All the Backstage Beauty Tricks We Picked Up at NYFW Spring 2018

From faux freckles to fuller hairlines, here are the tips makeup artists and hairstylists used backstage to make these looks come to life

By Samantha Schnurr Sep 15, 2017 5:40 PMTags
ESC: Gigi Hadid, Jeremy Scott, NYFW Beauty Tips, Peter White/Getty Images

The pros have a few tricks up their sleeves. 

Behind the scenes at September's New York Fashion Week, hair and makeup experts were hard at work prepping and priming the industry's most celebrated models for their latest walks down the runways.

From Christian Siriano to Marc Jacobs, Fenty x Puma to Anna Sui, fashion's beauties transformed into all kinds of characters in the name of fashion. 

However, with limited time and years of experience, beauty teams around the Big Apple relied on some tricks of their trade to make their work as swift and seamless as possible.

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Best Beauty from NYFW Spring 2018

Lucky for you, E! News went behind the scenes to find out exactly what those tricks are and how we can use them to pull of this season's set of looks. Without further ado...

Faux Freckles Start the Same Place as Your Brows

Freckles were having a major moment at Grey Jason Wu, but if you're not naturally blessed with them, not to fret! As Maybelline lead makeup artist Grace Lee told E! News, you can use a brow precise micro pencil—one you would use to fill in your brows—and randomly dot the skin, concentrating on the nose area and top part of the cheeks where the sun typically hits for a natural, youthful look.  

Mix Your Way to Dewy Skin

Looking for that natural, all-over glow without looking like a disco ball? Reach for your moisturizer! According to Lee, you can mix strobing liquid with your moisturizer for a subtle luminescence. You can also apply it to your legs for the same effect. 

A Mistake-Proof Technique for Blush

Behind the scenes at Alice + Olivia, Maybelline global makeup artist Erin Parsons was sending some models out to the show with a flush. However, if blush intimidates you, don't worry. Parsons swept her brush across a palette of shades and tapped off the excess to achieve the tone she was looking for, noting she often will mix blush colors. If the color is ultimately not to your liking, Parsons advised using your foundation brush with some concealer or foundation on top to dull any area that is too bright. 

Powder Your Way to Thick Hair

While getting models in the '70s spirit with loose flat-iron waves, hairstylists backstage at Alice + Olivia added colored powder to the ladies' hairlines for a fuller, polished effect. According to TRESemme Global Stylist Justine Marjan, use an eyebrow powder because those colors typically are ashier than eye shadow colors, and thus, will match your hair better, like brow powders from Anastasia Beverly Hills and Kelly Baker Brows. Pro tip: Marjan advised going one shade darker than your hair for dimension and depth. 

Blotting Papers Are Your Friend

The theme of Kate Spade's beauty look? Shine! Makeup artists applied oil with a brush to the skin with minimal foundation for a reflective, glossy and ultimately fresh look. For anyone who wants to embrace their shine without feeling too greasy by the end of the day, MAC senior makeup artists Fatima Thomas and Tiffany Johnston recommended using blot films to remove excess oil, but still keep that glow. For an alternate product, they suggested trying Mac Prep + Prime Skin Refined Zone Treatment. The product minimizes pores and takes away shine without looking like powder when worn underneath foundation or on its own. 

Your Best Tools Are Your Hands

Though there were makeup brushes galore backstage at the shows, many makeup artists turned to some of their best tools: their hands. They used the top of their hands, palms and fingertips for practically everything from blending powders and mixing foundations to dabbing lipstick on models' pouts for a blotted and blurred effect. Remember—you always have a few makeup tools already on hand.

Coat Your Lashes With a Different Kind of Brush

While most of us are familiar with a mascara wand, some may be surprised to see a fan brush used for coating lashes with mascara. Backstage at Christian Siriano, E.L.F. makeup artists were spotted using a fan brush to paint over the lashes after they were combed through with a wand. The result? A falsie effect without the falsies.

Lash Glue Can Give You a Hand

CND Nails Creative Ambassador Miss Pop sent top models like Gigi Hadid and Joan Smalls down Jeremy Scott's runway with electric matte nails finished off with a comet effect of glitter along the fingers using spirit gum. While you might be a little shy about rocking the bold finger art—or just don't want glitter stuck to you all day—Miss Pop suggested another easy way to amp up your nail look using something that's probably already in your makeup bag: eyelash glue. You can use eyelash glue to decorate your fingers with studs or other embellishments. It's a commitment-free alternative when you still want to jazz up your fingers. 

Watch: Rihanna Talks New Fenty Beauty Line at NYFW

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RELATED ARTICLE: Best Looks from NYFW Spring 2018