With a dash of powder, a splash of colour, a swipe of lip gloss that makes the model pout and glisten, a transformation is unfolding before an audience of 800 as James Molloy, regional director of make-up artistry for M.A.C Cosmetics, gets to work.
'I'm all about a lash and an eyebrow - always,' he says later backstage, over a cacophony of highly enthused models, make-up artists and M.A.C people hovering around our table.
'Well curled lashes, with the right amount of mascara straight after, with a fuller brow, especially on an Asian face, gives a beautiful frame. We're slowly coming out of that pencil-thin brow, the bald-eye look with an artificial pencil stroke.'
The London native is in Hong Kong for the launch of the 'M.A.C Me Over!' collection, so we ask for an insider's preview of make-up trends to look out for this autumn-winter.
'I'm seeing a lot of jewel tones, and a slightly burnished copper tone,' he says. 'Autumn-winter might just be about pop colour. Lips don't have to be stained with red any more; it could be a fuchsia, raspberry or violet.'
There are trays of multihued paraphernalia littering make-up boxes, but Molloy says his personal aesthetic is almost bare skin, moist, subtly enhanced lips and groomed brows. 'But of course, I also love the rock 'n' roll atmosphere of fashion week and the dramatic looks; the decade-inspired looks - 50s elegance, 60s chic, 70s discotheque - are all great fun to work with.'
In the world of fashion, Molloy has worked with big names such as Alexander McQueen, Moschino, Balenciaga, Balmain and Chloe, as well as celebrities like Katherine Jenkins, Dita Von Teese and Poppy Delevigne.