Sheika Daley Made Black Skin Glow At Prabal Gurung
For many seasons, minimalism has dominated at New York Fashion Week. Quiet luxury, neutral palettes, no-makeup makeup, and the clean girl aesthetic have reigned supreme. But backstage this week, color […] The post Sheika Daley Made Black Skin Glow At Prabal Gurung appeared first on Essence.
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For many seasons, minimalism has dominated at New York Fashion Week. Quiet luxury, neutral palettes, no-makeup makeup, and the clean girl aesthetic have reigned supreme. But backstage this week, color is making a return—not everywhere, but exactly where it counts. Bold lips paired with luminous skin signaled a shift at the Prabal Gurung Fall/Winter 2026 show, where fresh skin met high-impact color.
The drama wasn’t obvious at first glance, and it wasn’t meant to be. It appeared selectively. Amid the whir of blow dryers, editors conducting interviews, and the steady hum of backstage prep, a model looked serene. She turns to me and says, “I’ve never gotten a face mask at a show before.”
Gabriel Taylor, Borghese National Esthetician and Skin Expert, has just finished a facial massage and is applying the Fango Advanced Active Mud Mask. He doesn’t have 30 minutes or even 15 to spare. He has five minutes before he needs to deliver the model to Sheika Daley, lead makeup artist for the Prabal Gurung show. It’s all he needs, as the mask is well-known for quickly delivering hydrated, supple skin with a luminous glow.
“How you prep the skin is how the makeup will wear,” Taylor explains as he finishes applying the mask. Backstage beauty hasn’t always looked like this. The shift is intentional. Skin is no longer an afterthought. It’s the foundation. Traditionally, hair and makeup took center stage. Now, skincare is part of the show. “You didn’t really see skin prep before,” Taylor says. With only minutes per model, the goal is minimal skincare with maximum results.
In less than ten minutes, she’s ready for makeup. Daley is pleased with the canvas, explaining that the direction for the face is “very fresh, very breathable, very livable, very real.”
The eyes were kept minimal, but Daley cut Ardell Doll Lashes in the >Smize into individuals and applied them to the corner of the eyes for the illusion of eyeliner. To recreate the look at home, try the Ardell Naked Clusters and apply them strategically at the corners. “Anyone can do it because it’s just one little cluster at the end,” she says.
Many of the models wore Youngblood EverGlow Lip Oil in a soft baby pink shade or warm nude brown along with an unreleased shade, Cosmo, which debuts on February 17th. Fresh skin remained constant and disruption arrived at the lip. Only a handful of models wore a Valentine’s Day beauty surprise: a red, gold, or burnt orange multidimensional glitter lip.
“We’re going into color. We’ve been doing everything so natural, ‘no makeup makeup’ type situation, and we’ve been void of color for so long,” Daley says.
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Though it’s her first time leading makeup at a Prabal Gurung show, the creative synergy is clear. “[He’s] covering the eyes with a little lacy situation,” Daley says, noting that the peekaboo lip would be the focal point.
To achieve the look, Daley prepped the lips with EverGlow Lip Oil in Wild Rose or Bitten Berry to help lock in moisture. For deep, red chrome lips, try the Lip Liner Pencil in Truly Red and >Mineral Cream Lipstick in Vixen prior to the chrome application.
To create the multidimensional chrome lip, Daley used two different sizes of glitter and applied it with Pros-Aide, a water-based, non-toxic adhesive commonly used for prosthetics and special effects applications. After the show, models were able to remove the lip with Ben Nye Bond Off.
PARIS, FRANCE – JULY 03: A model walks the runway during the Atelier Versace Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2016-2017 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on July 3, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo by Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
The Valentine’s Day lip evokes the mid-2010s, when color and high-shine finishes dominated. It brings to mind Pat McGrath’s 004 Lip Lust and Keyshia Ka’Oir’s Glitzstick—moments when bling felt unapologetic. On the NYFW runways, we’re seeing a deliberate return to color that feels more playful, yet precise.
And if you’re someone who wants to venture into color, Daley suggests starting with the lips. “Sometimes [people] can get afraid to put it on the eyes and cheeks, and we’ve really been playing with color on the cheeks so much these past couple of seasons, it’s just naturally progressed onto the lips.” It’s the easiest and often most affordable entry point into color: bold, but controlled.
Fresh, dewy skin paired with a bold red lip wasn’t just for Valentine’s Day. We’ve seen it across the runways of NYFW, and it’s setting the tone that color is returning.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – FEBRUARY 14: Models pose during the ALICE + OLIVIA By Stacey Bendet Fall 2026 Presentation at Surrogate’s Court on February 14, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images for ALICE + OLIVIA)
At Alice + Olivia, Flynn Prykkonen, Key Lead with Westmore Beauty, kept the skin fresh and dewy, only applying powder to the T-zone to control shine. “In the past, [Alice + Olivia] did a lot of very eye-focused looks. Today, they wanted something softer,” she says. The luminous skin was paired with a playful iridescent eye that complemented the gilded collection. For models with a muted eye, Prykkonen paired Lasting Effects Soft Glide Eyeliner in Rich Brown with Pout Perfector in Raspberry, adding a glossy pop of red that still felt grounded.
At Proenza Schouler, we reported a deconstructed makeup look. While the brand is known for skin-first beauty, color was amped up with an off-balanced red lip that was deliberately misaligned and almost architectural in restraint. It created visual movement and signaled a nod to the vivid color selectively unfolding on the runway.
Paloma Elsesser on the runway at the Proenza Schouler fashion show as part of RTW Fall 2026 on February 11, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by Giovanni Giannoni/WWD via Getty Images)
Fresh, dewy skin is the throughline. The bold lip is the punctuation. And this season, beauty feels less about abandoning minimalism and more about deciding exactly where to disrupt it.
The post Sheika Daley Made Black Skin Glow At Prabal Gurung appeared first on Essence.
