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Hi Vogue Club—I’m Arden, Vogue’s Beauty Editor at Large. When I’m not working on trend stories for our print issues or testing new products, I’m frequently found backstage during fashion month, reporting the good news back to Vogue HQ.
For Club’s very first backstage beauty diary, I’m taking you along with me to a few of my favorite shows of the season at Paris Fashion Week. Together, we’re going to examine some of the best beauty moments, from backstage to front of house—that’s industry speak for “I have a seat at the show!” (You can expect lots of baggy denim, windblown hair, and Dior Lip Glow.) Here we go!
Day 1:
I’ve just landed in Paris! Throughout my flight, and in my car ride to the hotel, I wore the acupressure wristbands my friend Sara Klausing gave me during NYFW. For anyone who can’t handle so much as looking at their phone in a moving vehicle, these are designed to help with motion sickness—and they definitely do something!
My first stop is a red-light-room treatment at the Dior Spa within Hôtel Plaza Athénée. It starts with a rose-flavored Glow Shot, moves into a light-powered deep tissue massage (as in the entire room glows, though my eyes are closed, so hard to tell!), and ends with a sweet little tray of tea and treats to enjoy by a soothing fountain.
With a noticeable pep in my step, I unpack my travel beauty bag and get ready for dinner with Dior ahead of its show.
Day 2:
Backstage interviews with Dior Beauty often mean early mornings with plenty of delicious snacks (one of the perks of BTS life!)
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For this show, makeup artist Peter Philips created “workout blush” and used smudgy eyeliner to represent an après-sport moment that’s easy to recreate by applying Diorshow On Stage Crayon in 099 Black to the waterline and squeezing your eyes shut tightly (his signature trick!). Hairstylist Guido Palau’s athlete-but-make-it-fashion headband ponytails were a hit!
Moving from back-of-house to the actual show, it’s always exciting to see everything come together. The most exciting bit of this runway beyond fashion and beauty? The artist SAGG Napoli opened the show shooting a bow and arrow!
Day 3:
A Vogue breakfast at the Ritz (hello, Chris Appleton!) turns into a Fire and Ice facial with the celeb facialist Cynthia Rivas, courtesy of iS Clinical and Manolo Blahnik—what a dream!
Cynthia did the glowy skin we saw for Coperni’s big Disneyland moment (not to mention working with clients like Paris Hilton, Eiza Gonzalez, and Demi Moore).
Balmain’s runway is full of celebs, and top-to-toe beauty moments are present: Lipstick-shaped heels to fragrance bottle bags and palette clutches. Olivier Rousteing tells me that “Fashion could not exist without beauty, and beauty could not exist without fashion,” rings true…
Day 4:
Wearing baggy JNCOs with everything in Paris helps me get out the door in record time. My Uber drops me a little outside of Château de Vincennes ahead of Loewe. From there, I walk to join Dame Pat McGrath backstage to see the glittering silver wings and golden half-moon eyes she and her team created for the models—the latter inspired by a ‘90s Vogue cover with Karen Elson.
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Soon, all the screens are showing celebs like Ayo Edibiri and Josh O’Connor carpooling up to the venue, and I run to a computer to write up the Glitter on The Runway! beauty moment (featuring Pat’s new Luminous Legends Mega Eye Shadow Palette that dropped the day of Loewe).
Day 5:
A morning with Hermès always begins with lots of horses. They are trained at the Garde Républicaine—where I was the first editor to ever be allowed backstage to see it all IRL.
Gregoris Pyrpylis, creative director of Hermès Beauty, tells me I’m a part of the house’s history now. I always look forward to hearing him discuss makeup from an artist’s point of view—he knows the importance of letting the light in.
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Ahead of the show, Gregoris kindly delivered the Hermès beauty tools I’d need for the cat-eye I (almost) always wear. I can’t get enough of Hermès’ eyelash curler (which Gregoris uses every morning)!
I also spoke to hairstylist Gary Gill about the art-girl bedhead that walked the runway. It’s capturing someone who stays up late and works some of the spirit of the night before into her day—a little bit of “offness” is actually part of the recipe.
That evening, we had a Condé Nast editor toast at La Reserve. There, I got to catch up with GQ’s Sam Hine—and then shut the party down with our own Sam Sussman!
Day 6:
My first Miu Miu backstage was just as exciting as I’d hoped it to be! First looks (the moment right before models walk the runway, where they’re photo-ready, aka fully dressed, with hair and makeup complete) included models like actor Willem Dafoe and eternal it-girl Alexa Chung.
Oops! I did get scolded by a security guard for taking photos! They’re not technically allowed—which is why you don’t see them! Although I was allowed to capture an image of the dreamy glitter Pat McGrath pulled from her personal archives to create the “ethereal gesture” of sparkling cupid’s bows.
I run into Micka (Harlem-born hair artist Shamicka Williams), part of Guido’s backstage braiding team, who lets me know the hair is meant to have “a little bit of wind” in it—an attitude which is my new fall inspo.
Before I jet back home, I always try to stop by the Matiere Premiere offices to see what fragrances they’re cooking up next. I smell their new Crystal Saffron Extrait for the first time. This is exactly the kind of stop that makes checking a bag on the way back to NYC completely worth it!
The sparkling beauty looks! The don’t-care hair! The supernatural skin! This was my favorite Paris Fashion Week so far.
You can hear more about some of my favorite Paris style moments on this episode of The Run-Through with Vogue hosted by Nicole Phelps and on the new Vogue app. Make sure to find me on it!
