Inspired by Runway: Elie Saab Spring/Summer 2013 Ready-to-Wear Look (Great for Monolids)

For Elie Saab’s spring/summer ready-to-wear show, Tom Pecheux (the genius who has been doing a brilliant job rebranding Estee Lauder) created a look with strong eyeliner as the focal point. When I saw the MAC Benelux senior artist, Elke Willeman (you might remember seeing her here and here) doing the look back stage, I knew I had to try it at home. If anything could have made the idea even more appealing, this look is great for those with monolids!

Before I show you the product breakdown and more pictures of my attempt, let’s see how the real pro does it, shall we?

My observation is that the look concentrates on natural-looking dewy skin, the eyebrows are left au naturel (for me this is the real challenge), a lot of black gel liner, some “haze” created by a bit of blending and softening of the line, some contouring, and nude lips.

To create natural-looking dewy skin, I used Guerlain Parure de Lumière (reviewed in detail here) and some Diorskin Nude Shimmer (review coming up soon) on all the high points of my face (forehead, bridge of the nose, top of my cheekbones, and Cupid’s bow).

For my cheeks, I dabbed a tiny bit of Le Metier de Beaute Tenné Creme Fresh Tint (swatch and review coming up soon) on my cheekbones before blending it out, and contoured just below my cheekbones with MAC Harmony.

I majorly followed Elke’s steps in creating the eye look. Since I don’t have MAC Carbon or Smut, I substituted with Urban Decay Blackout and Snakebite (from the Naked2 Palette). I used MAC 231 (review coming up soon. It’s particularly great for lining with cream and hybrid products) to line my lower lash line, Bobbi Brown Black Ink gel liner and Bobbi Brown Ultra Fine Eyeliner Brush for my upper lash line. MAC 217 was used to blend out the outer corners, and 219 on the edge of the line.

My eyebrows are left untouched for this look. I did groom them a bit with my Bobbi Brown Eye Brow Brush, and a tiny bit of residue might have got on but that’s about it. I also skipped eye primer because I found that in some closeup photos, the eyeshadow on the lower lash line is a bit smudged. Since Elke stresses that the lower lash line has to be soft with no hard edges, I am almost sure it was left to smudge on purpose (it’s just eyeshadow, so it’s not the horrible type of eyeliner smudging. Don’t be scared).

I dabbed some Le Metier de Beaute Tenné Creme Fresh Tint on the lips for that very nude look (my natural lip color is pinker than what you see here). To my utter relief, the rose in there stops my lips from looking like they’ve got concealer on!

For my hair, I put some oil in it to make it sleek and changed the parting. I’ve seen a lot of very sleek hairstyles on the runway recently, so it might be time to straighten mine!

More photos!

You see the contouring below my cheekbones very clearly here:

If you’re interested in more closeup photos of the makeup for the show, you can find them on Fashionsing.com.

I hope you enjoyed my first runway-inspired look! All the models on the runway wear it well, and you should give this a go especially if you have monolids. It gives eyes a nice shape without being too harsh, and I think it’s entirely wearable on a daily basis (which is something I can’t say about all runway looks)!

What are some of your favorite looks on the runway this season? Have you tried to duplicate any runway looks? Do you like the sleek and somehow androgynous trend that we keep seeing recently?

Sunny, your beauty culture translator xx