The 5 Best Makeup Looks from Paris Fashion Week Fall 2011

Paris has always been the city of love, but during Fashion Week it felt like there was an extra tinge of romance in the air. Our favorite makeup looks were understated, and surprisingly simple—a single color scheme, a stroke of thick liner or a bright mouth—but those small touches made a big impact that was beautiful, feminine and strong. Here are the looks we fell head over heels for:

1. Lanvin
Cats seemed to pop up everywhere on the runway this season (hats, sweaters), but this feline-inspired makeup has to be the trend's most purr-fect incarnation. Using Cover Girl's Smoky ShadowBlast in Onyx, makeup artist Pat McGrath drew a thick line starting from the center of the lash line and extending it far our past the outer corner of the eyes. Rather than bringing it to a sharp point, she squared it off so it looked imperfect, "I wanted it to look like the girls did their own makeup," she said. Less severe and graphic than your typical cat-eye, it's just as sexy—and a whole lot easier to do.

2. Chanel
Is it gray? Is it gold? Is it green? Coming down the runway, the iridescent eye shadow shifted and changed color in the light, looking as dark and mysterious as the smoke-filled runway. "Karl wanted something metallic—a silver gray," said makeup artist Peter Philips. "We chose one of the new cream shadows that will be out in the fall. It's an intense shimmer," he said of the gunmetal shade. To define the eyes, Philips traced the upper and lower lash lines with black cream liner, creating a smudgy "V" on the outer corners of the eyes. Next, the cream shadow, called Epatant, was brushed all over the lids, underneath the eyes, and smudged up into the brow bone with a Q-Tip. Next he lined the inner corners with Chanel's Eye Liner in Khaki Platine (also a fall launch), and finished off the look with two coats of mascara and a matte-velvet rosy lipstick.

3. Nina Ricci 
Pink lipstick is nothing new (trust us, we've seen and tried them all), but this sorbet shade is a nice switch from the vibrant fuchsias and magentas from the past few seasons. Creamy, but with a matte finish, the shade is somewhere between a salmon-pink and sherbet orange, which sounds strange for fall, but looks so right when paired with minimal makeup—with a statement color like this, you won't need much else. McGrath evened out the models' skin with liquid foundation, curled and coated the lashes with mascara, filled in brows, and dusted a light taupe shadow over the lids.

4. Chloé 
We love the idea of sepia-toned makeup for fall, and the monochromatic version at Chloé was just what we had in mind for a cool-weather look. Not only is the shade super-flattering (it seriously looked good on every model), but it was unexpectedly beautiful when softly diffused all over the face. On the lids, chocolate brown shadow was swept over the lids and slightly above the creases, as well as underneath the lower lash lines. Lashes were dark and thick, bronzer was dusted up the cheekbones, and M.A.C.'s Freckletone lipstick was applied to the mouth. For an added touch of sweetness, makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury drew freckles on the models.

5. Jean Paul Gaultier 
So the gray bouffants may have been totally goofy, but take a close look at the models' faces and you'll realize there was some seriously pretty makeup at this show. Every feature was covered in the same rosy-brown shade—spread in the creases and along the brown bone of the eyes, diffused all over the cheeks and dotted lightly on the lips. Porcelain skin provided a soft, perfect base, while the strong brows gave the face a focal point without looking too over-the-top. Overall the makeup was romantic, but without being girly—something you may not have noticed behind all the show's grandma-inspired accoutrements.

Which runway look is your favorite? Would you try one of these to look runway-ready?

Source: Glamour