You know it’s a Libertine fashion show when baguettes are literally being thrown in the air on the runway, and when hot pink fur and orange tassels adorn models’ fingers. You also know it’s a Libertine show when the makeup is inspired by a cool vintage London girl who parties until the sun rises and doesn’t care if her thick eyeliner creases and smudges as the night goes on.
Speaking of the makeup, the Spring/Summer 2017 look was created exclusively with products from Korean brand, Too Cool for School. To get the DL, I hit up makeup artist Katie Jane Hughes, who led the Too Cool for School team backstage.
“The look is a ‘70s / ‘80s punk rock girl from London that’s just very badass and unapologetic,” she says.
To create the look, Hughes liberally applied Dinoplatz Highline Eyeliner in black to create a sweeping, dramatic wing, and then dabbed on a bit of the Glam Rock Urban eye shadow in a shimmery blue on the center of the lid.
“The nature of the eyeliner is a bit messy, but it’s supposed to be that way. I don’t feel like this girl would pay much attention to her eyeliner,” she says. “If there are any little discrepancies or if the liner creases on the upper lid, I love it and I want that to be there. You shouldn’t see it when their eyes are open, just when they blink. It’s kind of like an alter ego almost. Like ‘I’m pretty to look at, but I’m a bit naughty on the inside.’”
To makeup the eyeliner appear even more lived in, Hughes went back in with a mixture of Too Cool For School’s eyeliner and a very tiny bit of the brand’s Egg Cream on a makeup brush and applied it on top of the finished eyeliner here and there. This created a sort of “melting” and “coming undone” effect.
As for the subtle blue reflection that’s dabbed onto the upper lid over the inky eyeliner. That was inspired by Hughes’ recent trip to Greece, where she spent a lot of time in the ocean. She said that one night it was really dark and the moon was reflecting on the water in the most exquisite way, and she wanted to take that “shimmer over matte” effect and apply it to the makeup.
Libertine’s girl was clearly very much the eyeliner, so there wasn’t much done to the rest of the models’ faces. The skin was prepped and kept really fresh with Too Cool for School’s Egg Mellow Cream, Dinoplatz Cinema City CC Concealer and Dinoplatz Loose and Silly Powder in Definition. The brows were lightly groomed with Glam Rock Urban Brow in Natural Brown, and lips were muted with a tiny bit of a nude stain.
Soo… I can’t end this post without talking about the nails. This is Libertine, after all. You may recall the “fur nails” trend that Libertine instigated at their Fall/Winter 2016 runway, and this year the nails were just as gasp-inducing. There were orange tassels, hot pink fur, intricately painted designs, springs, beads and rotating jewels.
“The story is split style manicure, mixed color, mixed texture, one hand each, and have fun with your nails. That’s what it’s really all about,” says Jan Arnold of CND nails.
Curious to hear what the queen of decadent nails had to say about haters calling furry and heavily accessorized nails impractical, we asked how she managed her own decked out mani. Her answer? Velcro.
“Do a hot pink high shine nail in shellac, then cut little pieces so each nail has a little different piece adhered to the nail in the same color. Then you pop them on when you want them and pop them off when you don’t,” she explains.
Pointing to the dangling chains fastened to her nails, she says, “They all come off. I take them off when I don’t want them and my nails are a really wearable length, so I just put them on for a party. It’s like your jewelry or like wearing cool shoes. Change it up. We do it on every other accessory – why not nails?”
Overall, the whole look is very “I do what I want” and the exact opposite of cookie cutter. Though maybe not for everyone, I do find it a refreshing reprieve from the overdone brows and perfect lips that clog up many an Instagram feed, and the bottom line is that Johnson Hartig’s Libertine’s SS17 story is just plain fun. There were so many smiles all around, both backstage and from guests during the actual show.
On that note, I’m heading off to the bathroom to practice my cool London girl look.
