Paying homage to the most iconic moments in beauty and the women who created them. 

Mia Farrow as F. Scott Fitgerald’s Daisy Buchanan. Look at her. Set aside the flowing, tulle white dresses, the golden bob set in waves and the frankly extraordinary headwear for a moment. Just look at her face. It’s like a pre-Raphaelite painting. And not just because it belongs to Mia Farrow (who incidentally, is the only woman to have ever made me contemplate a crop), it’s because the gentle sculpting, shading and enhancing has become etched in my memory as the ultimate embodiment of Daisy Buchanan. 

It’s difficult to pinpoint the little parts of this look that make up such a striking, effervescent whole. Maybe it’s the straight, buffed blonde brows; the dappling of freckles across the nose (do they belong to Buchanan or Farrow?), the dove grey blended eyelid or is it the dusty blush pink lip – intermittently carrying a stiletto-shaped cigarette holder? Whatever it is, the message is clear: Daisy Buchanan is there to be worshipped, like a religious effigy on a mantelpiece – a damsel without distress, a desirable and desired woman. 

Of course, we know that she’s utterly and remorselessly er… wicked. But then, the wicked ones are always the most beautiful. Make-up is an affront to reality – a wonderful smokescreen used to pull a shroud over what you don’t want them to see, and present what you do as a pretty, wrapped gift. That’s what the hazy softness of her make-up does - it disarms. It makes a complicated woman seem like the utter essence of simplicity and charm. 

And so here I am; my own Farrow-inspired Daisy Buchanan look. I tend to only see make-up in graphic shapes and lines, so the exercise of working only with wistful brushstrokes and whispers of tonal colour was a sidestep out of my comfort zone. 

Reverential, nostalgic and with a naivety I don’t often see in my own make-up, I sort of love it. The soft washes of grey and warmed cheeks create a softness on my face where there was none, like dusk shadows on a blank piece of paper. 

Admittedly, this look would be infinitely more suited to those whose skin tone doesn’t naturally veer towards pinkness and blotching as mine does, but it’s generally nothing a great demi-matte foundation can’t solve. I’m wearing Lancôme Teint Visionnaire here. We’re fortunate now to be able to use modern formulas and textures that glide with the skin, helping to move the look on from the powdered formulas of the 70s movie set. Today’s textures blend and merge with each other in a more realistic way so the look stays on for longer than an illicit ballroom kiss. Better than that, it makes you want to dance. 

 

1 Sisley Phyto-Sourcils Perfect in Blonde, £31 at Harrods

2 Nars, Shimmer Eyeshadow in Bombshell, £17 at Nars

3 Bobbi Brown, Eye Shadow Brush, £23 at Bobbi Brown

4 Bobbi Brown, Full Coverage Face Brush, £29.50 at Bobbi Brown

5 Smashbox, Halo Long Wear Blush in Warm Glow, £23 at Smashbox

6 Dolce & Gabbana Classic Cream Lipstick in Natural Monica, £25.50 at Harrods
 

 

 

Photography: Hugo Yangüela