There are two types of doomsday preppers: Those who embrace practical austerity because the world is ending, and those who binge on absolute beauty… because the world is ending. But for beauty maestro Peter Philips, it’s all the same.
“Our job is to find the best product for every look,” says the Belgian-born makeup artist, who creates looks for Jennifer Lawrence, Natalie Portman, and countless runway models as Dior Makeup Creative & Image Director. “Sometimes, it’s a little crazy, which we love.”
That “sometimes” is now, backstage at Dior Men’s Spring 2020 show in Miami, Florida. The look is “punk surfer, greaser car guy, Daryl Hannah Blade Runner but almost in reverse.” The basics are easy because they’re the best: Dior Backstage Face + Body Primer + Foundation, Dior Addict Lip Maximizer, a little concealer, a little Redken Wax Blast. Then there’s the weird stuff: a strip of neon pigment airbrushed across the guys’ faces like a giant lifeguard zinc stripe or a Jackson Pollock eye mask. And holding it all together, an industrial staple called Derma Shield, most commonly used by coal miners, family farmers, construction workers, first responders, and even industrial and power plant employees (!) to protect skin from dryness, weather, chafing, and toxic chemicals.
Philips trusts it to protect his products’ artistry and his models’ skin during its neon airbrush moment. We tried it for basic moisture on chapped hands and flaky cheeks. And if you want to use it to ward off a Blade Runner style dust-rave apocalypse?
Well… maybe stockpile some really luscious mascara, just to be safe. It won’t scare off the undead, but it just might convince you that you’re still human (and fabulous).
Faran Krentcil
Editor at Large, ELLE.com
“Her beauty and her brain go not together.” —William Shakespeare
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