Spring is officially (and finally) here and the grey days of Hilary are behind us. Once again, the catwalks have delivered up a bevy of makeup inspiration for spring and summer, with prominent running themes including effortless natural skin, smudgy eyes, 80s inspired looks, bold applications of colour, and a continuing love of glitter.

In fact, the definitive beauty takeaway from the shows seemed to echo political feelings of the last few months—anything and everything goes. Here is our round-up of the best looks and current beauty trends fresh from the runways of Paris, Milan, London and New York.

‘Sporty skin’ (as it was referred to backstage) seems to be the complexion du jour for this season, with glowy and radiant complexions all the rage on the catwalks. With celebrities like Alicia Keys embracing the #NoMakeup movement throughout 2016, many designers have taken note and chosen to showcase natural looks where skin is left clearer and more breathable. While the ‘no make-up’ look is by no means a revolutionary one, it will certainly provide a refreshing departure from the recent popular trend for baking and heavy contour, which leave the skin with an intensely matte finish. This was put into full affect at Prada, with models skipping powder and wearing only light (if any) foundation.

Similarly, at Isabel Marant and Michael Kors make up was used only to cover minor marks or blemishes. While most of us are sadly not blessed with flawless skin, this look can still be quite easily recreated. Exchange foundation for the use of carefully applied concealer, and then buff liquid or cream highlighter into the high points of the face to emulate the sought-after sheeny finish.

As one of the most classic makeup looks, you can always spot some form of a smoky eye on the catwalk. However, this season looks like it will be more about the ‘smudgy’ eye, with less attention paid to precise lines. At Balmain, Tom Pecheux created greasy black eyes that were meant to evoke post-swim glamour, and at Rag & Bone messy kohl was applied to give a “late night, early morning” feel. This comes as very welcome news for those of us yet to master the liquid liner! Instead of agonising over the accuracy of the perfect wing, just use your fingers or a q-tip to blend and smudge shades of black and grey across the lids and along the lower waterline.

Designers paid homage to one decade in particular this season: the 1980s. From subtle iterations to all-out retro throwbacks, the rave culture and colour obsession of this vibrant decade was a standout trend on the runways in all four fashion capitals. While designers brought back shoulder pads and ruffles, the 80s also made a noticeable stamp on SS17 beauty. This was seen most clearly in the Marc Jacobs show, from the controversial rainbow crimped dreadlocks to metallic electric shadow that was diffused around the entire eye area, courtesy of make-up artist Francois Nars.

The 80s revival was also seen in colour’s triumphant return to catwalk beauty; bursts of pigment appeared everywhere, adorning lips, eyes and even ears (which were tinted yellow at Proenza Schouler)! For every show that stripped models of all traces of makeup, there were as many others that made colour the focal point of the entire look. At Victoria Beckham, free flowing shapes in cobalt blue and emerald green were painted onto eye lids, creating a striking and energetic effect.

Blush was another product clearly present on the spring runways, applied with a heavier hand than we’ve seen recently. A favourite handy trick employed by makeup artists was to use lipstick as blush, with Nar’s new Kiss Me Stupid shade applied to the cheeks at Erdem and JW Anderson, giving a glossy finish.

As well as texture, the placement of blush was also played with. At Kenzo and Chanel, electric pink blush was applied high on the cheekbones and extended onto the temples and even the eyelid, in a technique known as draping, pioneered by makeup artist Way Bandy in the 80s. The key to ensuring that any of these retro looks stay fresh rather than reminiscent of fancy-dress, is to keep the rest of the face pared back and relatively clean in order to avoid overdoing it.

A last perusal of the SS17 shows suggests our love affair with glitter is far from over, in part thanks to Pat McGrath’s eponymous product line which recently took the beauty world by storm. At DKNY, McGrath created what she called a “crescendo of glitter”, with each model appearing with more glitter than the last until the final few, who rocked McGrath’s trademark sparkle-loaded pout.

Glitter shapes were stencilled onto models’ faces at Giamba, and at Maison Martin Margiela models’ lips were covered in fine silver glitter to mimic sci-fi beings. Fendi showcased perhaps the most wearable version of this style, with just a hint of gold shimmer applied in the cupid’s bow in the centre of otherwise maroon lips, creating an almost 3D effect – a surprisingly easy look to recreate, just swipe on gloss over your chosen lip colour and pat on fine glitter.

If sparkly lips aren’t your thing, accents of glitter can also be worn to embellish nails, and the glitter cuticles seen at Rodarte are admittedly much more tutorial-attire-friendly. However you decide to incorporate these new trends into your make up routine, it’s clear that glitter is now no longer just for Christmas!

‘Escapism’ was a word thrown about frequently in the coverage of Europe’s fashion weeks this season, and with good reason. With the increasingly harsh political climate, London, Paris and Milan proved extremely reactionary in what they sent down their runways this time round. Vintage shapes, space-age fabrics and silhouettes dominated London; Paris concerned itself with issues of femininity; while Milan’s runways were entirely monopolized by everything shiny and sequined.

London Fashion Week clearly had Brexit on the mind. Many took the ‘bury your head in the sand’ approach; brands such as Mulberry and Emilia Wickstead took inspiration from vintage styles, with 1930s tartans dominating at the former and Victorian puff sleeves at the latter. The likes of Burberry, Molly Goddard and Mary Katranzou retreated into exaggerated, princess cuts. The line between art and design was thoroughly blurred this season; ‘wearability’ became a burden to be shrugged off for Fashion East and On/Off sent out models wearing wacky woolens and spiked, inflatable leotards.

As per, the ‘cut’ was avidly discussed from collection to collection in Paris. Issey Miyake notably took this to extremes, exhibiting models swathed in origami bundles of fabric. ‘Femininity’ came under question, and was central to many collections. Chloe and Elie Saab interpreted femininity through a lens of über-girly gauzes and pastels, whereas others such as Nina Ricci and Dries Van Noten (in his 100^th show) presented it as something more loose fitting, broad shouldered, and bold patterned. Yet little effort was made by designers to broach more current issues; the inclusion of transgender models struck an all time low, with no transgender models walking any shows in Paris, or, indeed, London and Milan. The majority of shows were remarkably white. In fact, it was disappointingly common for the number of non-white models in a show to fall well below double digits.

Milan, less caught up in the issues explored in London and Paris, proved sumptuous for the eyes. It is not unfair to say that Gucci’s pieces would likely attract a few birds with the amount of sequins, velvets and vinyls employed by commander in chief Alessandro Michele. Leitmotiv, Bluemarine and Anakiki all followed, embracing this level of decadence. However, that’s not to say that Milan as a whole remained entirely a-political. Prada presented a retrospective on what it is to be a woman in this day and age, which was reflected in the diversity of colours and cuts used.

Dior

Maria Grazia Chiura, Dior’s first female head of house, narrowed the brand’s parameters significantly this season with her near exclusive use of blue, and yet, in doing so, widened the appeal. In her previous collection she was credited with softening the classic Dior silhouette, making it more manageable yet still elegant—something more realistically feminine. This continues in the Fall 2017 collection, with the adoption of loose denims alongside the classic velvets and sateen’s that characterize the brand’s typical output. She stressed the importance of speaking to the ‘millennials’ and further claimed that her goal was to ‘build a wardrobe’ that allowed women to ‘express and protect’ themselves. With the current political climate it is unsurprising that her models were dressed in Black Panther style leather berets and ammunition belts. Yet she clearly achieved her goal; through the inclusion of loose denims and delicate evening gowns there is both diversity and realism in the collection.

Fashion East

Fashion East, a non-profit organisation created with the aim of championing new designers, has proved remarkably canny in its choices for the runway in the past. Meadham Kirchoff, House of Holland, Jonathan Saunders and many others found their start there, and it seems that this year was no different. ASAI, Matty Bovan, Mimi Wade and Supriya Lele were presenting this year, all with equal success. Wade and Bovan sent two very unique and incredibly strong collections down the runway. Wade’s Dial M for Mimi was a feast of pastel colours and wild textures that would appeal to the Lazy Oaf buyer as much as to Hitchcock film buffs, and Bovan’s mixture of fabric and pattern clashing seemed almost akin to sculpture. Importantly, all collections were modelled by a diverse set of models, making Fashion East one of the collections perhaps more truly representative of the reality of the London fashion scene.

Gucci

While Alessandro Michele has drawn some criticism with his past collections, or perhaps ‘campaigns’ is more accurate, for attempting to pander to millenial customers in an attempt to increase sales. I would actually argue that this was the winning ingredient in his recent collections. At once both gaudy and graceful, it seems impossible to chart Michele’s references – he sends a 1930s influenced black and white dress with enormous floral applique down after a spandex leotard covered by a lumberjack shirt. With his decision to mount both menswear and womenswear in the same show, he has created a great air of showmanship. Indeed, the entire collection feels very theatrical; and it even seems to show a sci-fi influence through the mixture of eye catching fabric and the repetitive floral motifs.

Molly Goddard

Goddard periodically sends girls down the runway in mountainous piles of brightly coloured tulle, and viewers were not disappointed when she continued this trend. Her choice defies explanation—is it meant to be nostalgic of Disney princesses? Is the smock dress style supposed to be evocative of some historical period, or the traditional handy-crafts she specialises in? It ought to be noted that regardless of explanation, the sheer intensity of the collection never fails to stun. The dresses are admittedly unwearable, but they are incredibly fun, and it is the distilment of this sense of joy that makes Goddard one of the more promising young designers to have presented this LFW.

Prada

Prada this season concerned itself with two vague concepts: ‘womanhood,’ and ‘revolution.’ They compiled a bricolage of looks from different periods: 70s suedes, 40s wiggle skirts hemmed with extravagant feather trims; timeless wool jackets with giant collars; and notably, some rather abstract fur slippers that if not for their pastel colourings could have been from the Paleolithic.

Yet the collection remained incredibly modern; the looks, through the obsessive mixing of eras, palettes and textures, become somewhat hard to swallow, and indeed, stronger for it. Mounted against a backdrop of posters bearing slogans such as ‘Fashion is about the everyday and the everyday is the political stage of our freedoms’ and ‘it is hard to think that any form of cultural production will be exiled from taking a position in favour of the liberal values we share,’ the collection is transformed from a retrospective of womenswear throughout the ages to a dare of engagement—whether on the part of the world to engage with women, or vice versa, who’s to say?