Beauty is in the eye of beholder...especially when it comes to celebrity makeup artists.
For our Makeup and Match series, we asked E! Style Collective's beauty pros to create the best makeup looks for specific red carpet-worthy dresses. Why? Because the way you pair makeup with an outfit can oftentimes mean the difference between a pretty look and winning a Best Dressed championship. Everything from the color and silhouette to neckline and fabrics come into play.
Don't let a fashion-beauty disconnect be your style undoing—or at the very least, leave your efforts in vain. Get into the heads of the industry's best and learn how they elevate a look into red carpet-worthy material.
Who: Ashley Rebecca
What: Clients include Jared Leto and Jemima Kirke.
Wear: Maison Margiela spring 2015 couture
Why: We've seen iterations of this dress on celebrities like Nicole Kidman and Emma Stone, but the bold fire-engine red dress can send a statement for anyone.
How: "This dress is stunning!" said Ashley. "When my clients are wearing a bold color, I like to tailor their makeup look to suit their dress of choice perfectly. For this particular gown, I would create a sexy and sultry smoky chocolate brown eye and pair with a nude lip. The emphasis on the eyes and more neutral lip color gives just enough balance to the overall look.
"I love to contour the cheekbones, add a pop of color to the apples and, of course, highlight! Filling in the brows and brushing them is best to maintain natural fullness. Adding a pop of highlight to the inner corners of the eyes, a few individual false eyelashes and lots of mascara. Add a touch of gloss on the center of the lips and blended out neatly. Voilà! Red-carpet ready!"
Who: Megan Vigil
What: E! Style Collective's resident beauty editor and veteran makeup artist
Wear: Zuhair Murad spring 2015 couture
Why: With such a sexy dress like this, which features sheer fabric, a plunging neckline and sparkly embellishments, don't overdo it with a beauty look that will distract from the couture stunner. Walk that fine line between bombshell and escort.
How: "You would think that a smoky eye would add too much sex appeal to a Zuhair Murad dress like this, but Champagne colors can be forgiving to a bit of smoke. Additionally, a strong eye helps to distract from and balance all the attention directed at the plunging neckline. A great way to offset the intensity of smoky eye is by doing a gradient effect and by not using pure black. I used a grey liner and an ash-brown eyeshadow blended out with bronze gold and finished with a matte cream to highlight the brow bone.
"Another way to balance a look from getting too vamp is by pairing the eye with a youthful flushed cheek and the pale lip. But who are we kidding? That dress is va-va-voom!"
Check out part one of this series and stay tuned for part three!