Anime-inspired lashes were the star of the show at Christian Cowan’s spring 2024 Paris fashion week show, where Sam Smith performed and models wore spherical outfits constructed to look like giant reflective disco balls and walking furry globes. Makeup artist Lori Taylor Davis cut individual Ardell Aqua False Strip Lashes #343 into three separate spikes (one in the middle, one in the outer corner, and one in the middle bottom) and applied them using lash glue for a dramatic graphic effect. It’s clear that spiky, individually placed anime lashes are gaining traction, with Doja Cat also recently indulging in the whimsical look too.
The collection itself was an ode to the British queer club legend Pete Burns, lead vocalist of Dead or Alive, responsible for “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)” which Smith also performed live. And as for the eyebrows? They too had their own amount of cartoonish-chic character.
“We’re doing a zero space brow,” Taylor said backstage. “It’s about defining either side of the brow, taking a little bit of space outside of it.” She used the Smashbox Brow Tech Matte Pencil along with a glue stick to effectively and realistically erase both the brow and brow texture using a classic tried-and-true drag technique.
“The lashes and the brow are kind of those classic Christian moments that he puts on everything,” said Davis. Taking a cue from the lightest pink-y shades from the new Christian Cowan Smashbox palette (which made its debut at the show), she brushed on Smashbox’s The Cali Contour Palette and Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed Highlighter ever so lightly. As inspired by Cowan’s favorite color–pink, of course–the palette incorporates all different shades of the hue. “It was really about the challenge to kind of just create structure within the look and just do something that’s a little bit different,” added Davis. “Christian likes very, very intense makeup. He knows makeup, unlike most designers.” In case there was any doubt about this–the designer had both the beauty content creator Meredith Duxbury walk in the show as well as Sabrina Bahsoon, better known by her viral persona “Tube Girl”—a new beauty muse for the next generation.
Julie Kandalec used CND to create the pink and black nails to match it all. They were “inspired by a window of glass,” and feature “small changes between each look, a new way to wear a micro French paired with an elongated nail bed, adorned with crystals,” according to the nail artist.
