NYFW AW19 a day in the life of the Tom Ford show
NYFW AW19 a day in the life
I have been to many a fashion week show in London and in NYC. It never gets old and I have to admit that I feel quite lucky. As a girl from a small Canadian West Coast city I don’t think that younger me would have ever dreamed that I would be in such places working sometimes backstage and attending the shows with the likes of Tom Hanks, Gigi and the rest! I am still in awe every season and the little girl in me has to pinch herself. There is some serious hustle involved though and I thought that I would try to give you a day in the life of show day.
Tom Ford show day! Here we go!
5am wakeup, normally due to jet lag. I feel that this is an advantage though as I can get organised early.
8am get myself ready.
Now we are in the days of social media, you know you will be on camera at some point, and the one day you decide not to get your self ready it will for sure so best to prepare. I like to keep my makeup simple and fresh. Most makeup artists wear very little makeup as we are so used to putting it on others. I love to wear it for fun but I have to admit that my day to day is very basic and I have a less is more approach to it. I am a huge fan of skin care and I always travel with sheet masks as I can wear one and do things, This morning I used the La Mer Treatment Lotion Hydrating Mask then the basics to follow. If you want more details comment below and I am happy to let you know. Enough on that, lets get to the fun bits!
First appointment 10:30am.
This season I had the pleasure of getting 2 beauty legends ready as they were not only attending the show and backstage later but they also had to shoot some amazing content for Harrods. Tiff Darke and Katie Service (2 amazing beauty authorities) were such fun. They set the tone of the day for me (and BTW it was my fave fashion week ever!). These two know SO much about the hottest beauty brands, for me a total beauty junkie, it was so fun to chat and refreshing to know that there are some cool women out there who not only know their stuff but also share and are fun to work with. The theme of both their makeups was glow with blended smoky eyes. It was built to last as the show was at 8pm. Thank you Katie and Tiff! Products used Katie: Traceless foundation stick, Shade and Illuminate, Honeymoon Eye Shadow Quad, Espresso Eye Kohl Intense, Revolve around me lip. Tiff: Traceless Foundation Stick, Shade and Illuminate, Orchid Haze Eye Quad, Metallic Mink Eye Kohl Intense, Indian rose lip with Tawny Pink gloss to finish.
Second appointment 1pm (pack kit and move hotels)
I think that what I love most about being a makeup artist is meeting people and the fun that makeup can be. This amazing lady Marta Pozzan had just arrived all the way from LA and she and her friend were just a joy! They played cool music and were so refreshing! They both will go far, they have the prefect combination, niceness, fun, and a hard work ethic. With this all in mind the makeup look was also very fun and made to last into the night. I loved that Marta was daring with her looks and enjoys colour! We went for a green and purple metallic eye with a wet/glitter look. It was so fun to create and she looked amazing at the show. We used: Traceless foundation sticks, Photosynthesex and Daydream quads and the Eye Kohl Intense in Metallic Moss Cheek colour in Inhibition and lips in Sable Smoke
Break!
Grilled cheese sandwiches and time to clean brushes (after 3 faces I had used nearly all of them) with Melissa. She my fashion week partner in crime, always so helpful and supportive. The best PR in the biz, she is a trained makeup artist too and will help when we are down to the wire. Thanks for the best time in NYC and for organising it all. You are a PR machine.
3pm and my next appointment. Carlo Sestini is the most gentlemanly and polite man, even when he is arriving from all the way from Australia he makes sure YOU are ok and is the ultimate host. He was doing a big behind the scenes piece for Good Morning America as a day in the life of attending the Tom Ford show and I had the pleasure of getting him ready. The trick for good mens grooming as with any makeup is the skin. It needs to look fresh and hydrated. To get him camera ready I used the Tom Ford For Men grooming range. The Oil Free Moisturiser, Bronzing gel and some Eye Treatment did the trick. The grooming and the Tom Ford suit are a win and he looked so dapper, the quintessential Tom Ford Gentleman. I also need to mention that he included me in the GMA Instagram post! Thank you Carlo and I can’t wait to see you next time.
4:30 depart for back stage at the show. As a makeup artist this is one of my most favourite places to be at fashion week. I have the chance to take the editors backstage with Melissa to see the behind the scenes of the models getting ready. This season the look was created by the legend of glow Diane Kendal. She is a makeup guru with calm and grace. The models this season were sporting beautiful metallic diffused sultry eyes. The look was inspired by the moms at Mr Ford’s sons school, polished and effortless. The colour pallet was inspired by LA. Mr Ford feels that it is much softer than when he was in London and he used blush nudes in pinks and browns for this look. What really made it super sexy and SO Tom Ford is the use of an eye gloss to finish. Diane says the most important thing to a great makeup is great skin, she loves the Traceless Foundation stick to keep the skin looking flawless with a weightless feel and look, less is more for Diane and I couldn’t agree more.
Products used for the TF AW19 look:
Traceless foundation sticks on face and lips, Shade and illuminate to sculpt, Brow sculptor in brows, Nude Dip, Orchid Haze pallets, Eye Kohl Intense in Espresso and Onyx, Deeper liner pen, and eye gloss to finish! I will shoot a how to later in the week and post to my insta.
Out from back stage and one more makeup to go!
7pm and it’s down to the wire. The traffic in NYC is epic, add in rain and you get gridlock. Not good when you have to make it from uptown to Soho in an Uber. My appointment Leonie was not only understanding but was also so nice and gracious. If this was the makeup olympic sprint, I was going for gold. I had 15 mins to create this look. We used traceless sticks for great skin and the secret weapon of Reflects Gilt sheer hilighting duo for smooth and sheen. . A nude dip smoky brown eye and Indian Rose lip colour to finish. It was timeless, special and also FAST! Thank you Leonie for being so awesome and I am excited to get you ready for your next event this weekend!
8pm Show time!
The energy entering the show is electric! There are flash bulbs going off everywhere and the coolest of the cool are entering the building. The show was incredible, I am obsessed with the makeup and the fashion. The satin trousers with over sized turn ups for me were the best of the casual. I was also loving the chain detail of the evening dresses. What a show.
Last stop dinner 9:30
Good company, food and wine make for the best way to end the day. 12am and I am back at the hotel and ready for bed. What a day, what a show and what a lucky girl I am.