Sofia Vergara on Hating Nude Makeup and Why Joe Manganiello Loves Her High-Maintenance Look
Sofia Vergara thinks nude makeup can be boring and unflattering. (Photo: Getty Images)
Sofia Vergara is a red carpet pro, but even she would be a little nervous about prepping for her wedding day, right? Not so much. The 43-year-old Modern Family star and CoverGirl spokesperson is treating her upcoming nuptials to Joe Manganiello like any other big event. “I’m not that worried about the wedding because I already know what the deal is — I know what’s important.” Vergara’s priorities: A bold lip (“It’s your day to shine!”), some green juice (“I don’t know if they work or if they don’t work, but I try them all”) and a surefire way to mask the inevitable rehearsal dinner cocktails (“Really! How?”).
Another must-have? CoverGirl’s new Outlast Stay Luminous Foundation ($10), a product that’s designed to last all day, while remaining hydrating instead of drying. I caught up with Vergara and her makeup artist, Kayleen McAdams (sister to actress Rachel McAdams) to talk all things beauty. The Modern Family star dished about her upcoming wedding, why nude makeup isn’t always all it’s cracked up to be, and why her fiancé loves her high-maintenance approach to beauty.
Joanna Douglas: You seem to always know what looks great on you. What do you think many women do wrong when it comes to wedding day makeup?
Sofia Vergara: Women sometimes think because it’s the wedding they want to do something special — they don’t want to do the same thing that they do every day. Sometimes they go too crazy and they try things that are just not for them, and then you see the pictures and that’s it. They have one opportunity — you can’t go back and redo all the pictures from the night of your wedding. So, I think it’s important for women to figure out a way to commit to it and to be happy afterwards.
Kayleen McAdams: I got married in May, and Sofia was like, “How are you going to do your makeup? How will you do your eyes?” …I would try different looks and she’d say, "No, no, no I don’t like that.”
Sofia: See, I don’t like too much the natural look that everybody likes…She wanted to wear this really boring rose [lipstick]! She looked like an old lady! I was like, "Please! It’s your day to shine! Do something more interesting!” And you did and it looked great.
So you would never rock like a nude lip?
Sofia: Well I do, but, for example, when I started working with Kayleen, and you go to a photo shoot for a magazine and they have the specific requests — how they want the look of the magazine. So they’re like, “OK we want the nude.” And then Kayleen will, of course, come out with all the nudes, and I’m like, “No. We’re going to do my nude.” So we add a little bit of something — you mix it, or you find a color that is nude but not like you don’t have a mouth! I HATE THAT! We figured out how to do a nude color that goes well with me.
What do you think you’ve decided on for the big day?
Sofia: I know that I want to do something interesting with the mouth. I don’t want to do the traditional, wedding makeup that’s like “la la” — just boring. I want to use a bold lip to make it modern. I’m an older bride, I’m 43, so I don’t want to play the role of the virgin getting married all pale and all that. I’m going to do something interesting.
A bold lip is a little bit of maintenance for a look that needs to last all day and have all these photos being taken. How do you get that to stay on?
Sofia: Well, these CoverGirl Outlast Longwear Lipsticks ($8) last forever. But anyways, what does it take to refresh or reapply a lipstick? I don’t understand why people make such a big deal like, “It has to last 16 hours!” Nothing in the world lasts 16 hours like perfect, perfect. So I do reapply every time I eat or if I am going to be camera ready.
Makeup artist Kayleen McAdams applies CoverGirl Outlast lipstick in Amazing Auburn to Sofia Vergara on Emmys night. (Photo: Instagram)
Kayleen: I think the key, though, is not that you never have to apply. Sofia’s right, like you’re eating, you’re kissing your husband, whatever it may be. The key for lipsticks that I like is that when you do reapply, they’re moisturizing.
So speaking of kissing your husband, does he like a bold lip? Is there anything your fiancé loves or hates makeup-wise on you?
Sofia: He loves makeup. When I met his mother I understood. His mother, Susan, when she stays at home she’s like me — she comes out of her bedroom at seven in the morning completely made up. Like she showered in the bathroom, put her bathrobe on, and completely made up again. I’m like, "Oh my god, I am completely like that!” So he loves it. He doesn’t like when a girl doesn’t do any makeup. And in my experience — I’ve had many boyfriends — and I’ve never had a guy complaining about my makeup. I think they like girls to make an effort. You don’t have to be completely made up with fake eyelashes, contouring-crazy — no! But mascara and a beautiful lipstick — they notice that and it makes a difference. OK, a little blush, too… get your eyebrows done… [Laughs]
Kayleen: I think they don’t even know. When I said something about putting my makeup on my husband goes, “You don’t even wear makeup!” [I say,] “Oh, I don’t? You think I just wake up and look like this? OK, great.” They don’t know.
Sofia: If a guy picks me up in a car, it’s like, “Oh wow! It’s beautiful and it smells new and it’s fancy!” The next day someone asks me, “So what car was it?” I’m like, “I don’t know.” “Well, what color was the interior?” “I… I don’t really know. But it was beautiful! It was fancy!” Men are like that — they see something and go “Oh, beautiful!” but when it’s time for them to tell what it was, they don’t know. They’re like a woman with a car.
What’s your bright lip color of choice?
Sofia: I love this Magnetic Mauve color. This is my favorite color for every day. But then if I am doing an event, I like playing with reds, I love pinks. I wear that a lot. I don’t love oranges that much because I have a lot of orange and yellows in my skin, so I’ve never been into them that much, but I love the one I did for the Emmys.
Kayleen: It’s Amazing Auburn…We had a chance last Sunday to try these products out! It was 95 degrees on the red carpet for the Emmys. We started makeup around 12:30pm… how late were you there?
Sofia: Like until two in the morning. When you’re going to a party that has to do with the entertainment business that’s what you’re there for: To show off, to show your dress, to show your face. So even at the end of the night when you’re still going to the parties at one in the morning, you’re still doing a stupid red carpet. Who wants to do a red carpet at one in the morning? …I mean there have been many times that you look at a picture and I’m like, “Ugh, God. Why?” Nobody was there [to fix my makeup]. It’s not like Kayleen can go with me to do touch-ups. Yes, she puts some things in my bag like a powder, and the lipstick, of course. But I have to do it myself I don’t have somebody to do. So it was amazing — we didn’t get disappointed.
I am not a person who wears foundation daily, but for important events or TV you need it. What is your trick to keep it looking natural and like real skin?
Kayleen: I think if you use any of those egg sponges — like the Beauty Blender sponge — and dampen it, and then put the foundation on, it almost mimics your fingers. It really presses it in to the skin. Then use the tiniest dusting of powder, just to your T-zone. It doesn’t feel gluey and heavy. It’s really sheer.
Sofia: We have something in common about makeup and it’s that we don’t like putting powder on top of foundation. I think if you find a good foundation — and that’s the great thing about this one — you don’t need to put powder on top. It makes it look too much.
So much of beauty comes from within. Are you someone who likes juicing or anything healthy to eat to make your skin or hair look better?
Sofia: I don’t know if they work or if they don’t work, but I try them all if I have the opportunity. If there’s [sic] juices we order juices, or when we’re working we try to get catered foods that are organic and healthy, and you try to eat berries and all that. I try. In LA it’s easy to do all that. But New York, too, New York has become a place where you can walk anywhere and you find an acai bowl. Before I wasn’t that concerned about any of that, but now I am. I do try to take care of myself and I blend vegetables in the Ninja thing and drink it. It’s horrible, but I drink it.
Kayleen: Sofia and I have worked together for seven years now, and when we first started working together it would be like we’d bring each other banana pudding and “I found this new ice cream!” and slowly now it’s like, “Oh, I found a great green powder!” or “Oh! Make these gluten-free cookies!” We’ve really transitioned to taking better care of ourselves.
What can you do to prepare your skin leading up to the wedding? Maybe you’re not getting enough sleep or you had a few drinks at the rehearsal dinner…
Sofia: Yeah, that’s an issue that I’m having. What am I going to do. I’m not supposed to drink!
Right! So how do you make your skin look fresh and radiant on your wedding day?
Sofia: [To Kayleen] Yeah! How?
Kayleen: I think one of the most important things is not to lay all your chips on the weekend of the wedding. Leading up to my wedding, I started going to see a dermatologist, I was taking care of my rosacea. If you want it to be just instantaneous, great skin, you have to take care of yourself.
Sofia: Yeah, but she wants to know what happens if we drink the night before!
Kayleen: Well, I definitely drank the night before my wedding. There were tequila shots going, everything. If you take care of yourself leading up to that, it’s not going to be as bad the night before. But that being said, use something like a concealer under your eyes — that’s going to brighten. Whether you’re drunk the night before or not, you’re not getting any sleep. So doing something like that, and use a really rosy blush.
Sofia: When I go out at night and then I have to do something the next day, I feel like a bright lip makes people not focus on the rest of the face. Like if there’s something good and interesting going on in the mouth, it calls more attention, and then they forget a little bit about the rest.
What will you say to yourself right before you walk down the aisle so you feel really beautiful and confident?
Sofia: I don’t think there is anything you can say at that moment. I think that the important thing is to be prepared and organized and have everything that you need. Accidents happen, and of course if something bad happens you can’t take control of it, you know? What can you do? Just not think about it.
Related:
How Sofia Vergara Preps for the Emmys
