LFW SS20: The best beauty and make-up trends from London Fashion Week

From perfectly winged liner to abstract eyeshadow, here are the best beauty and make-up spring/summer 2020 trends.

As London Fashion Week – the second leg of the fashion month marathon – comes to a close, it isn’t just summer outfit inspiration screenshots taking up vital storage in our camera roll. In fact, this season’s shows have offered up a glut of beauty inspiration so dreamy, that we won’t be waiting for the sunnier months to emulate it.

NYFW may have offered the full gamut of beauty trends, from sultry glamour to neon punk rock (keep scrolling to see for yourself), but LFW was an all-round more wearable affair.

Focus lay heavily on preened skin that glowed underneath layers upon layers of skincare and easy-to-wear shades you wouldn’t even need a mirror to apply. But there was also a flash or two of bright bold colour and a sprinkling of glitter thrown in, too, for good measure.

Let us walk you through the best beauty trends for SS20.

• Victoria Beckham

  Of course we expected big (beauty) things from the woman who has just launched a ridiculously covetable make-up range, and boy did Victoria Beckham deliver. Updating standard issue eyeliner, make-up artist Pat McGrath used the range’s signature tones of malbec red and denim blue to draw modernist bands of colour that hovered just above the crease of the eyelid. 

• Erdem

  At Erdem, Val Garland kept make-up to a minimum just using a little cream shadow to add a tea-stained wash to the eyes and cheeks.

• House of Holland

  As anyone that’s ever tried any kind of glitter make-up look can attest, precision is impossible. But as MAC’s Dominic Skinner taught us backstage at House of Holland, it’s best just to go with the messiness. He topped coordinating powder shadow in an arc of glitter that spanned the eyelid, under eye and temple.

• Rixo

  Super-glowy skin was met with 70s-inspired face paint at Rixo. “The inspiration behind the collection is a free-spirited woman from the 1960s. The beauty look is a modern interpretation of the looks from that era using graphic shapes, hearts and flowers which complement the collection’s patterns,” said Vincent Ford, NARS’ international lead makeup artist.

• Toga

  The shine continued at Toga, where NARS’ global artistry director Sada Ito plied the models’ skin with plenty of skincare and altered brows to make them look starkly straight.

• Matty Bovan

  At Matty Bovan, tear ducts were dotted with a metallic silver while the outer edge of the eye was lined in an extreme slash of smoky black liner. 

• Emilia Wickstead

  At Emilia Wickstead, make-up artist Lucy Bridge patted Code 8 concealer onto the undereyes to neutralise redness and followed with custom-blended lipsticks in one of three shades: pillarbox red (an exclusive shade created with Emilia Wickstead), lilac or pastel pink. Using a dry fluffy brush, she buffed the very edges of the lips to give the look a diffused finish. 

The best beauty trends at New York Fashion Week

• Adeam

  At Adeam, the SS20 collection was inspired by the designer’s family hometown, a seaport in Japan. So, NARS’ global artistry director Sada Ito created a look that depicted a woman who loves the seaside. He prepped skin with NARSskin products.

  Ito then used the Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturiser, £31, Radiant Creamy Concealer, £24, Soft Matte Complete Concealer, £24, and Soft Velvet Pressed Powder, £29, for fresh, radiant skin.

  Our favourite part of the look? The crystal appliqué applied to the outer edge of models’ eyes.

• Jeremy Scott

  At Jeremy Scott, the make-up look – which was created by make-up artist Kabuki – had a fun, punky vibe.

  All of the models wore black eyeliner that branched out into an extended wing – but the inner half of the eyes were kept liner-free.

  Instead, the inner half of their eyes were covered with shimmering eyeshadow in a shade that clashed with their vibrant wigs.

• Rodarte

  This year, Rodarte chose to debut its SS20 collection with a portrait series of exceptional women – and it did not disappoint.

  Uzo, NARS global director of artistry, created a romantic look and gave each of the women flushed cheeks and rosy lips. She then differentiated the looks by either leaving the eyelids bare, or giving them a sweep of lavender or seafoam-coloured eyeshadow.

• Christian Siriano

  Arguably one of the most beautiful make-up looks to grace the SS20 runways, the look at Christian Siriano was ethereal and inspired by “painterly abstract beauty”.

  Created by Erin Parsons, global make-up artist at Maybelline, the eyes were covered in streaks of cobalt blue and mint green, while a subtle splodge of pink was swept through the eyebrows.

  Unfortunately, Maybelline are keeping quiet on the products that were used to create the look, but they did confirm it will be part of a new launch next year. Watch this space…

• Brandon Maxwell

  The look at Brandon Maxwell was all about bronzed, healthy skin.

  111Skin ambassador Deanna Hagan prepped models’ skin with a range of face and eye masks from the brand.

  A team of make-up artists then re-created the gorgeous look dreamed up by Tom Pecheux, which involved a soft smoky eye, sunkissed skin, a splattering of freckles and a nude lip.