Finger painting at Milan Fashion Week

It’s all in the fingers.

Backstage at MaxMara, Tom Pecheux was massaging the face of a beautiful blonde. The legendary makeup artist was prepping the skin of the model for a good 10 minutes before before commencing the makeup regimen.

At BluGirl, the younger line of Blumarine designer Anna Molinari, key makeup artist Maud Laceppe was busy applying makeup with her fingertips. When asked what her starting point was, she answered “With the skin, of course,” as she dotted a line of MAC SelectMoisture around the eyes and nose, then quickly blended it into the skin with the barest fluttering of her fingertips.

“The foundation we use is like a razor,” she notes, referring to the thinness of application. “For lips and blush, it’s all soft edges. Everything is blended.”

SKIN IS IN

It was all flesh, flesh, flesh at the shows. Luminous skin, vibrant skin — the highlight of the looks was the barely-there finish.

“I love to blend with shimmer so you have this glowy last finish that is very sexy in a way,” Laceppe intones, while prepping the skin of her model. “It’s very artificial just to have this beautiful wet picture. I want her to look like she just came in from a run. Dewy, glistening a bit, you know?”

“I wanted to bring a feeling of the warmth,” Pecheux says of the MaxMara show, “as the clothes and silhouette are very monochromatic.”

Pecheux’s concept was to replicate the tanned finish of beach bunnies, without compromising the skin of the models.

“My generation used to go to the beach to tan,” he explains. “Now you don’t see anyone tanned. (Models often have) very pale skin, So you either fake a tan on the face or you have to do it all over the body.”

What with early-morning call times and a tight show schedule (Pecheux headlined numerous shows in Milan alone), spray-tanning every girl wasn’t feasible.

“I wanted to play with the tan around the eyes,” Pecheux offered instead. “This also makes the girl look a little spooky. Because it will look like she hasn’t slept for days. A bit like a rebel.”

In order to capture the sandy hues of the dunes, brown, copper, orange and cream around the eyes, he needed a flawless base.

“I want a naked feel. No line, no mascara, nothing. I wanna do something gently made.”

“Skin treatment is very important because you need the skin to be very moist,” he says, while gently massaging the model’s face. “Very relaxed like we do a very thin layer of foundation. Very, very thin and no powder.”

HIGHLIGHTS HIGH

The shows are often a testing ground for brands like MAC, which sponsors     about 850 shows globally per annum, according to a recent New York Times story. This season, the hero was was the MAC Mineralize Moisture SPF 15 Foundation, set to debut next year, which made the rounds at the S/S 2013 shows.

“Skin feels smoother to me, because of the Mineralized Moisture Foundation,” says Luc Bouchard, a MAC senior makeup artist who does shows in New York, Milan and Paris.

“It has a shine to it and it stays.” He demonstrates by pouring a tiny dot on the back of his hand, smoothing it over the skin. “It normally goes after the moisturizer. You can put it with any foundation or you can use it by itself.” The product can be used all over the face or over the T-zone since pores are larger there. It can help plump up skin.

“I was shocked because you can put the foundation, too, and it’s very refreshing to make it moist again.” Bouchard was impressed by the power of the new product, comparing it to a miracle serum. “It’s almost as if you apply foundation to the sidewalk, smoothing it to reveal a cleaner finish. It blends and it looks like real skin.”

And how soon can customers get their hands on this new miracle?

“Oh, it was developed for two years and it’s coming out soon,” he says.

Just like the collections, we’ll have to wait till next year.