There are make-up brands who list ‘self-expression’ as a corporate statement, and then there’s cult label Byredo, led by Ben Gorham and other dyed-in-the-wool creatives including make-up collaborator Isamaya Ffrench. Their carte blanche approach to beauty translates to you writing your own rules about where, when and how things—including intense black-on-black shadows to versatile face crayons are applied.
From soft, shimmery finishes to hues that are vibrant and highly saturated, Byredo beauty’s spin on traditional smokey shadows and classic reds is nothing if not modern, if you’re willing to colour outside of the lines.
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Amp it up
Use the heat of your fingertips to smudge and finger paint these shades on your skin. Get the look with Byredo’s Brow Pencil in Sepia; blending the Colour Stick in Great Sands across the lids and Colour Sticks in Ancient and Babi to contour and add warmth to the cheeks.
Byredo’s Colour Stick in Great Sands is “a nude brown with shimmer, dewy finish that can be used as a highlighter on olive and dark skin tones, a bronzer on light skin tones, and to add shimmer to your eye make-up,” says Byredo’s Singapore-based trainer, Joanna Yong. “It is also a great eyeshadow base for eyeshadow to stick on better, and a perfect transition shade for easy blending and building on eye contour.”
Carve out your pout in Byredo’s Lipstick in Vieux Rose, “a vibrant antique rose colour with shimmering satin finish.”
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Hypnotic. Seductive. Saturated. For an unapologetically long-wearing red that throbs, consider Byredo’s modern classic: Mad Red, a vibrant matte lipstick.
“Mad Red is a long lasting, rich raspberry red, matte lipstick,” Yong explains. “It glides on easily with its cream texture and non-drying formula. It grabs attention and intensifies the entire make-up look.”
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Byredo’s Eyeshadow 5 Colours in Metal Boots in the Snow presents cool industrialism in the form of a palette of blues, golden khaki and frosted green with metallic silver. Layer its intense glitter topcoat over the Kajal Pencil in Chaandee, a futuristic silver hue, and coat the lashes without restraint in the Mascara in Space Black.
“Deepen and smoke out your eyes with the deep blue colour for a cool smokey eye look, frosted green that adds pop of colour, golden khaki that looks perfect even wearing on its own and metallic sliver for a dramatic highlighting effect,” Yong recommends. “The 100 per cent biodegradable sliver glitter is formulated with no powder and is perfect for finger application by pressing the glitter onto the desired spot, throwing light onto your eyes.”
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From deep, dark to luminous and reflective, Byredo’s Eyeshadow 5 Colours in Fêtes Noir proves that black, the ultimate anti-colour, doesn’t have to be flat. Bury your fingers in the limited edition palette of densely pressed powders and swatch on these black-on-black shadows for ultimate self-expression. Anchor the waterline with the Kajal Pencil in Kali Kali.
For Yong this palette offers a “textural spectrum of black shades. Gothique is a matte black, perfect as a base or as an eyeliner. Wrath comes in a matte black with silver glitter. Mysteres on the other hand, is a soft grey with gold shimmer. Eternite is a “scintillating dark grey with sliver shimmer and finally Wispy offers a blend of black and silver glitter.”
Photographer: Alvin Tang
Beauty director: Alli Sim
Make-up: Marc Teng using Byredo
Beauty editor: Dana Koh
Nails: Dulcia Lim
Photography assistant: Rex Teo
Model: Elina Avdieieva / Looque Models
