I was more excited about Katie Gallagher than any show of the week; I knew the hair and makeup would be one of my favorites. As much as I love a beautiful, faux au naturel look on the runway, you can only do so many variations before wanting something with a little more edge. Plus, you will come to realize that the “no makeup” makeup is harder to master and involves more products than most looks. I will recreate that, later – I’m coming for you, Billy Reid!

Enter MAC for Katie Gallagher. As soon as head makeup artist Javier Romero (pictured above) described his inspiration for this look, I knew it would be a favorite. “A bloodline – I imagined what it would look like if she dipped her features in blood.” A cleaned up version of that, indeed – no Carrie remakes were in sight. The look is deceptively simple: red lips, red liner, red mascara (which was custom mixed from red pigment and lash mixing medium), and matte skin.  I became mildy obsessed with one particular girl’s look with her platinum blonde hair, porcelain skin and septum piercing – quite a different look from the one she portrayed here, isn’t it? Javier seemed to favor her, as well, which prompted my question, “How would you describe the girl you transformed them into?” He paused for a second and replied, “How would you describe her? I might steal your answer.” “She looks like someone who could stomp you into the ground,” I decided. Javier agreed; both he and the model laughed. Maybe she was a little less tough than the makeup and clothing let on, but I doubt many people would test that theory. What a bunch of bada** looking girls.
I’ll be recreating this look in the next post, so stay tuned! Huge thank you to MAC for allowing me to cover backstage, and to Javier Romero for chatting with me and creating such an exciting look that I’ve been dying to try.