In the hours before her red carpet appearance for the Clooney Foundation for Justice Albie Awards, actress Jodie Turner-Smith only had two requests for her makeup artist Pircilla Pae. “She said, ‘I want to look really pretty, and I want to wear a red lip,’" shares Pae. “Jodie has this creative mind and she knows what she likes, so it’s a really collaborative process.”
The makeup look, centered around the sleek and elegant white and black satin jumpsuit from Balmain’s Fall 2023 collection that Turner-Smith would be wearing, came to Pae immediately. “I instantly knew that we were going to do a glamour look for this carpet.” Below, Pae gives us a behind-the-scenes look and shares the tips, tricks, and products used to bring this beauty look to life.
Good Skin Prep is a Must
For the skin, Pae focused on building a glowy complexion. “I’m a huge advocate for skin prepping,” says Pae. “Beautiful makeup starts with beautiful skin, right?” She applied Charlotte Tilbury’s Daily Glow Toner beforehand for a smooth canvas. The gently exfoliating toner helps “bring the glow to the skin’s surface,” explains Pae. Then she massaged the new Magic Water Cream into Turner-Smith’s skin to help depuff and soothe. “The cream is perfect for that because it has nice slippage—it just moves around as I massage her skin,” says Pae. Afterward, Pae applied the Cryo-Recovery Eye Serum and scrubbed Turner-Smith’s lips before smoothing on a layer of Magic Lip Oil.
Mist the Makeup Sponge
Pae spritzed Magic Hydrator Mist onto the makeup sponge while applying Beautiful Skin Foundation to add even more of a natural-looking glow. “That’s my little secret,” she says. “It hydrates the skin while you’re doing the foundation, too.”
Blend Two Shades of Red Lipstick
For the focal point of the look—the red lip, of course—Pae chose to blend two shades of Matte Revolution Lipstick: Red Carpet Red, a darker hue, was used on the outer corners, and The Queen, a rosier red, was popped onto the center of the lip. “It has this really nice ombré effect, which adds more dimension,” she explains.
And Mix Your Foundations, Too
Because no one’s face is just one shade, it can be difficult to match the skin tone with just one foundation. That’s why Pae opted for two instead. “I did a little mixture of Beautiful Skin Foundation in shades 16 and 17,” she shares. This adds depth to the face, mimics skin’s natural shading, and prevents the look from reading as one-dimensional. Following foundation, Pae worked in Pillow Talk Beauty Blush Wand with a small fluffy brush.
Don’t Be Afraid to Amp Up Your Eye Look
P.S. a bold red lip doesn’t mean you have to keep the rest of your makeup look minimal. “We didn’t want to go super clean because Jodie has a face where she can wear eyes, too,” explains Pae. She used Pillow Talk Push Up Lashes to add some drama. “You can keep layering, and it doesn’t clump—it just builds.” Pae then went in with Rock 'N' Kohl Eyeliner Pencil in a deep black shade. “I rimmed that around her eyes, and I did a classic straight wing on her eye for that snatched liner look,” shares Pae. “No curve, or it’s going to look too pin-upy.”
Add Some Shimmer to the Lower Lash Line
Using The Rock Chick eyeshadow palette, Pae applied a shimmery shade on the inner corner of the eye then tapped the same shade onto the center of the lower lash line. “It’s a K-beauty thing,” she explains. “Adding a shimmer underneath the eye, in the center, makes her eyes look more dreamy.”
Don’t Apply Powder to Your Cheeks
To finish off the look, Pae set everything with powder—but she only applied it to specific locations. “I don’t apply powder onto the cheeks because I like the glowing skin to peek through, so I just do the T-zone, the sides of the nose, and a little on the chin,” shares Pae. If you spend the entire makeup process trying to achieve a dewy, glowy finish, putting too much powder on completely covers it up and flattens the look.