how freedom inspired the beauty look at Dior AW24

"Normally, Maria Grazia comes with a very specific brief, but this time it was more open," creative and image director of Christian Dior Make-Up, Peter Philips tells us backstage at Paris Fashion Week.

This liberating sense of openness not only sets the tone for the beauty look at Dior's outing yesterday, but also ties into Maria Grazia Chiuri's AW24 collection which paid homage to unrestrained 1960s silhouettes and the first Miss Dior ready-to-wear collection in 1967 by then designer, Marc Bohan.

LAUNCHMETRICS SPOTLIGHT

"The main inspiration is from the prints of the Dior foulards (or scarves). We brought out a little catalogue book with all the history of the Dior scarves and it's amazing, so many ideas and colours and prints," Philips says at the Jardins de Tuileries in Paris.

"There was a lot of references towards Marc Bohan, some of his scarves were the colour references for Maria Grazia," he continues. The nod to Miss Dior also led Philips to think of the perfume, and of course, Catherine Dior herself. "Since there were a few bags with green and pink, I thought we could do a pink that comes back in the make-up, like a flower petal."

Matteo Scarpellini//LAUNCHMETRICS SPOTLIGHT

This translated to a flash of hot pink – achieved using Paradise Paint pigment by Mehron – in the corner of the eyes against a backdrop of radiant skin and no mascara. The hue is also a nod to the Indian heritage of artist Shakuntala Kulkarni, who created marvellous sculptural installations for the show's set as part of her series "of bodies, armour and cages".

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Rather than a perfect, statement eyeshadow look, Philips went with a smaller stamp of colour concentrated in the corners so it feels a little "disturbing, but it draws attention without overtaking". On deeper complexions, he used a paler hue as a primer before adding the pink on top to ensure its intensity.

LAUNCHMETRICS SPOTLIGHT

The absence of mascara lends an editorial feel to a model, but for the everyday woman, the make-up artist recommends recreating the look by using a similar toned blusher applied with a sponge applicator, a hint of mascara and gentle rouge on the cheeks to enliven the skin.

"A little bit of mascara adds a bit of sexiness to the look that we want to avoid for this catwalk. No mascara is a bit more fashion and more runway because the light is neutral every moment," he says. It's a move we've seen throughout the AW24 season, with shows such as Richard Quinn, Molly Goddard and Roksanda also opting out of mascara on models' lashes.

Matteo Scarpellini//LAUNCHMETRICS SPOTLIGHT

As for the complexion, Philips prepped the skin with Dior Capture Totale Le Sérum and Dior Capture Totale Hyalushot around the eyes before using the Dior Forever Glow Star Filter. The lightweight luminiser works extra hard as both a glow-giving primer and targeted highlighter on the cheekbones, bridge of nose and temples. Brows were enhanced with Dior On-Set Brow and lips were kept impeccably shiny with Dior Addict Lip Glow Oil in clear.

Matteo Scarpellini//LAUNCHMETRICS SPOTLIGHT

To complement the minimalist silhouettes of the clothes, hairstylist Guido Palau created a low chignon at the nape of the neck. "Maria Grazia was talking about a cinematic moment. It was just the idea of a woman which was very pulled-together, very simplistic and modern," Palau shared with Bazaar. He continues: "It's a very simplistic idea of beauty to have all the hair away from the face, it's quite exposing and daunting in a way."

Ever fearless and future-facing, expect the Dior woman to take on expressive colour head first this coming season.

Dior Forever Glow Star Filter

Dior Diorshow On Set Brow

Dior Addict Lip Glow Oil

Dior Capture Totale Hyalushot Wrinkle Corrector

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