The style file

beauty trends

Want to know the hottest beauty trends? Brace yourselves as this week, You! highlights some key hair and makeup styles straight from the runway of the recently concluded fashion show...

Festivities call for the more obvious glitz and glam, but what about dressing for all those less-hyped-up days and evenings in between? Well, we are talking about spontaneous happy hours, dinners and hanging out with friends; these are the events that add up and really define your style. For gals who want to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to the latest makeup and hair trends, here are some of the best ones from this year’s Showcase, styled by beauty maven Nabila Maqsood. You! got an exclusive interview with her on the vision and execution of the recently concluded Showcase 2018...

Trend #1: Disheveled Buns

The hairstyles on Adnan Pardesy’s collection best exemplified this look. “I think buns are very good for summers, up and away,” said Nabila who handled the styling of the show. “We positioned the buns like a unicorn so the look was fresh and edgy, but also soft as we had tendrils on the face which softened the face and created an air of mystery.”

Trend #2: Low Buns

For Zaheer Abbas’ collection, buns were used again, but this time, low buns. “We kept lots of baby hair pulled in the sides. “We worked really hard on the eyes for this collection,” told Nabila.

“Nabila came up with the idea of feathered brows, so I suggested lashes instead and that too the lower part of the feather which is more airy so it can float on the runaway,” shared Zaheer Abbas.

“We used real feathers for the lashes. I wanted to pull some white from his collection, but didn’t want to be predictable with makeup so I used feathers instead. The effect was dramatic and was probably one of the beauty highlights of the three-day showcase,” added Nabila.

“We really liked the white feather eye lashes Nabila created for Zaheer Abbas. It was high street and trendy” enthused Angie Marshall and Nighat Misbah, fellow leading makeup artists who were in the audience during the showcase. Shamain Faruque, another leading makeup artist in the audience agreed. “Very different and dramatic,” she proclaimed.

Although very well received, this is one beauty look that is ‘don’t try at home.’ “What we do on the ramp in more theatrical and directional. So we are not suggesting people put feathers on their eyes, but we are suggesting them think out of the box and experiment,” suggested Nabila.

Trend #3: Coiled Ponies

Khaadi’s Chapter 2 catwalk featured coiled ponies were apt for the summer season. “We wanted to do coiling at the back to look a little more interesting. We did coiled ponies for Khaadi’s Chapter 2 because this was a summer collection, so everyone wants hair to be cool, clean, tidy and away from the face,” stated Nabila.

Trend #4: Looped Ponies

Misha Lakhani’s collection had a very interesting profile of a loop in the pony. “We did looped ponies for Misha Lakhani so the look would still be clean and away from the face, but the back wouldn’t be boring,” told Nabila.

Trend #5: Wet, sculpted look

Spotted on the HSY and Zonia Anwaar’s collections, were wet, sculpted looks.”The HSY collection was all about a musafir - ‘traveller’ - so we created a burnished face (almost like a rural tan) and smudgy lips. The hair was kept away, flicked back, but not like full gelled back look, by using my new product which is a combination of greasy/shiny/creamy. I created this look for an ‘80s feel. This was full of movement and was very touchable,” shared Nabila.

The look really complemented HSY’s collection which celebrated 24 years of couture, and introduced HSY Linen as part of the brand’s Millennial Musafir campaign.

Similarly, the hair in Zonia Anwaar’s segment, was really en pointe to international fashion weeks. The simple knots and middle partings they had done were really nice. Bascially, the focus was on the collection.

Trend #6: Flowers

Both the Elan and Umar Sayeed collections featured the use of flowers. “For Umar Sayeed, we did ‘pulled-back’ hair with kohl eyes and pearly, nude lips and he had baby’s breath fresh flowers in the hair. The look was very fresh and slick and bold, kohl eyes complemented it. Everything was so simple because we wanted the eyes to be prominent,” elaborated Nabila.

“For Elan, we had similar pulled back hair, but more conventional bun at the nape of the neck, which was slightly bigger, with fresh flowers, because she wanted it more eastern like a summer bride. And interestingly, the effect was very feminine and graceful,” added Nabila.

Trend #7: Ombre Lips

Ombre lips give a textured, multi-dimensional look to the lips. “Ombre lips are being done in the West, and I like to do them because I am more into texture now than one flat colour,” stated Nabila. According to her, “For stage, we add some glitter, some pearl or metallic structure at the bow of the lips. So when you see the profile, you see the bow as enhanced. The ombre texture catches the glitter and light, and looks dimensional. The effect is quite magical.”

Trend #8: Metallic Lips

Similarly, metallic lips also give texture, with a lot of gleam and shimmer. “Iridescent colour is amazing for stage. I highly recommend metallic lips for our brides and fashion shows, parties, anywhere where the lighting is more dramatic,” explained Nabila.

Trend #9: Barbarella Eyes

For Rizwan Beyg’s collection, Nabila chose a look of all eyes. She shared that, “I did a Barbarella eye look for Rizwan’s collection. It was more of ‘70s eyes with lower lashes. This technique opens up the eyes beautifully. It’s also a look that’s absolutely great for our brides who like something slightly over the top.” Also, the designer himself felt that, “The look was clean, fresh and young to match the collection.”

Trend #10: Kohl Eyes

Kohl eyes give a very bold, rectangular feel and add great drama. “For the last day, for Elan and Umar Sayeed, I used a bold, kohl eye because the silhouette was so simple and clean, I wanted the eyes to be bold,” concluded Nabila.

Credits: Show director: Rizwan Beyg Styling: Nabila (N-Pro and NGents) Photography: Faisal Farooqui & team at Dragonfly