The Tamesis
“There’s a softer vibe here,” said Peter Philips, creative and image director of Christian Dior makeup, who brought greater fluidity and nuance to Jonathan Anderson’s first show for Dior. The look was “more blended, without too many harsh lines. It was like reading a poem.” Philips drew inspiration from the silhouette of the Eiffel Tower at sunset; an early morning ride through Paris; Michelle Pfeiffer’s face Dangerous Liaisons. He translates the feeling into flushed cheeks, alabaster skin and smooth lips, “like you just ate a peach.”
“Historically, when the world feels industrial, gritty, or scary, fashion tends to veer toward the soft, historic, and hyper-sensual,” says fashion historian Serena Dyer. Romantic beauty offers an opportunity to retreat from the pervasive sense of disaster and global unrest—a chance to indulge in the fantasy of innocence and unspoiled nature. After all, Romanticism in the early 19th century was “partly based on this idea of celebrating nature,” said Colleen Hill, director of the FIT Museum. “Getting out in nature and having a healthy, rosy appearance is certainly part of it.”
Surrounded by all this, I was tempted to give it a try and arranged a visit from Dior makeup artist Jamie Coombes. “‘Natural makeup’ is just as complicated as heavy makeup,” warns Combs, lugging a suitcase containing some 500 products up three flights of stairs to my apartment. He spent 30 minutes prepping my skin with micellar water, then applied moisturizer and serum with a series of brushes, which he said kept my skin from overheating and also made me feel like ASMR was happening on my face, before finally opening a bottle of foundation. Next up is soft gold eyeshadow and mascara. When he reached for a tube of blush, I panicked a little, but he assured me it was all about placement: It should be above my cheekbones, close to my eyes, not on the apples of my cheeks (where I’m already rosy). I ended up looking just like myself, except… better, like I was using a Paris filter on Instagram, or like I was painted by Renoir. I sat up unconsciously. Combs said I looked like Cupid.
