LFW Best Beauty Moments

Byredo has been spritzing and swiping its products on cool girls since its inception in 2006. So naturally, it made perfect sense to sponsor Conner Ives’ most recent debutante-inspired show, hosted against the grand backdrop of the gilded, mirrored ballroom in London’s Savoy Hotel.

The masterstroke of make-up artist Lucy Bridge, who ensured that all the models had a “fair helping of Byredo’s Fantôme Liquid Lipstick Vinyl”, which caught the glinting light of the ornate hanging chandeliers. Warming taupe was swiped over eyelids, and paired with a lip base colour of the same tint. Several models whom Lucy refers to as “Conner’s Swans” donned a dusty blue eyeshadow, to match the ballroom’s ceiling, accented by either yellow or taupe false lashes, as an added artistic touch. The show closed with an iconic bridal runway appearance from Beauty Editor Tish Weinstock, whom Conner accredits as his muse.

The founder of Perfumer H, Lyn Harris, has been infusing London’s olfactory scene with her unconventional but interesting line of fragrances, including Rhubarb, Ink and Leather, that reflect everyday life and the natural world. Among the dimly lit tent, erected in the heart of East London’s Victoria Park, Perfumer H scented the Burberry space with its Ivy fragrance this season. Emulating the English garden in autumn, verdant ivy leaf and red berry fuse with rose, frankincense and musk; which was rounded off by hints of bramble bush for full autumnal impact. This new collaboration comes as a surprise since Burberry already has its in-house line of fragrances but marks a big leap for Lyn as her heady scents greeted the star-studded audience in attendance.

The whimsy of Molly Goddard’s latest show was joined by Harry Styles' equally joyful beauty brand, Pleasing, who collaborated as the official nail polish partner for the collection. Manicurist (and Molly's cousin) Saffron Goddard, created the playful nail looks to match the brightly-coloured collection. ‘Don’t Lady Bug Me’, Pleasing’s juicy red polish was blobbed onto the model’s nails, leaving space for ‘Syrupberry’ a vibrant pink creme polish to be nestled in next to it. The two-tone manicures also included placing ‘Borgonha Acai’, a deep burgundy, alongside ‘Beach Ball’, a navy glossy polish.

While the polishes take centre stage, Saffron notes that “the entire nail isn’t painted” to illustrate the idea of “trying different nail colours to see what suits your outfit”. The technicoloured nail blobs wonderfully matched the buds of tulle that featured in many of the looks. Both the nails and the collection were imbued with a free-spirited sense of play that we just wanted to gobble up.

Susan Fang returned to London Fashion Week to seduce our senses once more with her latest Penhaligon’s partnership. The heritage perfumer has been scenting the streets of London since 1870 and with Susan’s masterful attention to visual and olfactory detail, as seen at her Autumn/Winter 2023 show when she sent models down a rose-laden runway carrying mechanical water misters to bring out the natural scent of the petals, it was a match made in heaven.

While the sun splintered through the impressive windows of the airy show space, the air was filled with Penhaligon’s Eau de Parfum, Liquid Love. With heart notes of rose and ginger, pricked with pink pepper, the scent wonderfully built on the visual romanticism of the collection. Soft pink tulle and white organza flowers speckled dresses and jackets rendered imaginings of wedding confetti, while Liquid Love was spritzed directly onto the garments backstage. While Penhaligons warns that Liquid Love “may cause swooning” it's a side effect that the newly-married designer is more than happy to take advantage of.

And lastly… perhaps the beauty-meets-fashion moment of the season, cult, LA-based make-up brand MERIT collaborated with JW Anderson for the ultimate no-make-up make-up base, with a pop of Vermillion red lippy. Their buttery soft, super lightweight and longlasting products (which you can swipe on as part of a nimble 5-minute routine) have already become mainstays in our everyday make-up bags, so it was only a matter of time before they were picked up by MUAs backstage.

A natural glow and pigmented lip make the perfect accompaniment to Jonathan Anderson’s modern and playful working wardrobe. “We juxtaposed subtle and loud looks. When a red stamped-on mouth was not applied, the girls were instead groomed in the classic boyish JW Anderson manner, paying attention to a handsome boy brow and luminous athletic skin,” says lead make-up artist Lynsey Alexander.