Sunday was a good day, a very good day indeed. Not only because the sun was shining and the rain nowhere to be seen, but primarily because it was my first ever London Fashion Week experience. Last year I popped along to Somerset House to snap some street style pictures but this season, I had the pleasure of attending 3 Fashion Scout shows.
So just after 2pm we arrived at Freemason’s Hall – located adjacent to where the BAFTA’s were being held – and went straight in to pick up our wrist bands allowing us to go ‘behind the scenes’. Fashion Scout were hosting 3 shows on Sunday afternoon and we were able to go backstage with the sponsors and makeup providers The Body Shop to get a sneak peek of the hair and makeup looks chosen for each show.
We were met by the lovely Sofie upstairs in the backstage area where she kindly chaperoned us around each makeup room. First we popped in to Mimi Fasi which was full of makeup artists and stylists working away, completely unfazed by the cameras capturing every moment. We spoke to the head makeup artist who explained that since the collection has Mediterranean routes, the base was warm and bronzed with a sixties mix.
The overall look was effortlessly, flawlessly bronzed with a BB cream featuring as a favourite for this show particularly, and a typical sixties flick and a not so typical sea green eyeliner on the waterline. When the weather warms up a little bit I will definitely be trying this. The finished ‘look’ also consisted of the most beautiful beehive I’ve ever seen, I’m not entirely sure how the stylists managed to keep it up as there wasn’t a bobbi pin in sight, but it sure looked unbelievably glamorous.
Once we had absorbed enough of the backstage chaos, we headed to the Yulia Kondranina makeup room where we were presented with an entirely different look. As the show was in it’s final stages of preparation we were able to see a finished makeup look, which was more on the grungy side with black eyeliner and red eye shadow (colour crush in Berry Cheeky). The hair followed suit with an edgy messy loose wave look.
After a little nosey of the make-up table (I think I’ve found my dream dressing table), we descended back down the spiralling staircases of the beautiful building into the media lounge to wait for the show to start. We had an hour to kill so I used my time wisely speaking to Jessica, a Body Shop makeup artist, and eventually being persuaded to have a little Fashion Week make-over.
After hearing the makeup artists upstairs raving about the BB cream I couldn’t wait to try it out myself and have to say – I was astounded by the finished look. Jessica redid my eyebrows and freshened up my makeup with the All-in-one BB Cream. She then contoured and highlighted my skin which was really exciting because contouring isn’t something I have ever tried out on myself but I know how popular it is with celebrities and make-up artists alike.
After my makeover I met the gorgeous Sheena – whose makeup was so perfect, I just wish I had taken a photograph to show you – who introduced herself and the other bloggers attending the show, Carrie, Lily and Krishna. The very first show of the day was Mimi Fasi which featured a beautiful colour palette of fuchsia, turquoise, blue, green and orange with an array of prints and patterns, really sparking the Mediterranean feel.
Then quickly (in true Fashion Week chaos), we rushed over to the Little Shilpa exhibition which was like night and day compared to the show we had just seen. Whilst the Fasi show was filled with bright colours and had a real ‘holiday’ vibe to it, The Little Shilpa collection was dark and eerie, but utterly beautiful. The designer told us that this collection was inspired by that dark magical world that we visit when we are asleep. Creepy, but oh so creative.
Next up was the Yulia Kondranina who seems to be a real Fashion Scout favourite. The collection itself matched the makeup that we had already seen – very grungy and edgy – and was predominately made up of black and grey pieces however finished with a pop of bright pink and blue hues. The pieces had a real androgynous feel to them but in the sexiest way possible with open backs being a staple feature on many of the looks. I was quite a fan of this collection as it was very much London street style – edgy and cool. Whilst talking about it after the show we all agreed that it had a real Camden feel to it, edgy, oversize, dark, but with that eclectic pop of colour.
When the show finished and Yulia came out she was welcomed with a huge round of applause and you could tell how pleased and relived she was with the show’s success by the huge smile she had on her face.
With our main events of the day over, we had an hour to nibble on Edamame beans and Snog frozen yoghurt and drink as much coconut water as we wanted (I think we are all addicted to the coffee flavour). This was a chance to sit down and mingle with the other bloggers and share some tips and tricks. With all the chatting, an hour passed in no time and soon enough we were ready to sit down for the final show, ‘Portuguese Fashion’.
The makeup for this show was very natural and neutral, which is typically very Portuguese.
The designers showcasing were Daniela Barros and João Melo Costa and their collections were quite similar in structure and very different to what we had previously seen. Both collections were very dark and wintery with navy featuring as a key component.
Over all, the day itself was amazing. The shows were fantastic and it was so exciting going back stage and seeing how shows are put together. It was incredible learning about The Body Shop products and getting a little makeover and The Body Shop PR girls took such good care of us, so thank you to Sheena and the team!
