Diary of a London Fashion Week make-up artist


February 22, 2017

Ever wondered what goes into creating the incredible beauty looks on the catwalks? Senior MAC make-up artist Debbie Finnegan takes us through a typical day at London Fashion Week

"Saturday started with the sound that I hate the most... a 4:30am alarm! Thankfully I was spending the morning with my good friend Thomas De Kluyver as he was keying the makeup for Chalayan in Saddlers Wells Theatre supported by myself & the MAC Pro Team. 

Celebrities at London Fashion Week AW17

“The look he designed was inspired by 80s geisha made modern in the form of a graphic connected & disconnected black & red eye liner. We used MAC Pro Long Wear Eye Liner in Definitely Black and MAC Lip Pencil in Cherry to create the lines and accessorised it with a beautifully natural skin and partially lined Cherry Pencil Lip blended with a peach from the MAC Trend Lip Palette AW17, which features a range of key shades for the season. 

"After lining up in a super tiny backstage, we sent the models out to the runway and I swiftly headed home for a quick power nap before my next show!

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"Simone Rocha took place in the beautiful setting of Lancaster House, a very decadent mansion next door to Buckingham Palace. The team was led by key make-up artist Sam Bryant who created a look consisting of harmonious shades of neutral rose that were applied to the models’ eyes cheeks & lips. We used a range of MAC Lip Pencils in Whirl, Half Red, Burgundy & Chestnut warming them up and brushing a veil of colour in each area of the face to create soft flushes of colour.

“The show featured amazing casting of models of all ages and I was super lucky to look after the incredible Benedetta Brarzini, former actress and model who hung out with the likes of Warhol & Salvador Dali. We talked about life, family, home, our passions and bad habits (we both love a glass of wine!), the evolution of makeup, the current trend for excessive facial fillers and surgery. It's safe to say she is an incredible lady - super wise & great craic! I hope we meet again."

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"Sunday is the day of rest .... but not during fashion week! Another early morning alarm & 6am call time has me heading to spend a glorious day with the one & only Val Garland." 

First Val created the look for Anya Hindmarch with models sporting fabulous winter fresh skin  and a cold lip. We used a new formula  of MAC Foundation Next to Nothing to achieve the exact level of believable flawless skin and nuded the lips using MAC Paintpot in Painterly. 

The runway was shaped to look like an incredible mountain that the models glided down pausing to be photographed with colourful fun handbags & accessories. 

Next we moved onto Peter Pilotto where Val also created the look of another well-travelled girl this time featuring a pop of bright cream coral blush. MAC Cream Colour Base in virgin Isle was applied to the skin and lips were prepped using MAC Lip Scrubtious in Vanilla and finished with iconic MAC Lip Conditioner. 

Another inspiring day with beautiful makeup and a fabulous makeup artist, gorgeous clothes and the awesome MAC Pro team. Hello Monday!’

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