Australian Fashion Week makeup how to: MECCA MAX for Romance Was Born

At their latest Afterpay Australian Fashion Week showing, Luke Sales and Anna Plunkett of Romance Was Born created some rather wonderful fashion moments thanks to a collaborative partnership with the legendary Ken Done.
Their Resort ’23 collection – called Done Zone – was inspired by the reef paintings of the iconic Aussie artist, and the brand even presented the show at Done’s own gallery in The Rocks, decked out in the colourful works of Done and an underwater disco-inspired set complete with knitted coral.

MECCA MAX was proud to be the Official Beauty Partner for the runway show, with a team led by Makeup Director for MECCA MAX, Nicole Thompson. The super talented artists were responsible for creating 18 fantastical beauty looks inspired by the intricate Romance Was Born couture outfits, and the end result was an eclectic and exciting combination of colour and technique - the perfect match for the label’s bold and beautiful aesthetic.

Nicole said that “inspiration was taken from Ken Done’s art, tropical fish, birds and the underwater magic of a coral reef”. Describing the looks as “unexpected beauty”, she said the team wanted to play with interesting clashes of colour. “Anything goes, bold is better!”
To channel the gradient of colour in tropical fish, anchored by metallic shades used on the lips and eyes (in truly iconic 90s style), Thompson led the MECCA artistry team heroing the below MECCA MAX products for bold beauty looks to compliment the collection:

MECCA MAX Pout Pop Lipstick (on the cheeks, lips and eyes)
MECCA MAX Zoom Liners (to colour and define the eyes)
MECCA MAX Zoom Shadow Sticks (to add colour to the eyes)
MECCA MAX Single Shadow (to intensify the colour)
MECCA MAX Mini Mix Eyeshadow Palette (soft metallics on the eyes and lips)

Lastly, when asked what beauty trends Nicole thought would come out of AAFW ’22, she simply said: “I think we are really going to see the celebration and joy of this week, and everyone being together will bring out some fun looks in the beauty space. Metallics, big lashes, bold lips…. I think people have waited long enough, let’s dress up our faces again!” And hallelujah to that x

Images by Myles Kalus.