How to make the ‘bad taste’ beauty trend work in real life

Believe it or not, yellow eyeliner and blue mascara can be wearable

Models backstage at Dries Van Noten AW18 (Sam McKnight/PA)

If red lipstick is about as bright as your makeup usually gets, prepare to shake things up, because backstage at the autumn/winter shows there was an absolute explosion of colour – and it was all about the eyes.

From electric blue and hazmat orange liner to scarlet eyeshadow and mascara in shades we didn’t even know existed, these were seriously bold looks.

“The existence of colour on the face now isn’t about coordination or it ‘matching’ the clothes,” says MAC makeup artist Terry Barber.

Models backstage at Lulu Guinness AW18 (GHD/PA)

“It just works as a detail in itself … and is a makeup choice that’s very knowing, in the sense that it’s purposefully a bit ‘wrong’, but not weird.

“The new way to wear colour is borderline bad taste, but it still looks beautiful.”

Models backstage at Dries Van Noten AW18 (Sam McKnight/PA)

So how do you take these crazy catwalk creations and make them tasteful?

The key is taking saturated hues and applying them in a more subtle way, so that you get all the colour payoff and none of the weirdness.

Models on the catwalk at Palmer Harding AW18 (Escentual/PA)

Here’s how to make three colourful catwalk-inspired looks work for you…

1. Hot lines

Model backstage at Palmer Harding AW18 (Escentual/PA)

“Clean, simple, wearable” is how MAC makeup artist Lucy Bridge described the look at Eudon Choi.

We’re not sure that thick yellow and red rings of eyeliner count as wearable in our book, but the colours sure are beautiful, and there were creamy, saturated liner looks at Kenzo (bright yellow), Dior (deep red) and Palmer Harding (electric blue) as well.

To tone down this out-there look, take a highly pigmented cream eyeliner and apply it right on the lash line in a neat, sharp flick rather than a thick floating line.

On the catwalks, models’ lashes were left bare, but complementing your bright liner with lots of black mascara helps diffuse the colour slightly.

Morphe Gel Liner Vitamin Sea (Morphe/PA)

Morphe Gel Liner Vitamin Sea, £9, Cult Beauty.

Dior Diorshow On Stage Liner Matte Yellow (Dior/PA)

Dior Diorshow On Stage Liner Matte Yellow, £23.40, Escentual.

Shiseido Kajal InkArtist Rose Pagoda (Shiseido/PA)

Shiseido Kajal InkArtist Rose Pagoda, £22, Escentual.

2. Lash clash

At Dries Van Noten, makeup artist Peter Phillips gave models huge false eyelashes in no less than eight different colours, including neon yellow, dark green, violet and brick red.

Model backstage at Dries Van Noten AW18 (Sam McKnight/PA)

Coloured mascara has been having a renaissance lately (yet another Nineties throwback) so you have a whole rainbow of options, but for beginners royal blue and forest green are your best bet.

Keep the rest of your eye makeup neutral and let your lashes do the talking.

NYX Worth the Hype Volumizing & Lengthening Mascara Blue (NYX/PA)

NYX Worth the Hype Volumizing & Lengthening Mascara Blue, £9, Cult Beauty.

YSL Mascara Vinyl Couture I'm The Excitement (YSL/PA)

YSL Mascara Vinyl Couture I’m The Excitement, £26, YSL Beauty.

3. Cloud colour

It was all about Eighties inspiration at the Lulu Guinness and Ashley Williams shows, where pinky-red powder acted as both blusher and eyeshadow, buffed from the eyelids to the cheeks.

If you’re used to pale peach blusher this look might be a bit scary, and if you’ve got red undertones in your skin it’s best avoided, but a red-toned smoky can be really flattering.

Model backstage at Lulu Guinness AW18 (GHD/PA)

Experiment with a palette, starting with lighter shades and building up to brick red or burgundy on the outer corner of your eye.

Again, on the catwalks this was a bare lashes look but a couple of coats of your favourite black mascara will add definition.

Revolution Re-Loaded Palette Newtrals 2 (Revolution/PA)

Revolution Re-Loaded Palette Newtrals 2, £4, Superdrug.

Huda Beauty Obsessions Precious Stones Eyeshadow Palette Ruby (Huda Beauty/PA)

Huda Beauty Obsessions Precious Stones Eyeshadow Palette Ruby, £25, FeelUnique.