Janelle Monáe Swaps Her Signature Red Lip for Hot Pink, Experiments With New Looks

Kristine Solomon
Janelle Monáe was unrecognizable to some when she showed up to the Gotham Independent Film Awards sporting a different makeup look. (Photo: Getty)
Janelle Monáe was unrecognizable to some when she showed up to the Gotham Independent Film Awards sporting a different makeup look. (Photo: Getty)

Change is good, especially when you’re getting accolades for it, like singer turned actress Janelle Monáe learned when she traded in her trademark red lipstick, black-cat eye look for hot pink lipstick and swipes of blue under her eyes at the 26th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards red carpet arrivals in New York on Monday.

Monáe’s former look was a constant, and it certainly suited her, but as she transitions to roles on the silver screen, she and her makeup artist are experimenting with different looks offscreen, according to the Daily Mail. The Covergirl spokesmodel has also recently rocked nude lips accompanied by purple or pink eyeliner.

The Daily Mail caught up with Monae’s makeup artist, Jessica Smalls, who confirmed that the new looks are intentional and inspired by Monae’s artistic transition. “Janelle’s red lip and cat eye have been synonymous with her music for so many years, but now the world is getting to see Janelle Monáe the actor,” she told the publication. “We wanted to break away from the norm and show her in a different light, and we’re using pops of bold color to do so.”

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Of course, Smalls reveals that she’s indeed using Covergirl products to achieve Monae’s switched-up style, noting that the enviable pink lip is courtesy of the brand’s Outlast All Day Lipstick in Extraordinary Fuchsia, according to the article. Of the blue hue Monáe sported under her eyes, Smalls says that’s the result of a mixture of Covergirl Perfect Blend Eyeliner in Cobalt and the brand’s Queen Collection Liner in Jade.

Smalls confirms that the pair are having fun experimenting with Monáe’s looks but that they aren’t interested in inventing a new signature look for her. It’s all about variety, and the makeup artist has been switching things up since July, when Monáe showed up at the 2016 BET Awards with neutral smoky eyes and bold eyebrows. Yahoo Beauty asked makeup artist Katie Jane Hughes how to #CopyThat look, and Hughes provided us with a handy tutorial.

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