From Dior's hyper-detailed Greco-Roman up-dos to Schiaparelli's Avatar airbrushing, Couture Fashion Week AW23 has officially kicked off, serving up intricate and innovative beauty looks direct from Paris. However, while our heads will always be turned by a daring and dramatic beauty venture, we look to Couture Fashion Week to showcase a more classic make-up aesthetic, with feature-enhancing, second-skin applications at its forefront. The best in show so far? Tamara Ralph's shimmering Charlotte Tilbury debut.
With a glistening eye-to-cheek highlighter and understated palette of rosy hues, this generous serving of sunkissed sparkles is one of Couture Fashion Week's most easily replicated beauty looks, particularly if you're looking to upgrade your bridal beauty moodboard.
'What I loved about the make-up for the Tamara Ralph AW24 Haute Couture Show is that it was so timelessly elegant and wearable,' says Charlotte Tilbury Artistry Director and Brand Muse, Sofia Tilbury. 'I can see everyone creating their take on this look over the coming months – it has that fresh, natural-looking, bridal-inspired energy that’s perfect for weddings, yet it’s sun-kissed, sparkling and rosy enough to meet all the major trends of the moment.'
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On creating the look, Tilbury says she wanted to create a look that celebrated natural beauty, with less on the skin and more focus on the eyes, cheeks and lips.
'As ever, we dedicate a lot of our time to glowing skin prep, layering Glow Toner, Magic Serum Crystal Elixir, Magic Cream and the new Magic Hydrator Mist to get that smooth, dewy looking complexion. To create a pared-back skin look, we went for Beautiful Skin Radiant Concealer, which stretches over the complexion for a brightening, lifting effect, then blended the Pillow Talk Matte Beauty Blush Wands with Charlotte’s new Beauty Light Wand in Pinkgasm Sunset to create a youthful, rosy rush of colour over the cheeks.'
With chocolate and rose-gold eyeshadow tones blended to create a custom shade, this bridal-worthy beauty look was designed specifically to complement the colours and textures of the couture gowns.
Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Light Wand in Pinkgasm Sunset
Charlotte Tilbury Matte Beauty Blush Wand in Pillow Talk
Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin Radiant Concealer
Charlotte Tilbury Glow Toner
'We kept the lips looking simple and sophisticated, with the perfect nude shade tailored to every skin tone in a delicate, satin-shine finish, and finally, we sealed everything in with a spritz of the Magic Hydrator Mist. This is my secret to keeping skin looking gorgeous and glowing on the runway – it’s like a lightweight veil of hydration that ensures everything stays looking plump, juicy and just-applied.'
Katie Withington (she/her) is the Beauty Writer, at ELLE UK and Harper’s Bazaar. Working alongside the ELLE UK Beauty Team, she covers all things beauty for both print and digital, from finding backstage make-up trends at London Fashion Week and investigating buzzy skincare ingredients, to unzipping the beauty bags of Hailey Bieber and Margot Robbie. Prior to joining ELLE UK in 2022, Katie studied (BA) Fashion Journalism at London College of Fashion and has previously contributed to Red, Good Housekeeping and Prima.
