Lupita Nyong'o Goes for Gold at Glamour Women of the Year Awards
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Photo: Getty
It feels like Lupita Nyong’o earned the descriptor “beauty icon” the minute she stepped onto her first red carpet to promote 12 Years a Slave last year. Her show-stopping smile was paired with vibrant makeup at nearly every turn and by the end of award season, she’d scored a coveted contract with Lancome. At last night’s Glamour Women of the Year Awards, celebrity makeup artist Nick Barose worked his magic once again. Nyong’o looked ethereal, with a metallic eye and rich, sultry lip to complement her Chanel couture dress.
“I wanted the look to be festive and since the dress has a lot of details already, I didn’t want it to be too colorful,” says Barose. “The idea of using metallic tones like gold and bronze was a good way to add drama to the makeup. It’s definitely a statement, but it’s not competing with the outfit.”
Related: How Lupita Nyong’o Refused to Believe that Dark Skin is “Unacceptable”
Barose started with Nyong’o’s eyebrows, making them fuller and longer using Les Sourcils Définis in Dark Brown. “I filled a little bit on the top and bottom to look fuller and then extended out the tail a little bit to frame the eye.”
The eye is basically the opposite of a smoky eye. Barose usedLancôme’s Color Design 5-Pan Eyeshadow Palette in Kissed by Gold to create an illuminated look. “I layered the light over the dark colors and used the darker shades on the outer corner and the lighter on the inner corner,” says Barose.
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A cream shadow—Hypnôse Dazzling in Or—served as higlighter in the inner corner of the eye and on the brow bone to catch the light. Black liquid liner (Le Stylo Waterproof Long Lasting Eye Liner in Minuit), applied along the lash line, helped anchor the eye and two coats of black mascara made the actress’ lashes long and feathery.
Barose used L’Absolu Rouge in Jezebel, a red-meets-bronze shade, on Nyong’o’s lips. He applied lip liner (Le Lipstique in Sheer Chocolate) after the lipstick to keep the look polished without hard lines.
Are you taking notes? Because this is the perfect example of how to make a statement eye and lip work together by keeping the tones within the same family. “The lip definitely stands out, but because it has that hint of bronze, it ties in to the eye,” he says.
Related: Why You Should Match Your Makeup to Your Outfit
For blush, Barose wanted to use something that was almost unnoticeable and acted more like a highlighter. He went with Blush Subtil in Shimmer Brilliant Berry, a peachy golden color, and applied it to the apples of the cheek, giving the complexion an overall golden wash.
The key to making metallics work is to think glow, not shine. “You want to find the right features to highlight, like the eyes, lips, bridge of the nose, and cheekbones while keeping the rest of the face matte,” says Barose. He gave Nyong’o Lancome’s Translucence Mattifying Powder for shine control throughout the night.
Barose says the best part is that gold is an easy color to wear, regardless of your skin tone. “You just have to find your own shade,” he says. “For darker skin, I use more of a golden tone. On fair skin, you can use something more champagne, and on medium skin more of a bronze-gold.” Your first holiday makeup assignment? Find your best gold.
