Anyone familiar with Isabel Marant knows that the success of the designer’s cult creations stems directly from her own irreverent approach to style.
It’s that Parisian thing the rest of the world’s female population can find so elusive.
Yet, backstage at the Autumn/Winter '13-14 show this season, Estée Lauder creative make-up director Tom Pecheux says the look is well within our grasp. “It does have a very French flavour to it, but more than the French woman I think you have a flavour of coolness… being cool and feeling effortless, but feeling beautiful,” he says.
Although Pecheux doesn’t like to talk in terms of focus – “You don’t carry around only your eyes, you carry your entire face, so the focus is to be everywhere” – he will admit that the look he has designed for Marant concentrates specifically on the eyebrows.
1. “That’s what I’m doing with the make-up. I’m doing make-up which looks very cool, very relaxed, very individual,” Pecheux explains, employing a light touch as he works swiftly on a model.
2. “I’m using every make-up product, like eyeshadow, eyebrow, foundation, concealer, all this, but in a very transparent way. That’s why I’m using my fingers.”
3. “The key is to brush it up, and to use either a pencil or a powder. You paint it up, starting from the bottom. You definitely don’t want to draw a perfect line around the eyebrow,” he explains.
4. No matter what, he says, the trick is to keep it natural. “People are not going to look at the girl and think: ‘Oh my God, she’s got eyebrows’, hopefully, they’re going to think: ‘Oh my God, the girl looks cool and beautiful’. That’s the point.”
This article originally appeared on Vogue.com.au.
