Backstage Beauty Report: Prettiness Overload at Dolce & Gabbana

by Sophia Panych


Sophia Panych
Sophia Panych

I snapped about a thousand pictures at Dolce & Gabanna--and not just because it's my job. The look was so pretty that even models like Bette Franke were uploading selfies on Instagram. "I always love this show because they make the girls look so beautiful," said hairstylist Guido Palau. The pairing of his romantic, adorned style and makeup artist Pat McGrath's blush-y, feminine, I-just-spent-a-month-vacationing-in-Sicily makeup meant there was practically an overload of prettiness backstage.

Sophia Panych
Sophia Panych


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From the very first step, McGrath set out to warm up the models' skin so they would look "cherubic, golden, and sun-kissed." To do this, she chose a foundation shade "a tone slightly warmer than their skin tone." Then, she mixed Dolce & Gabbana The Blush Luminous Cheek Colour in Apricot, Rosebud, and Peach and brushed the potent hue across the cheeks, chin, and hairline. On the lids went the prettiest shade of gold you've ever seen--the result of swirling a brush in both the pink-gold and yellow-gold shadows in the Dolce & Gabbana The Eyeshadow Smooth Eye Colour Quad in Golds and Desert (note to self: buy one of these when I back home, stat)--while a line of bronze (Dolce & Gabbana Intense Liquid Eyeliner in Baroque Bronze) defined the top lash line and stretched out past the outer corners very slightly (it's not Dolce without at least a little liquid liner). McGrath finished the eyes off with brown mascara and some gold shadow in the inner corners, and groomed the brows with Dolce & Gabbana Browliner pencil, which you can expect to see in stores next January. The final touch was the sexy berry lip stain that McGrath created from two new lipsticks from Dolce & Gabbana's spring collection (Bellisima and Traviata), mixing them on the back of her hand and pressing the color onto the models' mouths with her finger.

Sophia Panych
Sophia Panych


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Using a variety of hair accessories provided by the designers, including garlands of flowers, headbands of Roman coins, and crystal-studded combs, Guido asked his team to use their imaginations when arranging them in the hair. "[Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce] are very free--they didn't say we had to match the dresses or anything," said Guido. But even without all the eye-catching hair jewelry, you'd have a really gorgeous, flattering updo. After prepping damp hair with Redken Guts 10 Root Targeted Volume Spray Foam and blow-drying it, Guido made a middle part and curled the top layer of hair with a very small curling iron. He finger-combed the curls, spritzed in some Redken Powder Refresh 01 Aerosol Hair Powder/Dry Shampoo, and brought the face-framing sections back into a small ponytail, creating what was in essence a half-up style. He then gathered all the hair at the nape of the neck, wove it in a simple three-strand braid, and wrapped and squashed the braid into a soft bun. By the time the hair was dressed up and ready, it was truly hard to find something not to love backstage.

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