The beauty trends we’re loving for SS19

From look-at-me shimmer to gym-fresh skin, these are the trends the beauty world is embracing this season, says Rosaleen McMeel.

In terms of beauty, the SS19 catwalks were awash with contrasts. For every face that was covered in bright colours there was another freshly cleansed, bare complexion. For every make-up pro that painted a model’s face via a pot of brightly coloured pigment, there was another armed with a solitary jar of moisturiser. Creativity undoubtedly has its place in our beauty arsenal, but mere mortals will be glad to hear the natural beauty movement really had the edge this season. Forget Instaglam make-up, effortless glam is what chic women will be recreating this season. Think polished skin, with accents of singular bold colour. Minimum effort, maximum impact, what’s not to love?

Gym Skin

Good news for workout warriors, as fresh-out-of-the-gym skin is the beauty equivalent of straight-off-the-catwalk. If exercising your way to a light glow isn’t your bag, don’t worry, this look is just as easy to create from the comfort of your own home, just blend your favourite highlighting fluid with your foundation or BB Cream to reimagine the look showcased at Tory Burch, where models walked wearing invisible make-up, celebrating models’ freckles and natural skin tones.

Blush Hour

Blush-toned make-up complemented by sweeping half-up-half-down hairstyles and elegant ballerina buns – spring/summer 2019’s beauty looks also had their romantic side. At Brock Collection, Gucci Westman’s radiant make-up look and James Pecis’s ultra-pretty hairstyles combined to create a princess-worthy look, whilst the pink-toned make-up at Giorgio Armani and the bow-adorned hair at Emilia Wickstead had a similarly ultra-feminine feel. Erdem, Anna Sui and Rodarte took things even further with watercolour-toned make-up, the latter of which was offset by dramatic, flower-strewn hairstyles.

Disco Pout

Statement lips got a big upgrade this season at Jeremy Scott which saw foil take centre stage. To achieve the metallic effect, professional make-up artist Kabuki started off by lining models’ lips with the thin brush of the Ardell Duo Brush-On Adhesive With Vitamins. Precision was key because a foil was placed on top. After the foil was applied, glitter was tapped on the spots where the foil didn’t adhere to, like the outer corners of the lips. For the brows, arches were filled in with the M.A.C. Shape + Shade Brow Tint, which helped give them natural-looking definition. While not a look for the school run, you can reinterpret the glitter trend on the eyes, as at Halpern, for a more realistic play on the trend.

Bare All

Nail art is going nowhere. In fact, creatively, we’ll see more of it, but we’re not talking about throwing the whole arts and crafts box at your talons (although each to their own), rather subtle additions that’ll transform ordinary into extraordinary – think simple dots on bare nails. Fade nails will remain on trend as well as micro sparkles. Faded sparkle on natural clear pink will remain the chicest way to elevate your average mani.

This article originally appeared in the March issue of IMAGE magazine, on shelves now