If I had to sum up New York Fashion Week beauty, I would say, for the most part, it’s all about proper skincare, hydration and achieving a glowy (not greasy) lit-from-within complexion. Loving it! Everywhere I turned I saw emollient creams, hydrating illuminators, highlighting blushes and clear glossy balms, adding an appealing gleam to temples, cheekbones and eyes. Want proof? This is it.

At Suno, Alice Lane said, “The less makeup the better. The more you apply, it just ages you. It’s very important to keep things fresh and moist. Because of all the technology now in products, less people are smoking, people are just healthier. It’s about moisture and skincare. The skin is done with Maybelline Dream Pure BB Cream, which is actually amazing. At first I was like, ‘where are the shades?’ But for some reason it just knows. Maybe someone can explain it to me, but these 5 shades work perfectly on all the girls.”

Lane even spilled about her favorite moisturizer: “It’s by Christine Chen. It makes my skin really glowy and it doesn’t give you pimples. I love it. So this is what I used on the girls. I am obsessed with skincare. I am actually more obsessed with it than makeup.” Me too, Alice, me too.

Backstage at Rag & Bone, Gucci Westman created another radiant look, explaining that she is “big into skin prep.” Like the girls at Opening Ceremony, her models were treated with Dr. Jart Water Fuse Hydrogel Face Masks before their makeup was applied. Wearing a mask before makeup works wonders and you will look and feel so make prettier.

To achieve the “super fresh” look, she started with the NARS Luminous Moisture Cream all over the face. She used the Radiant Cream Compact Foundation and Creamy Concealer [my favorite!], which she described as “lovely,” to cover any imperfections on the face, topped with a little All Day Luminous Powder Foundation (New for Fall 2014; for now try Power Foundation). The face makeup was only used “as needed.” On the cheeks she used Copacabana Illuminator and the Copacabana Multiple to catch the light. On the lips, she combined two matte lip pencils, Bahama Velvet Matte Lip Pencil and Never Say Never Velvet Matte Lip Pencil.

The brows were “groomed and brushed up, so they felt expensive.” On the lid she again used the Copacabana Illuminator and the Copacabana Multiple with a little Triple X Lipgloss added on top. “It’s all about the shine. The runway is white, so I wanted the beauty to really tie everything together. It’s all about reality. These girls are so pretty, they don’t really need anything.” Oh, and by the way, this is not the first time we have seen lipstick used in an unexpected and untraditional way! It seems to be popping up everywhere this season, from Suno to Mara Hoffman.

At Thakoon, Diane Kendal used a combo of NARS South Beach Multiple on the apples of the cheeks topped with Illuminator in Orgasm. She even added a NARS Triple X Lipgloss – like Gucci did at Rag & Bone – over the lids and up onto the brows to facilitate a “just out of the water” look. “He wanted the girls to look as if they’d just come out of a swimming pool,” she explained after I asked about the inspo behind the designer’s vision. “What’s quite nice is that it emphasizes any natural discoloration underneath, so it almost looks as if you’re wearing a bit of shadow,” she noted.

Francelle Daly achieved the “intimate, just woke up in a sun-filled loft” idea at 3.1 Phillip Lim by layering shimmering shades of NARS peach and pink pigments – Reckless Blush (New for Spring 2015; for now try New Order Blush) and right side of Jubilation Dual-Intensity Blush (New for Spring 2015; for now try NARS South Beach Multiple) – on temples, cheekbones, and eyelids. On the lips, he used Guyane Lip Gloss (New for Spring 2015; for now try Born This Way Lip Gloss).