Pro Tips for Getting Red Carpet Ready
Click here to read the full article.
The Oscar kudoscast marks the end of a long awards season and looking and feeling great on the red carpet is as big a piece of the equation as the fashion. Variety turned to some of Hollywood’s most sought-after fitness and beauty gurus to ask how to create a flawless outer shell for the big night.
Tracy Anderson
founder, Tracy Anderson Method
Anderson, who counts Gwyneth Paltrow and Tracee Ellis Ross among the her devotees, is not a fan of the pressure that surrounds talent during the award show frenzy. She is passionate that her clients “block out the noise.” She cites Ross as her red carpet muse: “Tracee is magnetic on the carpet. Her spirit, ease and comfort with herself. It’s more real and beautiful.” However, Anderson does have a set list of tips that will aid the beautification program for the big day, including:
• Work out in the morning. It promotes a great sleep that night, which is critical.
• Have a productive day before the awards, not a day of pampering. Do “things that have meaning for you” and try not to get “hyper-focused on the event itself.”
• Don’t start a new diet, such as a raw food diet, close to the awards.
• Don’t anticipate. It is bad for the brain to focus on the outcomes such as who will win? Will I make the best-dressed list?
• Drink hot tea with honey all day.
Mila Moursi
founder and head aesthetician, Mila Moursi Skin care
The celebrated skin guru behind stars including Jane Fonda, Charlize Theron and Sandra Bullock has a strong point of view when it comes to preparing the skin to be red carpet worthy. Awards show “prep begins one month ahead,” she says. The first step is a recommended three- to four-day juice fast in combination with a lemon water cleanse in the mornings. Moursi is also a proponent of intermittent fasting — addressing the inside is “critical to the program.” As for the outside, Moursi’s system includes full body and face therapies with detoxing techniques through sweat-inducing treatments, scrubs and peels, and cell regeneration either manually or using machines such as radiofrequency. Moursi says, “The most important treatment for the face is manual sculpting work to improve circulation and is great for lymphatic drainage.” The result is a “regenerated younger self,” she says.
Bryce Scarlett
hairstylist
Scarlett, the hairstylist behind Hailey Bieber and Kaia Gerber, says the process of designing a red-carpet look “starts at least a few weeks out, sometimes a few months if the gown is custom.” After the stylist has shared the outfit sketch with the talent, Scarlett starts working with makeup to conceptualize the overall look and feel. “I personally have such a respect for the designers and stylists. I always want the hair to speak to the clothing and complement it; never outshine it or the woman wearing it.” The day of the event begins with a quick “mockup” hair and makeup trial before the real deal ensues. “Jewelry is very important for me to see, especially earrings and necklaces as they add shape to the face and neck and can complement or compete with certain hairstyles.” Scarlett uses the final moments to take full body pictures from different angles to get an idea how everything will photograph. “It’s important to build a solid foundation for the hair so it lasts and that means the right products,” Scarlett says. He finishes every look with Moroccanoil Luminous Hairspray.
Katey Denno
makeup artist
Denno counts stars including Naomi Watts, Margaret Qualley, Amber Heard, Judith Light, Felicity Jones and Beanie Feldstein as regulars. She says it’s never a great idea to get too “married to an idea” because looks can change and so can the mood. “I had a client the other day tell me she was feeling bold, so I mixed up a really cool blue-red lip and it looked fantastic on her. Everyone in the room loved it, but when she went to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror, she felt not daring enough to wear it, so we took it off and changed direction.” To make makeup last throughout the night, Denno loves “Kjaer Weis translucent powder and RMS’ powder. It preemptively soaks up any oils to help keep pigment in place. I also make sure to layer products. A cream blush is set with a powder blush and then sprayed with a fine mist of hydrating toner to bring back a little life to powdered skin. Lipstick is applied in layers and a tissue is kissed in between to remove excess oils,” she says. The one product she can’t live without for awards night: “An eyelash curler, of course, a good luminizer and the RMS [cream] luminizer or the Antonym luminizers.”
Rita Hazan
hair colorist
Hazan, otherwise known as “the queen of color,” is the owner of Rita Hazan Salon in New York. She is the master behind the hair color of Beyoncé, Katy Perry, Mariah Carey, Jessica Simpson and Jennifer Lopez. Hazan says that the color of her clients’ hair has to work back to the entire vision for the look. On average, it takes Hazan anywhere from an hour to three to do a client’s hair color for the awards. She sees up to three the week leading up to the Oscars. Hair care during the week of the show is important for Hazan, who recommends using her True Color Shampoo and Conditioner, Ultimate Shine Gloss and Weekly Remedy treatment. She has had some red carpet emergencies, citing the time she had to fix “botched brown hair that had turned orange without damage to make it look like it never happened.”
Cassandra Grey
founder and chief brand officer,
Violet Grey
Grey’s luxury beauty brand Violet Grey is the ultimate in curation for die-hard beauty enthusiasts. Grey recognizes the value of handbag “real estate” and how “precious” it is at the Academy Awards. “My Violet Grey-approved clutch essentials include Jillian Dempsey’s Cheek Tint in petal, which I love using on my lips, Victoria Beckham Beauty Satin Kajal Liner in black that I use to create and maintain a lived-in smoky eye, and Yves Saint Laurent Touche Éclat High Cover Radiant Concealer in 1.0 to fake eight hours of sleep.”
Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
