How Vanessa Kirby’s Makeup Artist Broke All the Beauty Rules at the 2018 SAG Awards
“Normally, you use colors that are the opposite of your eye color to make them stand out,” explained makeup artist Kate Lee of the look she created prior to tonight’s SAG Awards for The Crown’s Vanessa Kirby. “But I didn’t want to do anything predictable. I like to be very instinctual — that’s where the fun is!” Before the actor hit the red carpet in Valentino where she was nominated along with the rest of her cast for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, Lee reached for Chanel’s Ombre Première Longwear Cream Eyeshadow Verderame, a “multidimensional greyish-green that looks quite blue” and blended it through the crease. “She has the most piercing blue eyes,” added the pro, who suggests applying the shadow with one brush and blending with another free of pigment to avoid overdosing on color. Lee tapped creamy concealer over the center of Kirby’s lids to camouflage redness minus any shimmer. In lieu of basic black, lashes were polished off with an equally unexpected hue: Dimensions De Chanel Mascara in Nero Metallo, a blue-green that pulled the entire eye together.
After Kirby’s stylist suggested red lipstick, Lee whipped out Chanel’s new Poudre À Lèvres Lip Balm and Powder Duo in Rosso Parthenope. “When you press the powder into the balm you get this really bright, matte finish,” she said of Kirby’s poppy pout. To avoid a harsh, painted-on effect, the pro only defined the cupid’s bow with liner. While this statement mouth may look high maintenance, Lee insists that the lip “takes care of itself.” She gave Kirby the compact (along with Tatcha blotting papers and a powder puff dusted with La Mer’s loose powder) for touch-ups, but equates this lip combo to foundation and powder. “Once it’s on there, it’s not going anywhere,” she says.
Aside from defining brows, Lee kept the rest of the makeup minimal. Before applying foundation, she glossed over Kirby’s cheekbones, jawline, bridge of the nose, and crest of the lip with Glossier’s Haloscope in Quartz. “It gives you a bit of hidden dimension instead of having your highlight sit on top of the skin,” explained the pro. Then, she used a Beautyblender Pro dampened with Chanel Hydra Beauty Essence Mist and applied Chanel Vitalumière Aqua foundation, “a fabulous tool for reflecting light and adding luminosity without making someone look too made up,” Lee said of her go-to formula. While she often reaches for the same key products, the face painter emphasized that there’s no better time to break the beauty rules than before a red carpet. We couldn't agree more.
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