Emma Stone's Makeup Artist Shares Her 5 Red Carpet Beauty Tips
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With the holidays now behind us, ‘tis the season for another kind of merrymaking—in Hollywood that means schmoozing, golden statues, and speeches. It’s officially red carpet season and with a heavy-hitting roster of hot films (think Birdman and Into the Woods) this past year, the race is sure to be a thrilling one. But while film industry accolades are the raison d’etre of awards season, fashion and beauty are right up there in our scorebook. Emma Stone, who’s nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award this year in the Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture category, has always been one of our favorites for all of the above. And while, we’ll be watching (ok, judging) the fashion, hair and makeup parade down the red carpet for the awards show, it can never hurt to pick up a celebrity beauty tip or two even if we’ll be in the company of our couch. Here, Stone’s makeup artist Rachel Goodwin, a Chanel makeup artist, shares her 5 tips for red carpet beauty.
Related: Chanel Makeup Artist Angela Levin’s Beauty Essentials
Take your time. It’s important to use some of kind of moisturizer, but be sure to let your moisturizer soak in for at least 30 minutes before applying makeup. Especially for awards shows or big events, a lot of women will get facials or treatments beforehand and you need about 30-45 minutes for your skin to absorb all that product. Otherwise, you’re makeup won’t stay on if you have too much moisturizer sitting on top of your skin.
Less is really more. When it comes to concealers and foundations, choose satin and velvet formulas over dewy finishes or tinted moisturizers. That way you won’t need to retouch throughout the night. The key though is to not overdo it. Especially with the awards shows, it’s often in L.A. in the afternoon, so in the broad daylight—it’s a very telling light if you’re going to be wearing a lot of makeup. Here’s one of my tricks: I use something with a heavier coverage – I like Kevyn Aucoin’s Sensual Skin Enhancer or Chanel’s Perfection Lumière Velvet—but apply less of it. I’ll dilute it with rosewater and then use aBeauty Blender sponge to apply. You can barely tell you’re wearing foundation.
Don’t go crazy with the contouring. Contouring is the new black. Everybody seems to be contouring now, but I feel like it’s actually a very tricky, technical thing to do. A lot of women get it wrong, and again, it’s very tough to do for daytime. Originally, contouring was invented for specific lighting situations like the stage or for still photography where you can come up with this illusion. I do absolutely do it, but instead of using powders, which can be very obvious, I use a foundation that is a couple shades darker than what my client’s usual foundation is. I use a clean foundation brush and I apply the darker shade under the cheekbones and under the jawbone and on the clavicle. It gives you dimension without looking like you’ve gone crazy.
Fake it realistically. There’s a time and place for fake eyelashes and the red carpet is one of them. You have to bump up your lash lines for them to register in photographs. I almost never use an entire strip lash. Instead, what I do is I get a more natural strip – I love Ardell’s Wispies—and I cut it into thirds. I’ll use the outer third on the outer edge of the eye and then I’ll go in and put in individual lashes. I’ll intermix short and medium lengths. That’s my whole thing: Make them look like they’re actually yours. No one wants to look like a showgirl.
Lips can say a lot—if they stay on. A bright lip is one of my favorite things to see on the red carpet, and I’m very, very good at getting a bright color to stay on. Textures are critical so you might have to reconsider some of the textures you might usually wear. Glossy textures aren’t going to last as long as a velvet matte or even a cream color. So choose wisely.
First, I’ll prep the lip using a scrub or even a warm washcloth works just as well. This is critical as lipstick will grab onto any dead skin—especially in the winter. Then I’ll put on balm—I love Burt’s Bees or one by Recherche Biologique—and leave it on for 30 minutes before I start the process. And here’s what I do: I’ll powder the lip with a translucent powder. Next, I’ll take a neutral lip pencil – something taupe-y or pinky taupe—and sketch out the entire lip shape and fill in the entire lip. Then, I take a Q-tip and I buff the lip, leaving the edges alone, so that it leaves only an imprint of the pencil. I’ll powder the lip again. And finally I’ll apply the lipstick. Let me tell you, the lip will not move!
