spotlight on

Future-facing beauty

Imagining future beauty subcultures with boundary-pushing make-up artist Lucy Bridge, as part of our ongoing Dazed Beauty x Selfridges collaboration.

Words: Emily Dinsdale

spotlight on

FUTURE-FACING BEAUTY

Imagining future beauty subcultures with boundary-pushing make-up artist Lucy Bridge, as part of our ongoing Dazed Beauty x Selfridges collaboration.

From AR make-up to CGI models, we’re moving towards a future beauty evolution powered by technology, not only transforming our perceptions of what’s considered beautiful, but also creating new possibilities for more diverse forms of self-expression, resistance and protest. Which leads us to question: what might the most talked-about beauty trends of tomorrow actually look like?

To explore this, we worked with make-up artist Lucy Bridge to discover how she would interpret the beauty tribe predictions of fashion futurist and trend forecaster Geraldine Wharry. Here, we discover the story behind these imagined subcultures and how Lucy collaborated with three pioneering digital artists to bring them to life.

The story of the tribes

Geraldine Wharry’s predicted beauty tribes – Pale Baby Android, Privacy Hack, Baroque Dystopian, Face Recyclers, Super Naturals, and Dark Heat – encompass all the vast dystopian and utopian possibilities the next century has to offer, from face-distorting filters designed to defy data-tracking technology, to scented tattoos, and augmented skin adorned with advertising slogans.

TRIBE 1: SUPER NATURALS

An exploration of how future science might help bring us even closer to nature as we become fairy-like, digitised creatures.

'Super Naturals', envisioned by digital artist George Jasper

Original sketch by Lucy Bridge

Lucy's 'Super Naturals' edit

From orchid-hued palettes to patent finishes, here's Lucy's selection of products inspired by the look.

FACE

Sisley – Tinted Moisturiser
Charlotte Tilbury – Air-Brush Flawless Finish Skin-Perfecting Micro-Powder

EYES

HUDA – Mercury Retrograde Eyeshadow Palette
Charlotte Tilbury – Full Fat Lashes Mascara

LIPS

Charlotte Tilbry – Hot Lips 2 Lipstick (Red Hot Susan)
MAC – Patent Paint Lip Lacquer (Let's Get Glossed)

Ethereal tones

Evoke a whimsical, other-worldly beauty with delicate pastel shades and multi-dimensional textures.

«
1
2
3
4
5
6
»

TRIBE 2: DARK HEAT

A dystopian vision of how we may have to adapt to increased pollution and darkening skies (here’s hoping not!) with luminescent make-up and tattoos.

'Dark Heat', envisioned by digital artist Gage Lindsten

Original sketch by Lucy Bridge

Shop Lucy's 'Dark Heat' edit

Recreate the 'Dark Heat' look here in 2020 with Lucy's selection of bold shades.

FACE

DIOR – Backstage Face & Body Foundation

EYES

MORPHE – Boss Mood Artistry Palette
MAC – Lip Pencil (Candy Yum Yum)

LIPS

NARS – Powermatte Lip Pigment (Paint it Black)

Meet the master of the avant-garde,
Lucy Bridge

As a long-term collaborator of London designer Charles Jeffrey, Bridge has been responsible for some of the most avant-garde catwalk looks of recent years, making her mark on the beauty and fashion industries with her inventive, experimental make-up artistry. “When I first read Geraldine’s predictions, I was a bit overwhelmed at the level of detail and the imagination she had used,” says Bridge. “Each trend went into such depth, I found myself getting connected to each one in a different way, instantly thinking of how I could interpret them through make-up.”

Meet the master of the avant-garde, Lucy Bridge

As a long-term collaborator of London designer Charles Jeffrey, Bridge has been responsible for some of the most avant-garde catwalk looks of recent years, making her mark on the beauty and fashion industries with her inventive, experimental make-up artistry. “When I first read Geraldine’s predictions, I was a bit overwhelmed at the level of detail and the imagination she had used,” says Bridge. “Each trend went into such depth, I found myself getting connected to each one in a different way, instantly thinking of how I could interpret them through make-up.”

TRIBE 3: FACE RECYCLERS

An exploration of how people might find new ways to transform – or even swap – elements of their face with others.

'Face Recyclers', envisioned by digital artist Steph Lau

Original sketch by Lucy Bridge

Lucy's 'Face Recyclers' edit

Iridescent finishes and a bold red lip are cues we can take from this future trend (blue foundation not essential).

FACE

MAC – Lustre Lipstick (Violetta) as base
MAC – Eyeshaow (Electric Eel)
DIOR – Backstage Glow Face Palette

EYES

Stila – Suede Liquid Eyeshadow (Violet Velvet)

LIPS

Pat McGrath Labs – MatteTrance Lipstick (Elson)
MAC – Patent Paint Lip Lacquer (Red Enamel)

Certain words Geraldine used really related to my way of thinking as a make-up artist and it got me very excited about the journey we were embarking on.

– Lucy Bridge

The digital exploration

In keeping with the future-facing nature of the project, three digital artists – Steph Lau, George Jasper Stone and Gage Lindsten – interpreted Bridge’s designs on the virtual models they created. Having never worked with digital artists before, Bridge found the collaboration revelatory. “Each artist is very different in style, and the process of seeing the looks coming together week to week has been really eye-opening,” she says. Reflecting on the virtues of working with real-world products as opposed to working virtually, she says: “It was really fun using the Selfridges website, combined with my own knowledge and what I have at home in my make-up kit, to match each product I would use [if applying the make-up in real life]. However, creating make-up [looks] on a computer is completely different from creating them by hand on a model.”

TRIBE 4: BAROQUE DYSTOPIAN

This future beauty tribe seeks to escape from anxieties by offsetting them with exuberant self-expression (and the odd underground rave).

'Baroque Dystopian', envisioned by digital artist George Jasper

Original sketch by Lucy Bridge

Lucy's 'Baroque Dystopian' edit

Get ready to party like it's 2099 with Lucy's selection of products inspired by the look.

FACE

MAC – Studio Fix Fluid Foundation
MAC – Studio Fix Powder

EYES

MAC – Fluidline Gel Liner (Blacktrack)

LIPS

MAC – Patent Paint Lip Lacquer (Latex Love)

Skincare innovations

From LED light therapy to the most potent talked-about ingredients, here’s a snapshot of the latest in skincare.

«
1
2
3
4
5
6
»

TRIBE 5: PALE BABY ANDROID

Humanity merges with machine as this future beauty subculture seeks to be ‘more than human’.

'Pale Baby Android', envisioned by digital artist Steph Lau

Original sketch by Lucy Bridge

Lucy's 'Pale Baby Android' edit

Take some cues from this future-facing trend by trying out a matte lip and subtle highlighting.

FACE

Tom Ford – Shade & Illuminate
DIOR – Backstage Diorskin Rosy Glow

EYES

SUQQU – Solid Eyebrow Pencil (Grey & Khaki)

LIPS

Anastasia Beverly Hills – Matt Lipstick (Smoke)
Lime Crime – Wet Cherry Lip Gloss (Spooky Cherry)

We said from the beginning we wanted the 3-D models to look 'human' in form, but I was really shocked at how much it actually looks like make-up.

– Lucy Bridge

The IRL products

Despite working digitally, the real-world products were a crucial starting point in Bridge’s creative process. “I loved that I’ve been able to bring the ‘real’ products back into this project, because, at the end of the day, it’s all about the products that I see fitting into Geraldine’s world,” she explains. With designs ranging from the glowing neon green of the Dark Heat look, to the subtle hues and cyborg skin of Pale Baby Android, finding the right colours and textures was paramount. Lucy was drawn to brands like M.A.C. for its “huge variety of different shades of paints to really bring the characters to life”. Cult vegan and cruelty-free brand Lime Crime provided some of the more “unusual” lip shades, and, for softer features, she opted for Lancôme, Dior, and Suqqu. “Pat McGrath LABS also featured quite heavily, with amazing colours for eyes and lips in a huge variety of different textures,” she says. “Pat has a very good way of creating make-up that looks otherworldly – it’s perfect for this project.”

While we’ll have to wait a few decades to see if we’re all following the ‘Baroque Dystopians’ to a rave or taking our Instagram filters to the next level with the ‘Face Hackers’, as Lucy Bridge notes, all the beauty tools you need to express yourself are ready and waiting, right here in 2020.