Glamed-up rock hair

The Kills singer Alison Mosshart’s thick, raven mane and full-of-attitude chop may exude rock-chick glamour with minimal effort, but in reality, you’ll need to spend a hefty slice of time in front of the mirror to achieve this season’s more polished “girl in a band” look, as demonstrated on the Gucci catwalks.

“It has a refined feel that I love,” says Zoe Irwin, creative director of the celebrated Hari’s Salon in Chelsea. She advises rough-drying the hair until it is 60% dry before hydrating it with Frédéric Fekkai Coiff Perfecteur Anti-Frizz Silkening Crème (£18; lookfantastic.com ), then applying Shu Uemura Liquid Fabric (£18; 0800 633 5021) to give “hold and that lovely mussed-up texture”. Continue to dry the hair, smoothing it out with a bristle brush. Using a tail comb, part the hair in the centre, before tonging inch-wide sections, wrapping them round the barrel in alternating directions (one section forwards, the next backwards). “Run your fingers through to give softness and stop it looking twee,” says Irwin. “To create texture at the crown, smooth over the parting with both hands and then reverse, so that any flyaways are lifted up.”

Glossy Goth

How to wear tricky autumn and winter trends

The new season has brought a slew of difficult trends. Get them right and you'll be the most fashion-forward girl in the room.

BACKGROUND

• 10 ways to update your wardrobe for winter

• Beauty trends for autumn and winter

• Back to work blues: fashion and beauty tips

Multimedia

• Pictures: winter coats

• Pictures: 15 winter wardrobe essentials

• Pictures: the tricky trends for this season

The fashion trends for autumn and winter

For every trend this season, there is an antidote. Here's where to buy the new looks and how best to wear them

Dr Martens clodhopping boots may be back in fashion, but this season’s gothic beauty aesthetic has shrugged off its grungy teenager vibe to make way for something altogether more sophisticated.

In make-up terms, that means sooty eyes — seen everywhere from Lanvin to Balenciaga, where the make-up artist Pat McGrath created a mask-like effect with eye shadow — and striking ebony mouths at YSL and Giles.

Miranda Joyce used Mac Chromacake in Black Black (£18) for the latex-like lips she made to compliment the sexy, severe clothes in the Giles show. “It has a good, strong pigment,” she explains. “You put it on with water, then it dries. Then I applied gloss to bring the lips to life.”

Line your lips to prevent lipstick bleeding with DuWop’s clear Reverse Lipliner (£14; 0870 350 2390) before applying black lipstick — try Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited in Black (£16.50; 020 7240 7635). Then pile on high-shine gloss such as Lipstick Queen Shine in Clear Sinner (£20; spacenk.com) to ensure the look is bewitching, rather than witchy.

Metallics

Jewellery may seem too indulgent in the midst of a credit crunch, but you needn’t shun everything metallic. Bronze, yellow and antique gold all brought a decadent gleam to eyelids at Daks, Versace and Moschino.

“Metallic eyes shout high glamour, so it’s best to keep the rest of the face natural,” says Jenna Lees, Becca’s international make-up artist. “Skin should be slightly more matt. The eyes are the main focus, so shimmer and shine on the rest of the face should be minimal.”

The new Becca Eye Colour in Damask (£17; beccacosmetics.com) is perfect for recreating the burnished bronze eye make-up at Daks, while Nars Single Eyeshadow in Silent Night (£15; narscosmetics.co.uk) flatters every face. “Press the shadow onto the lid, rather than sweeping it over, to prevent any flaking underneath the eye,” advises Lees.

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