The most wearable beauty trends from Paris Fashion Week to try now

With fashion week month finally coming to an end, what better way to finish the Spring Summer 2017 shows then in The City of Lights? And while we loved the natural dewy summer looks seen in London, the graphic nail art from New York, and the colourful eyes seen backstage in Milan, the beauty trends that were set in Paris were by far the most sophisticated and wearable looks to date. From Valentino's "modern romance" braids to Elie Saab's smoky cat eye, here are the Parisian beauty trends that you’ll most likely want to recreate.

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1. Braids for days

Following in the footsteps of designers from London Fashion Week, braids and plaits was definitely a staple look for Paris. From cornrows to rupunzel-length braids, plaits came in all shapes and sizes at Paris fashion week. Hairstylist Guido Palau created a lengthy "modern romance" braid backstage at Valentino which he created using extensions for length, then misting Redken Wind Blown 05 Finishing Spray (£13) into the hair for texture. "It's very soft, very romantic, very desirable" he said of the look. 

At Dior, Palau opted for something much more put together which he called the “plaited skater girl”. The look consisted of hair being neatly pulled back into a sleek topknot and three to four cornrows plaited at the back of the girls necks. “I find the finished look a bit tomboyish in a way, with a feminine side” said Palau. Another slicked back look was the one seen at Kenzo, where the girls had their hair put into a deep side parting with a tight braided ponytail which was then folded into two and secured at the nap of the neck. 

Italian fashion house Emporio Armani went for a slightly less wearable look for it's return on French soil after many years in Milan. Hair stylist Rudi Lewis called the look "braids for days", where he braided extensions into the models real hair before sewing in three waist-grazing plaits with the help of thread.

spring/summer 2017 beauty trends

2. Red hot lips 

Whilst one might associated fiery lips with the cooler months of the year, bright red lips were the go-to look at many shows including Giambattista, Valentino and Kenzo. What we've learned from this season is that the best way to pull off this look is to pair your lips with barely there makeup and natural hair.  

The look at Giambattista Valli was a contrast of pure, velvety skin with an intense sophisticated matte red lip, whilst Lynsey Alexander created "Glamazon" girls backstage at Kenzo by buffing a crimson lipstick around the eyes with a brush and using Mac's iconic Ruby Woo Lip Pencil (£13) on the lips. Whilst we hope the red eye cheek duo doesn't catch on for Spring Summer 2017, we are hoping that these bold red lips are here to stay. 

3. Smokey cat eyes

With a killer line up of girls ranging from Hailey Baldwin to Karlie Kloss to Gigi Hadid, makeup artist Tom Pecheux gave the Elie Saab girls an effortlessly sexy look with a smudged winged eye liner with a hint of gold shimmer in the inner corner of the eye.

 At Balmain, he opted for dewy contoured skin with a pink lip and a strong smokey eye, whilst hairstylist Sam McKnight matched the look with slicked back hair and a deep side parting. 

A similar look was also seen at Sonia Rykiel, where makeup sensation Lisa Eldridge smudged a shimmering navy shadow from Lancome's Limited Edition Sonya Rykiel Saint Germain Palette (£42) with glossy black lashes on luminous and healthy skin. “She is for me, the modern incarnation of Sonia,” Eldridge explained about the look. The key to making a heavy eye wearable for summer is to give your skin a dewy finish and leave your lips as bare or as natural as possible.  

Stella autumn beauty awards 2016