9 Celebs You Wouldn't Recognize Without Their Signature Beauty Look
PHOTO: MATTHEW BARON/BEIMAGES/REX USA.
Can you imagine Anna Wintour without her bob? What about Gwen Stefani sans her ever-present red lip? While some celebrities relish the opportunity to change up their look every other week (see: Katy Perry, Kylie Jenner, Miley Cyrus), others have zeroed in on what they look — and feel — their best in, and keep it that way for eternity. (Okay, at least a few years. Or, in Wintour’s case, 49).
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It’s those looks we see over and over again that we just can’t get enough of: They’re reliable, they’re gorgeous, and they’ve essentially become trademarked by the stars who rock them. Think of it as the beauty equivalent of the uniform.
Wonder how these high-profile women happened upon their signature beauty look? Click ahead, and you’ll find everything you need to know.
PHOTO: MATTHEW BARON/BEIMAGES/REX USA.
Pia Mia
She’s Kanye West’s protégée and Kylie Jenner’s BFF, so it’s no surprise that the 19-year-old Guam-born singer knows she has her everyday beauty look on lock.
Since she’s hit the scene, we’ve rarely seen her without her lengthy platinum locks (worn either straight or wavy) and her go-to hair-cessory: the bandana. “I can’t really go a day without wearing a bandana — it’s usually always in my wardrobe,” Pia Mia told Twist magazine. Beyond wearing one everywhere, from the red carpet to the gym, she also — naturally — sells branded versions of them on her website.
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Adding to the list of things she can’t live without is her signature red lip (she swears by MAC’s RiRi Woo matte lipstick and Smashbox lipliner, and you can watch her bring her pout to life here) and tons and tons of mascara. “Lashes and lips are the most important thing,” she says of her routine. “You can go out with no makeup on, but if you have lashes on, like, you look cute.”
PHOTO: MATTHEW BARON/BEIMAGES/REX USA.
Eva Chen
As a former beauty editor, Chen knows a thing or two about hair, makeup, and skincare. And while she has subtly experimented with her look over the years (who can forget that pink-purple dye job or when she had longer, below-the-shoulder-length waves?), her middle-parted, straight, chin-length “shob” (as her hairdresser calls it) has reigned supreme.
“This cut, even though it’s short, requires a lot of maintenance so it hangs just right,“ Chen told The Cut. "I’ve been getting my hair cut by the same guy for 16 years, Damien Santiago. For an Asian, I have naturally quite light-brown hair, so I have to color it dark.”
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The other facets of her signature beauty look are just as simple. As documented on her Instagram account (and in many articles), this self-proclaimed "product junkie” is constantly trying out different cleansers, serums, masks, and creams (which is probably why her skin looks so good, all the time). After a diligent face routine, Chen sticks to a natural look by throwing on a primer, a neutral lip color, and a tinted moisturizer. Some mornings, she admits, she has very little time to apply makeup (something we can all relate to). But the one thing she doesn’t ever skip out on? Curling her lashes.
PHOTO: GREGORY PACE/BEIMAGES/REX USA.
Betsey Johnson
The 72-year-old designer isn’t just known for her signature cartwheels and splits down the runway — she’s also had the same quirky blonde cut for the past 23 years.
She told HuffPost Live that her London-based stylist, only ID’d as “Andrew,” whom she credits with creating her trademark platinum locks and choppy bangs, is the “only one” who could give her that hair. “And I love him. He knows how long to keep me a certain way. He’s a dear friend.” Though she sees him only four times a year, each cut-and-color session takes about 12 hours to complete.
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And she also doesn’t skimp on the makeup: Johnson goes heavy with some thick black eyeliner and a bold red lip (both which have been translated onto many of her runways). For her, more is more — always.
PHOTO: MATTHEW BARON/BEIMAGES/REX USA.
Alexa Chung
Chung may be best recognized for her signature style (girlfriend knows how to rock a shift dress), but her look wouldn’t truly be complete without her trademark cat-eye and model-off-duty-esque chop.
In her memoir, It, she dishes in lengthy detail on how her look has, well, become her look. Self-describing the look as the “I-don’t-give-a-fuck-bedhead,” she says that she simply washes her hair (every day), tucks it behind her ears, and waits for it to dry. It’s a low-maintenance ‘do we can certainly all get behind — and so many have: There have been countless tutorials on — and tons of ”lessons learned“ from — her hair.
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Similarly, Chung refers to herself as an "avid” eyeliner wearer and has it on “90% of the time.” It’s Jane Birkin-inspired and something she never leaves the house without.
Can you picture Chung without her so-'70s waves and lined eyes? Nope, we can’t, either.
PHOTO: JIM SMEAL/BEIMAGES/REX USA.
Gwen Stefani
She may be a mother of three, but rock queen Stefani definitely hasn’t lost her edge — and neither has her beauty look. Save for her early days of experimenting with technicolor hair, the 45-year-old singer has been blonde since…well, what feels like forever.
“It was like I’d unlocked the key,” she told Harper’s Bazaar of her first dye job at 25. “I remember feeling like, ‘I have arrived. This is me. Finally…. I’ve thought about going brunette. But then I’ll feel sad! I’ll add in a little black to change it up, but I just love being blonde.“
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The singer, who recently collaborated with Urban Decay on an eye palette, has a penchant for bold lip colors, too, which started way back in high school, when her grandmother gave Stefani her first shade of red lipstick. She swiped it across her lips in the back of her Honda Prelude, and hasn’t looked back.
"I have so many red lipstick shades,” she continues. “I really do probably have five that I kind of go in and out of. I mix them a lot. It just depends on what I’m wearing. It’s weird because I kind of do the same thing every day, but it’s always different as well.” And we’re glad she does, because it’s that "same” look that we just can’t get enough of.
PHOTO: JIM SMEAL/BEIMAGES/REX USA.
Ariana Grande
Remember when Grande appeared without her ubiquitous half-pony, and the world freaked out? It was one of those crazy celebrity beauty moments where we saw the singer like we never saw her before.
Following her lead role on the Nickelodeon show Sam and Cat, Grande admitted that dyeing her hair regularly resulted in serious damage — causing her to opt for extensions (she said that wigs looked “ridiculous” on her) for the ponytail that has now become her signature.
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Though not quite as buzzy as her 'do, Grande’s simple makeup routine (which typically features a winged black eyeliner and fuller, arched brows) has also contributed to her trademark look.
PHOTO: MATTHEW BARON/BEIMAGES/REX USA.
Taylor Swift
The younger, country-singing Taylor Swift was known for her long, curly locks. Then she transformed herself into the pop-star queen of #squadgoals Taylor Swift, and the bob became her thing.
“I actually cut my hair here [in London], in the O2 arena backstage,” she told KissFM U.K. in February. “All my friends watched, including Ellie Goulding. I was planning it for six months. I was like, I’m doing it. I’m cutting my hair. I’m changing my hair for the first time ever.”
The bronde wavy lob with side-swept bangs has since become her look, though she hasn’t been afraid to experiment with styling: She’s played with straightening, beach waves, and even updos.
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Swift’s beauty signature wouldn’t be complete, however, without a red lip, which she wears everywhere, from award shows to the gym. In terms of getting it to last all day, she’s said, “There are tricks I’ve learned from makeup artists on shoots. They put on the red lipstick, then blot it with a tissue, then they put powder over the tissue and sort of press it onto your lips. Then reapply. It turns it into a stain that lasts much longer.”
Add a simple cat-eye to the mix (“It’s all about getting the right angle,” she says) and bam — you’re instantly holding the reins of Hollywood in your hands.
PHOTO: ROB LATOUR/REX SHUTTERSTOCK.
Lorde
Just like we wouldn’t expect Lorde to step out in anything but an all-black ensemble, we couldn’t even picture her rocking anything but her long brown curls and a vampy lip color.
Think this choice of makeup may feel a bit dark for a daily look? Think again. This 18-year-old singer has made a burgundy/purple/deep red go mainstream. She did collaborate with MAC on a collection based on her signature style, after all, which featured just two products: a black liquid eyeliner and a deep plum lipstick.
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Her hair, too, is low-maintenance and simple. The singer, who prefers a natural, the-bigger-the better look, reveals that her secret is washing it “every two weeks.” “It’s disgusting,” she’s said of her mane. “It probably smells awful and [is], like, really knotty.” But, hey, if it looks that good…
PHOTO: ROB LATOUR/REX SHUTTERSTOCK.
Anna Wintour
Never has there been a bob so famous it’s actually garnered its own Twitter account. But when you’re arguably the most powerful editor-in-chief in the world, and have had the same look since you were 14 years old, your hair becomes so much more than hair: It becomes iconic.
To maintain her chin-length 'do, Wintour visits London-based hairstylist Charlie Chan once a month; Chan is credited with giving the Vogue editor the cut, which he refers to as a "short power bob.” On a daily basis, a hair-and-makeup artist visits her home at 6 a.m. to prep her for the workday ahead.
As for her beauty look, simplicity is key. Plus, she never really has to worry about eye makeup, since she’s rarely spotted without her sunglasses.
By Erin Cunningham
