Beauty Biographies is a weekly column where we ask some of our favourite people to reflect on the beauty items that have influenced their lives and have a sentimental place in their heart. From their grandmother’s perfume to the eyeshadow they wore to their first dance these are the products that have had a significant impact on them and that instantly transport them back to a particular time, place, or person.
Fashion designer, beauty maverick, and Dazed Beauty Community member Matty Bovan is known for his colourful vision and joyful style. After three seasons with Fashion East, Matty has broken out on his own and recently showed his second solo collection at London Fashion Week SS19. A reaction to the austere and politically fractured times, Matty put out a collection full of delight and creativity. “The only thing I can do in response to [the current climate] is bang a drum, hard, for the idea of being yourself,” Matty wrote in about the show. The designer, who won the prestigious LVMH Prize in 2015, has also walked for friend Vivienne Westwood, collaborated with Coach and Barbie, released a zine, and starred in the Marc Jacobs SS16 campaign, among many other things. Here he reflects on the beauty products that helped shape him and his style growing up.
Orange Lipstick
“The orange lipstick my mum used to wear when I was growing up. I remember her wearing a bright coral lipstick and dark red lip liner when I was a child, I used to watch her put it on. An unusual combination, but it works so well - kind of opposing colours.”
Get the look: MAC Cosmetics Amplified Lipstick in Morange and Maybelline Colour Sensational Vivids in Electric Orange
Lilac Nail Varnish
“The pearlescent lilac nail varnish my grandma used to wear. My grandma used to wear a gold ring with a large stone that she painted with nail varnish to match her nails whatever colour she wanted at that time. I have her ring and it’s painted with lilac nail varnish - she used to love a pearly lilac nail and always made it work.”
Get the look: OPI Nail Lacquer in Significant Other Colour and Jessica Cosmetics in Lilac Pearl
Lip Liner
“My mum’s always worn lip liner - dark lip liner with a bright red or orange lip. I was sort of fascinated by it and no one ever really wears that so it’s quite amazing. It’s quite unusual looking, as a kid I thought everyone looked like that.
Get the look: Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat in Berry Naughty and Rimmel Exaggerate Lip Liner in Obsession
White Eyeliner
“I remember having a white eyeliner when I was younger, which I was really into and I used to draw it just in the crease and underneath. It was kind of weird because it wasn’t black. I didn’t wear black eyeliner for years because that’s what everyone wore.”
Get the look: Nars Larger Than Life Longwear Eyeliner in Santa Monica Blvd and Barry M Bold Waterproof Eyeliner in White
Glitter Hair Gels
“I was obsessed with those glitter hair gels. I remember having those as a kid, they were disgusting, they’d make your hair really hard and they smelt so strong like alien goo.”
Get the look: VO5 Style Edit Cosmic Gold Shimmer and VO5 Style Edit Wicked Violet Hair Glitter
