Zendaya Shows Off 5 Fierce Beauty Looks [EXCLUSIVE]

Zendaya shows of a 1960s beauty look by Allan Avendaño. (Photo: Andrew Stiles)

Zendaya is one young star who isn’t afraid to step outside of the box when it comes to beauty. From a pixie cut and brown lips at the Grammy Awards to cornrows and glowing skin while sitting front row at the Fausto Puglisi show during Milan Fashion Week, she’s always taking beauty risks on and off the red carpet.

“Zendaya is amazing — she has a lot of opinions about beauty and she really knows her stuff,” says makeup artist Allan Avendaño, who has been working with the singer and actress for a few years. “She is so good at makeup herself, and I’m so happy and grateful to be part of her glam squad, because quite honestly, she just kills it when she does her own makeup most of the time.” We have to agree.

Avendaño created the five beauty looks you see here in partnership with the team at Mane Addicts and we have his exclusive breakdowns. If you’re looking for beauty inspiration, let Zendaya — the ultimate beauty chameleon — act as your muse.

The Inspiration: Ronnie Spector in the 1960s

“The first look we created was inspired by Ronnie Spector and the 1960s girl group.”

Lips: “We colored in the entire lip with a liner and left it,” says Avendaño of the pale pink lip he created for this Ronettes-inspired beauty look. The color of choice? MAC Lip Pencil in In Synch ($17).

Eyes: When it comes to a cat eye, experimentation is key says Avendaño. “You have to step outside the box sometimes to get the right look,” he says. “Experiment and find the perfect shape for you.” While he normally prefers a gel liner for a cat eye look, this time around Avendaño grabbed the new Bobbi Brown Intense Pigment Liner ($36) and applied it using the Bobbi Brown Ultra-Precise Eyeliner Brush ($28). “It’s so creamy and velvety and it goes on really smooth,” he tells us. “It’s powder, but it’s such an intense pigment that it looks liquid. And if you make a mistake, you can erase it with a sponge and reshape it.”

A Cher inspired look on Zendaya by Allan Avendaño. (Photo: Andrew Stiles)

The Inspiration: Cher

“When you think of bone straight hair, parted in the middle, I think of Cher in the 1960s and 1970s. I looked at inspirational photos, and there is this one photo I love of Cher — it’s an old Interview magazine cover from 1982.”

Face: “I took elements from different photos of Cher and one was that Interview cover,” says Avendaño. “She has really orange coral cheeks and I made sure it was really prominent.” The key for this look is not stopping at the apples of the cheeks, but taking the blush all the way up to the temples.

Eyes: Avendano kept the cat eye from the Ronnie Spector look and added a second line to create kind of a 1960s “banana eye” without connecting the end of the liner. “There’s a tiny bit of space between the regular cat eye and the crease line, and I think that is very much Cher,” he says. In a nod to Twiggy, Avendaño also added painted on lashes along the lower lash line. Using concealer, He blocked out the natural, thick brows that Zendaya is known for using concealer for a muted brow look.

Zendaya shows of a 1970s inspired beauty look by Allan Avendaño. (Photo: Andrew Stiles)

The Inspiration: Nadja Auermann in Harper’s Bazaar, September 1994

“There’s this image of supermodel Nadja Aumermann shot by Patrick Demarchelier for Harper’s Bazaar in 1994, and they did this tribute to 1970s glamour. When I saw this Afro, I wanted to do something 1970s. That is my favorite era — my favorite makeup type of thing to do.”

Lips: Just in case you missed it, brown lips are back. Avendaño grabbed another lip liner for this look, using Chanel Precision Lip Liner in Acajou ($31) he filled in the entire lip before going over it with a bronze shimmer lipstick (try MAC Lipstick in Fetish, $17) to add a pop of shimmer in the center. He suggests always going for cooler tones when it comes to brown lipstick.

Inspired by Diana Ross, Allan Avendaño created this beauty look for Zendaya. (Photo: Andrew Stiles)

The Inspiration: Diana Ross

“It’s long, extravagant, big, hair and I immediately thought of Diana Ross. She is one of the glamour queens, and I’m obsessed.”

Lips: “To really get lipstick to stay and to get more pigment, I always fill in the entire lip with the liner color,” says Avendaño. “It works as a base, so even during the day you don’t have to reapply as much, you always have color there.” For this look, he used MAC Lip Pencil in Heroine ($17), a bright violet and layered Dior Addict Lipstick in Cosmic Pink ($33) on top.

Zendaya channeling Grace Jones. (Photo: Andrew Stiles)

The Inspiration: Grace Jones

“Grace Jones really outdid herself with makeup. Grace Jones was a really hard character, but was a really colorful character. It was the most fun look to do.”

Eyes: Avendaño started by creating a geometric eye on Zendaya, lining the eyes with a purple eyeshadow. He created an extended cat eye, bringing the line out towards the end of her eyebrow. Starting with a hot pink shadow on the center of the eyelid and a metallic aqua at the crease, he blended the shadows to get the fashion forward look.

Lips: For that super dark lip, Avendaño reached for dark purple eyeliner combined with Smashbox Lipstick in Black Plum ($19).

Skin: “Grace Jones always was luminous and had an oily sheen, so I basically used baby oil gel all over her face and body,” says Avendaño of attaining that glossy skin. Added bonus: Baby oil gel is super gentle and will help in removing makeup at the end of the day.

For more on the hair looks created by Larry Sims, head over to Mane Addicts!

Hair: Larry Sims / Stylist: Law Roach / Photographer: Andrew Stiles / Makeup: Allan Avendano / Set Stylist: Sera Kelejian / Art Direction: Desirae Cherie / Produced by: Andrea Berk

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