In keeping with the romanticism of the Lee Mathews Resort ’19 collection and the label’s renewed commitment to ethics and sustainability, romantic and natural hair and beauty reigned supreme on the runway this afternoon.
Under the creative direction of Alan White, De Lorenzo created a hair look inspired by women immersed within nature.
“It’s organic,” Alan says. “It’s as close to nature as we can possibly get- that’s what De Lorenzo has always been about.”
Alan’s approach to styling each model’s hair is more about being prescriptive to hair type than it is creating a uniform look. “We want to bring out the best in each model’s own hair using the best possible products for them. ”
“We’re using products that do really wonderful things for the ends of the hair like the Hair Moisturisers, then we’ve got Rejuven8 if you’ve got really dry ends and you can’t even put a comb through it, so we spray that through the ends and and the comb will go through really easily. What that does, rather than adding product, it just enhances what you’ve already got. We’re not swelling the hair, we’re not making it bigger, we’re just trying to get the best out of it.
Once we’ve done that, we create a centre part and using Barrel Waves around the face. We want to frame and open up the face as though the hair is curtains, and then sweep back into the ponytail.” The result? A romantic, windswept ponytail as beautiful as it is gentle on each model’s hair.
The approach to makeup was similarly steeped in natural beauty, with Guerlain Makeup Director Claire Thompson enhancing each model’s complexion, rather than masking it.
“Beautiful, effortless, chic,” is how Claire describes the overall look, citing a nod to French girl beauty. When asked about precisely what draws her to that distinctly French aesthetic, Claire tells me “there’s a simplicity to it- less contouring, less baking. It’s more about a glow from within.”
The hero product is Guerlain’s iconic, customisable Rouge G lipstick. “I feel it’s a time to return to lipstick again. Lipstick is quite a different texture. I know we’ve had a hybrid of the balm lipsticks, but I find a lot of them just wash away into nothing. This one has that little bit more kick in it, which means you can play with the texture.”
That texture is what makes lipstick the ideal candidate for beauty multi-tasker status. “I’ve also used the lipstick across the bridge of the nose and across the cheeks- really anywhere where the sun would hit. It’s about creating that almost sun kissed look without all the bronzing and highlighting.”
These berry stained lips and cheeks are offset by skin that Claire describes as “not quite raw,” with the artist using Guerlain’s cult classic Abeille Royale Bee Glow to deliver intense moisture and radiance to each model’s complexion.
Something that I found to be of particular interest, which makes sense given the company’s partnership with Lee Mathews, is that Guerlain has had a sustainability program in place for over a decade. Claire informs me that Guerlain was the world’s very first perfume and cosmetics house to be certified by Ecocert.
