Here's how to get those natural beauty looks for summer from Dior's 2018 cruise runway

By Sari Anne Tuschman

May 15, 2017 2:25 PM PT

At the Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve in Calabasas, Dior achieved a spectacle, presenting the French house’s 2018 cruise collection in the middle of nature instead of an industrial spot in downtown Los Angeles or a swanky one in Beverly Hills.

The May 11 scene was complete with hot air balloons, a who’s who of the fashion and entertainment worlds and a post-runway performance by Solange. All of this was to allow spectators watch Dior creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri’s Southwestern- and outdoors-inspired women’s looks make their way along a dirt pathway that had been transformed into a fashion runway.

For Dior Makeup’s creative and image director, Peter Philips, this fashion presentation was an opportunity to explore nature and natural beauty.

“The models are sun-kissed without being tan, beautiful skin with a little bit of blushing,” he said of the beauty looks for the fashion show. “When you’re running or working out, sometimes, you get that athletic look. That was the idea.”

How to get the look

To achieve this natural flush, Philips used Rouge Dior Lipstick in Ready (No. 642) on the models’ cheekbones and nose bridges as well as a little bit on their eyelids and under their chins to present a subtle, warm look without them looking as if they had spent too much time in the sun.

“We warned the girls, ‘Don’t go outside, because this sun is lethal. You can get a sunburn straightaway,’” Philips said of the environmental realities of presenting a show outside in the wild during a California spring. “The lipstick I used has pigment in it but also a pearl essence. And it kind of blends in with the foundation, which makes it all very natural. It becomes one with the skin.”

Each model’s skin was prepped with Diorskin Forever & Ever Wear Primer, followed by Diorskin Forever Fluid Foundation and Compact and the brand’s new undercover concealer.

The models’ faces were then finished with Dior’s Flash Luminizer Booster pen (No. 002) on areas that would catch light, followed by a light dusting of Diorskin Nude Air Loose Powder.

“I didn’t do much powder — it’s about a little bit of foundation and then cream textures, not a big quantity, just subtle amounts,” says the Antwerp, Belgium-born creative director, who turned 50 on the day of the show.

For the models’ eyes, Philips employed the brick-ish shade from the Inflame 5 Couleurs palette (No. 767) on the center of the lid. (“I used earthy tones on the eyes at the root of the lashes, but very subtle,” he said.) Eyelashes were left bare as were mouths, save for Dior Addict Lip Sugar Scrub.

But it wasn’t only the dust, chance of wind and strong sun that presented potential challenges for the makeup guru. It was that while the models had their makeup applied during the bright light of midday, they would walk the runway hours later in the warm hue of a setting sun.

“I’ve done many shoots, waiting all day just for that hour-and-a-half evening light. It’s fantastic,” Philips said. “During rehearsal, they were saying, ‘Maybe you should add a bit more,’ and I said, ‘Keep in mind, it might become really orange-y if you do too much.’ You have to anticipate and hope it’s the right amount. In the backstage light, it almost looked like there was nothing, but I knew the pigment was there and the pearliness from the lipstick was there, and I knew once that evening light hit, it would warm up.”

And that’s just what happened on the runway. The models radiated as they strutted along the dusty makeshift catwalk decked in Chiuri’s Wild West-inspired designs.

“The collection is great,” Philips said. “Maria Grazia is really getting her touches in, the right balance between her and the brand. It’s a very rich collection. The shapes are there. The fabrics are there. It’s kind of amazing to see how she balances out her vision and still keeps it Christian Dior.”

As for the venue — the expansive field in the Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve — and how best to display the makeup looks, Philips said he was initially skeptical and then ultimately inspired.

“I came here, and I was like, ‘Where the hell are they bringing us now?’” Philips said with a laugh. “But when I arrived, they were blowing up the [hot air] balloons, and it looked like a bohemian camp, like a festival was going to happen. And I said, ‘Oh, my God, this is amazing.’”

The final result

The runway finale of Dior's 2018 cruise collection which was presented at the Upper Los Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve in West Hills on May 11, 2017.

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