My Beauty Back Catalogue: Lucia Pica
The Early Memories
Lipstick was my mum’s thing – she wouldn’t leave the house without it. That ritual of putting on a wash of colour to help you face the world has really stayed with me. She would dab it onto her lips, creating a soft, blurred effect and then add a little onto her cheeks to tie it all together. Her look was elegant and sophisticated but also rooted in subtlety – never overly done.
The Experimentation Era
In that sense, I can’t say my love for make-up came from my mum because she was so minimal. As a teenager, it would take me at least 45 minutes to get ready to go to school. Nonsolomoda was a TV programme I watched religiously growing up in Italy and that was the look – with a hint of 90s supermodel – that I wanted to emulate.
I plucked my brows ultra-thin (luckily, they grew back) and would pair a grey smokey eye with a brown lip. Very pale, beige-toned lipsticks were also popular, as were fresh, wet-look textures. It was all about Vaseline or Elizabeth Arden’s Eight Hour Cream dabbed on the cheeks to add a glossy sheen. A particular favourite of mine was a Christian Dior cream eyeshadow in an apricot-orange shade that I’d nestle into the socket of my eye. Naples is so beautiful and inspiring in many ways, but when I moved to London, the freedom I felt in not having to conform to any beauty ideal was incredible.
The Takeaways
When I was younger, I used to wear far more foundation than I needed. That’s probably why I’m now so obsessed with fresh, natural-looking skin. I learnt a lot working under Charlotte Tilbury, especially in terms of skin prep. The secret is layering textures in the right order to achieve a super-glowy finish. Technique is also so important: you want to fully buff in the foundation, really working it into the skin so it becomes part of it. For glow, it’s crucial to avoid chunky glitters and instead use finer, more refined shimmers. You want the textures to melt into one another, so the skin feels like a unified, seamless canvas.
The other thing that has stayed with me is my mum’s blurred lip. It’s funny to think that diffused edge look has really come into its own and has been one of the key features in my own work for years. It’s trending now, but it has a timeless appeal.
The Current Look
People always say to me: ‘You’re a make-up artist, why do you hardly wear any make-up?’ Which amuses me, because at any given time I’ve probably got about 15 different products on my face, but it’s that slightly imperceptible element. For my everyday eye look, I use the Byredo Kajal Pencil in ‘Bhoora Bhoora’ through the lash line and into the socket, blended out to create a soft, contoured effect. It adds a shadowiness, and makes your eyes appear bigger. Then, I’ll finish it with a coat of mascara – I love ‘Astronomical’, also by Byredo, a pretty, deep green. I’m so into lips and this new launch has been a long time in the making. Lip Care is something of a hybrid formula, with the sophistication of a lipstick but also the hydrating, addictive texture of a balm.
The Ever-Useful Advice
I always feel like the last time you look at yourself in the mirror before you leave the house is the idea of yourself that you carry throughout the day. So, in that moment, incorporate a product that you know will make you feel good. A slick of a luxe lip balm is the perfect way to elevate the everyday.
Follow @LUCIAPICAOFFICIAL & visit BYREDO.COM
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