Fair-weather goths

In years gone by, the start of hot and sticky summer days usually spelt the end for wintery make-up looks, as the plums, crimsons and blacks melted away to reveal juicy sorbet shades and zingy brights. But this year, as the mercury rises in the capital, rich, deep and sultry shades are holding fast through the sunbaked days and vampish darks are the modern choice for midsummer nights. This season, summer announces the arrival of the fair-weather Goth.

Championed by the young Hollywood crowd, the trend became apparent at the Met Gala earlier this month, as a host of starlets took to the red carpet in smouldering dark make-up looks. Arriving in a silvery gown and black cape, songstress Lana Del Rey teamed her signature tumbling curls with a deep burgundy lipstick and matching nail varnish, while fellow redhead Jessica Chastain also opted for a satin-finish red-brown lip shade.

In a molten bronze floor-sweeping Grecian gown, Jessica Alba attended the Schiaparelli and Prada event in New York with a deep claret pout, joining Kate Bosworth — who co-ordinated her lipstick with her black and crimson feather dress — and Camille Belle, who opted for a bitter-chocolate brown gloss with her plunging Twenties gown.

The wintry appeal of dark vampy lips has, however, been freshened by buffed and bronzed summery complexions. At the Donna Karan spring/summer 2012 show, which featured a matte mocha lip, head MAC make-up artist Charlotte Tilbury channelled a “sporty, sexy Eighties Yasmin Le Bon” by teaming a fresh, dewy face with heavily contoured cheekbones, groomed eyebrows and bare eyelashes, while at the London premiere of Snow White and the Huntsman, model and actress Liberty Ross chose a dusky plum contour with a deep berry lip. At the Killing Them Softly premiere in Cannes, supermodel Karolina Kurkova also softened cerise lips with a tawny apricot flush, blended on both the cheeks and eyes.

But it’s not just lips that are staying on the dark side this season. At Rodarte’s spring/summer 2012 show in New York, models teamed their pretty floral sundresses with smoky eyes, created with a shimmering inky-blue eyeshadow. MAC’s Pablo Rodriguez suggests the use of a tonal shade in place of classic black is the best way to reinvent this look for summer: “Dark greys, soft plums or creamy metallic shades such as silver and copper are a great alternative for a smoky eye in the warmer months. Blend into a rounded shape around the socket and combine with tanned skin and a dusky lavender lip for a fresh finish.”

Our advice is to start perfecting the overcast look now. While summer calls for all things dark and stormy, next winter’s beauty look is an even moodier breed. But that’s a story for another time.