Peter Philips, the creative and image director for Christian Dior Makeup, envisioned a look that emphasized simplicity and elegance for the brand’s Fall/Winter 2022 runway presentation. Inspired by the Mariella Bettineschi pieces on display, where female portrait sitters throughout art history were reappropriated for the female gaze, Philips used his cosmetic mastery to create a matte and hydrated visage with a sterling pop of eye colour for a subtly dramatic effect. Here, Philips breaks down his creative process and the hero products used to conceive this latest chapter in his ongoing work with the Maison.
On the inspiration behind the runway look:
“The aesthetic is a very simple, natural look, inspired by the set design of the show space. It was full of artworks by the Italian artist Mariella Bettineschi. She took pictures of old master’s paintings portraying women from previous eras, revealing that ‘these are all strong women, but they always painted by men.’ Bettineschi took a picture of those famous sitters so they’re now portrayed by a woman, and she twisted the images by changing the eyes on each and every picture. A double eye motif became the signature — that was the basic idea for the makeup look.”
“A very natural, strong beauty. No highlighting or contouring, no tricks. Just beautiful skin, a nicely groomed eyebrow, and a little twist on the eye. Almost like a luminous spot of silver in the corner of the eye, with the skin being kept matte so the luminosity of the eye would stand out more. Then the hair was braided, like a beautiful little crown around the head to frame the face, and that was the makeup look.”
On prepping the skin prior to makeup application:
“To prep I used the Capture Totale, as usual. It sits nicely, and since we’re in the midst of winter right now, the girl’s skin can need an extra boost of nourishment. The Capture Totale routine is very easy to apply, easy to wear, and most skin types carry it well. It’s a good prep for your foundation.”
On the Christian Dior Beauty products used to achieve the look:
“I used the new Forever Foundation in the matte finish — we’ve got an extensive range of shades. It gives enough coverage for girls with more difficult skin, and at the same time it looks very natural and very lightweight. Then a little bit of Skin Correct concealer if needed, groomed the eyebrows with the Kabuki Brow Styler, curled the lashes and used the Custom Eye Palette, which is a really good palette!”
“I applied a little bit of primer on the whole eyelid, just because it neutralizes the red of the skin. I used the silver from this palette on the corner of the eye, the Forever Foundation in matte finish and voila!”
“On the lips, I used the new Dior Addict that was just released. I did a very natural, nude look. The great thing about this new range of shades is that they’re all muted nudes from very light to extremely dark — going from brick reds to beige, to brownish reds. They can all have a natural quality. For most girls I used Nude 100 — just tap it in and it gives this beautiful, hydrating effect. On some girls I used a darker shade, depending on their natural lip colour.”
