18 Celebrities Who Do Their Own Makeup—And Have Serious Skills

Just as we could all eat well if we had personal chefs, we could all resemble celebrities if we had on-call glam squads. You’ve had these thoughts before if you’re anything like us. Here’s the thing, though—some with the most beautiful famous faces actually do their own makeup much of the time. And they’ve got some serious skills in that area.

This makes complete sense when you think about it: When they were trying to break into the business of acting, singing, or modeling, they had to get themselves looking on point without help from big-name pros. They’ve probably wasted too many hours studying YouTube tutorials just like us. (Or at least we’ll keep telling ourselves that.) To provide fresh encouragement to the makeup lovers among you—and new motivation to keep taking your game to the next level—allow us to present 17 celebrities who do their own makeup masterfully.

Taylor Swift

According to People, Swift reportedly did not only her own makeup for the 2020 ACMs, but her hair as well. For the show, she ditched her signature red lip in favor of a subdued coral and what appears to be not much other makeup. For hair, Swift opted for a simple bun with loose bangs that show off her natural curls. She also reportedly did her own styling, opting for this gorgeous Stella McCartney top. 

Selena Gomez

To mark the launch of her beauty line, Rare Beauty, Selena Gomez appeared on Allure’s October 2020 issue. Since these are COVID times we’re living in, Sel did her own makeup with a little Zoom help from her longtime makeup artist Hung Vanngo. As it turns out, she’s got some serious skills, and looks absolutely beautiful with flushed cheeks and her signature red lips (and a full face of Rare Beauty, naturally). The singer, actress, and now entrepreneur also recently revealed some of her beauty tips and showed off her cat eye skills in a video for Vogue. 

Jameela Jamil

At the 2019 Emmys, Jameela Jamil revealed she often does her own hair and makeup both for events and filming, including the awards themselves. “I said after halfway through season one [of The Good Place], I realized that the [hair and makeup artists] were getting in at like 4:45 or 4:30 in the morning. Sometimes 4:15,” Jamil shared on the red carpet. “I realized we had an hour and 45 minutes in hair and makeup, and I just sort of went to the producers of The Good Place and was like, ‘How ugly do you think I am? There’s no prosthetics on me.’ I need half an hour in hair and makeup? I’ll do my own makeup. And so I did my own makeup for the show and someone else did my hair. I got the same amount of time for hair and makeup as the boys. Because I can’t be funny when I’m tired.”

Lady Gaga

While Lady Gaga relies on her longtime makeup artist Sarah Tanno for most of her more out-there looks, she recently showed off her lip liner skills in an Instagram video. At a brand event for Gaga’s makeup line, Haus Laboratories, Tanno revealed that Gaga does her own makeup when she’s not making a major appearance. “She’s always pretty good with her signature black liner, her mascara, and her lip, but she’s never somebody that would dig through an eye shadow drawer; it’s just not her thing,” said Tanno. She did reveal that for a quick glam, Gaga likes to use Haus Labs Glam Attack in Chained Ballerina for a smudgy smoky eye, or Glam Attack in Rose B*tch on eyes, lips, and cheeks for a monochromatic look.

Meghan Markle

Royals, they’re just like us. Earlier this year a source revealed to Us Weekly that Meghan Markle usually does her own makeup for royal appearances. While there are exceptions, of course—her longtime makeup artist Daniel Martin did her makeup for her wedding—most days she simply prefers to do it herself.

Halsey

Halsey fully committed to her Marilyn Monroe–inspired aesthetic at New York Fashion Week’s AmfAR Gala, complete with an incredibly glam face of makeup. Considering her glossy scarlet lipstick and her expertly smoked-out eye shadow (not to mention those lashes), if she were anyone else, we’d have assumed she spent two hours in the makeup chair surrounded by pros. But since it’s Halsey, nope: The musician is a longtime devotee of doing her own makeup. She’s even partnering with YSL Beauté to create a series of looks on herself for the brand. There’s no word yet on what they’ll look like, but with this as the starting point, expect big things.

Maisie Williams

On Game of Thrones, Arya Stark would rather slit a throat than play dress-up (remember, “It’s not me”?). Actress Maisie Williams, however, is as skilled with a blending brush as she is with “water dancing”—as evidenced in this incredible makeup look she did herself for a red carpet.

Bella Thorne

Let the record state that any time you see Bella Thorne wearing makeup, there’s a highly probable chance no glam squad was involved. “Anytime I’m wearing makeup, just know that I’m doing it,” she told Yahoo Style. “I got dermatitis from working on a movie, and I’ll never let that happen again. Especially on movies, they don’t use the right products and my skin is allergic to a bunch of stuff.” Eek. At least it led to her getting really good at eyeliner?

Ariana Grande

Pop powerhouse Ariana Grande was caught touching up her own eye makeup in this behind-the-scenes photo. Considering how awesome one of our editors looked after Grande’s makeup artist gave her Ari’s signature cat eye, we imagine she’s picked up some mad skills over the years. And to be honest, we’re glad to know we’re not the only ones who contort into odd positions or creatively use our bathroom furnishings to try to get thisclose to our liquid eyeliner.

Jenna Dewan

Adding to the list of reasons to be jealous of Jenna Dewan: her makeup skills, which she revealed on Snapchat. Then again, when you look like this with no makeup on, anything you put on your face will likely look good. (Part of the secret, or so we’ve gathered from her Snapchat, is regular visits to her aesthetician Shani Darden, whom she name-checks in the snap above.)

Ashley Tisdale

Ashley Tisdale didn’t just slap her name on a makeup line—she uses her products regularly, as evidenced by the soft glow and sharp cat eye here. The makeup artist who created the look? That was the work of the actress herself.

Zendaya

Zendaya might have a contract with Lancôme, but more times than not the actress does her own makeup for the red carpet (like this fresh-faced look for the AMAs). She also recently made the following declaration: “I need to start doing makeup tutorials.” Based on this look? Um, yes please.

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley

Let’s be clear here: Rosie Huntington-Whiteley is working with a beautiful canvas to begin with (that skin, those cheekbones, those lips!), but any fans who follow her on Snapchat know she’s gifted at enhancing those already shining features. She frequently does mini makeup tutorials on her account (using her new Rosie for Autograph makeup line), like this smoky eye tutorial.

Carrie Underwood

Carrie Underwood is another makeup girl; she loves to wear it and do it. “I probably like to wear more than the average lady—I like big hair and eyeliner. On the road, when I’m on tour, I do my own makeup. It’s relaxing,” she shared with us.

Diane Kruger

Then there’s Diane Kruger, who gives us lots of no-makeup-selfie love on Instagram but often does her own makeup for red-carpet appearances (because of course—she’s exactly that cool). “I was always surrounded by great makeup artists when I was modeling and learned a lot from them,” she told Violet Grey. “I try to not overdo it and let the dress do all the talking. I’m really not into contouring and heavy foundation, but I have a pretty thick brow naturally and find that it gives me a lot of character.” More impressive yet, we recently discovered that Kruger colors her own hair.

Blake Lively

Another A-lister who enjoys the occasional challenge of making her own face red-carpet ready: Blake Lively. “I like doing my own makeup and hair for events. I think it’s fun,” she told The Cut. No surprise, since this crafty one is known for being her own fashion stylist too. However, she’s picked up her makeup moves firsthand, not online. “Through doing photo shoots, I get to work with so many amazing hair and makeup artists. That's my version of YouTube,” she says.

Emmy Rossum

Shameless star Emmy Rossum does use makeup artists for big events, but she’s got plenty of DIY savvy too. She’s chatted with us about her favorite red lipsticks, her cat-eye tricks, and the fact that she does learn from online how-tos (see, we knew it!). “I feel like I learned it from YouTube tutorials. Just trial and error,” she told us. “I would sit at home and google ‘How-to smoky eye.’ And try it and it would be a disaster, and I’d be like, ‘Why do I have sparkles on my nose?’”

Lauren Conrad

And of course we’d be remiss not to include Lauren Conrad, who was wearing her signature winged-out black eyeliner long before she was a household name/powerhouse lifestyle brand. She’s been doing the liner on herself since her Laguna Beach days, and we’ve watched it grow more expert looking as the years have gone by.

Originally Appeared on Glamour