with a touch of Naked 2 blended into the crease and taken under the eye with a fluffy brush, all finished off with the tiniest amount of Lancôme’s Hypnôse Waterproof Mascara. The models lips look barely touched in the images, so I mixed a squeeze of Elizabeth Arden’s Eight Hour Cream with YSL’s Rouge Volupté in 1 (remember this old badboy?) on the back of my hand and patted into the lips for an undone pout.

After a mirror inspection I deemed this a look that I’d happily rock on a daily basis and will file into my super simple makeup rotation possibilities. Now I just need my sister to follow me home to be on standby for braiding duty at all times. Cheers, Megan.

*PR Sample