Cheers, Babe! Alex Consani, Angelina Kendall, and Devyn Garcia Channel ’90s Backstage Beauty

French makeup artist Céline Martin was barely out of primary school in her native Nice when the supermodels (Christy! Linda! Claudia! Naomi! Kate!) stalked runways and cavorted backstage. “I remember watching them on FashionTV,” Martin says. “I was obsessed with these glamorous, powerful girls who looked so beautiful, laughing together like good friends and having so much fun—those were the dream days.” For this shoot, Martin, who has worked with the likes of Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Gucci, and Tom Ford, wanted to evoke the “electric energy, spontaneous situations, and vibrant chaos” that played out behind the scenes at those ’90s-era shows (complete with champagne and cigarettes, bien sûr). Her main maquillage muse? Kevyn Aucoin, the late celebrity makeup guru responsible for some of the most enduring beauty looks of the period—think thin sculpted eyebrows, individually defined lashes, shimmery highlighter, and high-contrast contouring.

“Kevyn was close to the models—he was always in pictures with them, and they loved him so much,” says Martin. “He made them look really beautiful but always let their personalities shine through. Even when they were wearing a lot of makeup, it seemed like it was a part of them.” Martin takes a similar approach to her work. “I love to build a character when I think about makeup,” she says. “But even when I create a strong or bold look, you always see the woman first. It’s very important to me that it never feels like a disguise but, rather, a complete and harmonious image.”

Martin’s mood board was rich with snaps of Claudia Schiffer, Eva Herzigová, and Karen Mulder looking fabulous with rollers in their hair; white-blonde wigs from a mid-’90s Versace runway; a young Madonna in full-on war paint; and buckets of baby blue frosted eye shadow. “When I think of makeup from that time period, it’s lashes, shadow, and matte skin,” says Martin, who used Shiseido Synchro Skin Radiant Lifting Foundation, Tom Ford Traceless Soft Matte Concealer, and Chanel Poudre Universelle Libre to achieve shine-free complexion perfection. “I always finish with Makeup by Mario contour—specifically the SoftSculpt Shaping Stick—and a touch of NARS Laguna Bronzing Powder on the high points.”

Like Martin, the models in this story didn’t experience fashion’s favorite decade firsthand, but you wouldn’t know it, judging by how easily they set about channeling its biggest stars and most iconic beauty moments. The free-flowing bubbly and blaring music added to the party vibe. “There was a sense of freedom and fun on set,” says Martin. “We did so many looks that it really felt like a show. The models said it was their favorite shoot in a long time.”

Hair by Karim Belghiran at Art Partner for Oribe; makeup by Céline Martin at Art + Commerce; manicure by Hanaé Goumri at Walter Schupfer Management. Models: Alex Consani at IMG Models; Angelina Kendall at Ford Models; Devyn Garcia at DNA Model Management. Casting by Ashley Brokaw Casting. Set design by Giovanna Martial at Bryant Artists.

Produced by White Dot; Photo assistants: Marta Paba, Charles Hardouin, Gabriel Lenoble; Digital Technician: Florian Massal at Shotlist; Retouching: Maeva Smircic; Fashion Assistants: Marie Poulmarch, Glorija Gzimailaite, Michele Vassanelli; Hair Assistants: Pol Guarné, Julio Olguín, Maya Roget; Makeup Assistants: Morgane Nicol, Anna Ivos, Mathilde Morvan; Manicure Assistant: Hoa-linh Wal; Set Assistants: Ilan Aksoul, Anatole Chartier.