Micaela Diamond Shares How She Gets Ready for a Red Carpet

For actors, premiere night is always incredibly special. It’s a moment to commemorate the countless hours they’ve devoted to their role and share the project with others for the first time. Actress Micaela Diamond—who has spent years working on Broadway and in on-screen productions—recently celebrated the release of her newest show, Grotesquerie, with a magical red-carpet soirée in New York.

In the Ryan Murphy drama series, Diamond stars as Sister Megan. “What’s fascinating about Sister Megan is that she is a nun and journalist who believes the truth, despite its darkness, will bring more people to the church to find faith,” Diamond says. “And yet, she doesn’t quite know if she has faith herself. When you’re veiled in holiness, the temptation to sin gets confusing. She struggles to reconcile these parts of herself.” 

For the show’s premiere, Diamond and her team conceptualized a beauty and fashion look inspired by her character’s unglamorous appearance. Ahead, Diamond offers a glimpse into how the look came to life from start to finish.

On the Beauty Look Inspiration

“I’ve been working with my makeup artist Christie Lee for over a year, and we wanted [the look] to feel like a minimalist alien vibe, but glowy and natural. We were inspired by my hero, Chloë Sevigny, and the lack of makeup I wear in the show. There was something freeing about having my first TV show [character] be so unglamorous. There was never a moment where I needed to be ‘pretty,’ and that lack of pressure gave me an odd confidence I wanted to bring to the premiere. I’m not hiding behind anything.” 

 On Her Skin Prep

“I use a basic Benzoyl Peroxide .5% face wash twice daily, COSRX Original Clear Pads, and La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Facial Moisturizer with SPF. Right before Christie applies makeup, she adds a layer of Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré. It’s rich and creamy, which allows her to massage my face for a few minutes and prime my skin.”

On Her Makeup Look

From Christie Lee, Micaela Diamond’s makeup artist:

Complexion: “Micaela and I wanted her skin to look healthy and radiant without being shiny or oily. I used Chanel Vitalumière Aqua Ultra-Light Skin Perfecting Sunscreen Makeup in Beige 20. I love this foundation on Micaela because it’s a light-to-medium coverage formula and super buildable. I added a few drops of Chanel Les Beiges Sheer Healthy Glow Highlighting Fluid in Sunkissed and a few drops of Flyte. 70’s Glow Back.Global Prep Makeup Primer to the foundation, making it more luminous and glowy. For concealing, I used Chanel Le Correcteur de Chanel in B20 and Rose.”

Cream Bronzer: “I used the Nudestick Tinted Blur Sculpt Stick in Nude to sculpt and add dimension to her face.”

Cream Blush: “The Pat McGrath Labs Divine Cream Blush in Sunkissed Seduction melts into the skin beautifully and gives it a natural glow. This color looks like you’ve been flushed by the sun.” 

Powder: “The Flyte.70 Lucid Finishing Powder in Holiday is great because it is sheer and made with hyaluronic acid, moisturizing your skin. We wanted to set the makeup without it looking like she had powder on.”

Eyeshadow: “We kept it simple with just a wash of eyeshadow over her lids. I used a beige shade from the Viseart Matte Eyeshadow Palette and Makeup Forever Star Lit Diamond Powder in Blue White for the corner of eyes, nose bridge, and cupid’s bow to add something interesting to the overall pretty makeup.”

Lips: “For her lips, I applied MAC’s M·A·Cximal Silky Matte Lipstick in Taupe and Clear Lipglass Lipgloss.”

Brows: “Micaela has amazing brows that just need a little definition and emphasis, so I used Benefit Gimme Brow+ Tinted Volumizing Eyebrow Gel in the shade 3.”

On Her Red Carpet Beauty Essentials 

“I always carry Aquaphor everywhere. I’ll also have gum and a MAC Lip Liner Pencil to draw on at Balthazar’s for after-midnight pasta.” 

On Her Hair Look

“The dress always comes first, so my stylist, Sarah Slutsky Tooley, Christie, and I wanted to [highlight] the column of the dress. The slicked-back style fit with the alien-y vibe, and Christie, in the moment, did all these weird twirls and wraps within the bun. We all wanted me to wear the dress and not the dress to wear me. It felt simple and sleek.” 

On Her Hair Routine

“I am obsessed with Oribe products—their shampoo, conditioner, dry shampoo, and gel. I try to embrace the days when my hair just wants to be frizzy and make it frizzier with more volume. And when it wants to hold gel, great. It’s been a journey, as every curly-haired person experiences, but I love my curls and try to let them be free often.”

On Her Fashion Look

“My favorite part is the chance to nod to my character when dressing for the premiere. I talked to Sarah about the dark palette of our show, and she pulled lots of black, navy, and deep red options. Texturally, we just wanted something kind of bizarre. We tried this deep wine sheer velvet PRISCAVera turtleneck dress that felt incredibly bold and correct. It was an insane choice to play a nun and show up with my nipples out, but Sarah and I love insane.”

On Saying “Yes” to Grotesquerie

“Well, Ryan Murphy being the most brilliant and creative person ever is a good start to pique my interest. I think I loved the pilot because you saw this weird relationship growing between two women who, in another moment of their lives, probably wouldn’t have glanced at each other. They see and need something from the other. I was interested in where that cosmic relationship would go.”

On the Biggest Career Lesson She’s Learned

“One big lesson I have learned is that you don’t want to give a performance and make that one performance better on each take. You want to try to give a different performance on each take. You’re trying to give options to the director and editor, and that can be scary, but it’s really fun to surprise yourself every day. That was always my goal, to surprise myself.”