So, if you follow me in my various social media outlets, you know the SAG Awards were a relative disappointment to me. I think my favorite dress honestly may have been Brie Larson’s thanks to its unexpected details, but beyond that, I was considerably underwhelmed. Again. However, what the SAG Awards were lacking in dresses, the month of January certainly made up for in awesome celebrity makeup.
This is the kind of makeup that I find so inspiring, mostly because it actually seems accessible and real and like something I could repeat on myself. I love makeup that is still beautiful but doesn’t exist for the sake of itself, and doesn’t insist on completely transforming its subject. Ironically, red carpet celebrity makeup is much less intimidating to me than anything like what I see on YouTube or Instagram with all the palettes and powders and contour creams, however fun that all may be.
So the following three looks are ones that had me gasping and reaching for my own makeup brushes this past month. The subjects all happen to look extremely alike, so you’ll need to forgive me for my unintentional-but-glaringly-obvious lack of diversity in this post. However, it is beautiful makeup nonetheless, and I think everyone can appreciate that.
Kristen Stewart at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival premiere of “Certain Women”
K-Stew is my jam when it comes to a smokey eye. She frequently wears a smokey eye and it seems to fit her supposedly moody disposition (though this smile would say otherwise), but I absolutely love the look and am always thinking of either her or Keira Knightley when trying to replicate it on myself. Friends know this tends to be my go-to look when I really want to “do my makeup” – a smokey, smudged-out eye paired with little else, hence the nearly-bare lips. Good stuff. And just yesterday, Kristen was announced as the new face of Chanel cosmetics so I’m pretty sure we have a lot more smokey awesomeness coming down the pipeline.
Makeup artist Jamie Greenberg was responsible for this look, and you can check out her blog for the exact routine and products she used on Kristen (which are almost all Chanel, of course). And what a fun surprise- Greenberg used Burt’s Bees Lip Crayon in Sedona Sands on her lips. That little guy is sitting in my makeup bag at this very moment! I knew that paired well with tons of eyeliner.
Alicia Vikander at the 2016 SAG Awards
This is the kind of makeup we call “timeless”. Makeup like this, on any skin tone, on any woman, for any occasion, will never not be beautiful. Look like this at Prom, look like this on your wedding day, look like this at work – it will never be an issue. I know it helps to have otherworldly skin like Vikander, but honestly, even if you have acne or some type of skin insecurity, the color features of this look will still work for you. Yes, they will. Why? Because it sticks with the very best strategies for flattering anyone’s features- a rosy-ish lip that looks like it’s just come in from the cold, glittering eyes surrounded by an earth-toned shimmer, full, voluminous lashes, groomed eyebrows, and gently sun-kissed skin. Even if you don’t have pristine skin (and I’m sure a bit of makeup was involved in giving that illusion, too), your features will still be nothing but enhanced with makeup like this. You would just vary the choice of shades depending on your skintone.
Charlotte Tilbury created this look to complement Alicia’s stunning Louis Vuitton sequined gown. The Australian edition of PopSugar did a full feature on the look here, complete with a run-down of every single product used. Remember that the prices for the mentioned products are translated into Australian dollars, so they don’t cost quite that much stateside.
Natalie Portman at the New York City premiere of “Jane Got A Gun”
Good ol’ Natalie Portman. I think the first high-end product I ever purchased as a teen was Stila’s lipstick that they’d made just for her back in the day, appropriately named Natalie. It was sheer, a berry color with purple-ish undertones from what I remember. Of course it’s now discontinued and who knows what happened to mine, but I remember thinking as a fifteen-year-old girl that I would finally look like Padme once I got my hands on that lipstick. Padme isn’t exactly the worst film character to look like, but her choices are pretty questionable and I’m not sure how much the lipstick actually helped my cause. I managed to date someone similar in character to Anakin Skywalker, so I guess the goal was met? Minus the whole awesome space opera part that made it actually worth it?
Fast forward some ten-odd years later and here’s Natalie again, still looking gorgeous as ever with a deep, crimson lip. There’s something so fragile and feminine about Portman’s features that makes a dramatic lip stand out on her in ways that may not be the case with others. I love her nearly porcelain skin here. When I try to let my skin lose its color, I find it doesn’t give off a Snow White etherealness so much as it does a yellow-green Tales from the Crypt vibe. It’s all about those undertones, man. They’ll get ya.
As the face of Dior beauty, you can count on every product used here on Natalie to be Dior. Lipstick Lifestyle did a great feature on the whole look recounting all of makeup artist Pati Dubroff’s steps. I’m eyeing the eyeshadow and liner duo used that’s to be released as part of Dior’s spring makeup collection, but I’m certain it’ll be a little out of my reasonable price range (especially considering my lame empties challenge, which I guess I’m continuing with indefinitely). I’ll just need to shop what I own.
And now I’m looking forward to seeing what beauty awesomeness (and hopefully gown awesomeness) the Oscars will hold for us. Hopefully there’s some Leo awesomeness involved in that, too, because if there isn’t there will probably be some type of bear-attacking-you-in-nineteenth-century-Canadian-wilderness hell to pay. xo, MR
Image credits (in order of appearance) to: Vanity Fair, Getty Images, Mike Coppola for Getty Images
thebrightblush 