Charli XCX Wore a “Bratty, Sexy Wing” to Host SNL

Charli XCX has given us so much. Thanks to her culture-shifting album, we had Brat summer. The remix album carried us into Brat autumn, and now, thanks to her truly iconic appearance on Saturday Night Live, it looks like we’ll be heading into Brat winter.

On November 16, Charli made her third appearance on SNL, but it was her first time hosting as well as performing. In addition to her countless costumes and wigs, she appeared in some quintessential XCX looks, including a black corseted Dilara Findikoglu gown for her monologue and a ruffly Sentimento skirt and giant Gucci Jackie bag for her perfomance. The one constant of the night? Her signature winged eyeliner, of course.

“Since hosting SNL is all about acting and playing different characters, we wanted Charli’s glam to be the most classic Charli look—which is, of course, a bratty, sexy wing with a beautiful natural lip,” Charli’s makeup artist Yasmin Istanbouli exclusively tells Byrdie. Istanbouli complemented the sharp wing with glowing skin, courtesy of the Valentino Beauty V-Lighter Face Base Primer and Highlighter (the singer just became the ambassador for the brand) in the shade Rosa mixed into her foundation.

The rest of the look was fairly simple. Instanbuli added a soft flush to the singer’s cheeks with the Liquirosso 2 in 1 Lip & Blush Soft Matte Color in Into the Nude. “The highlighter and blush helped keep her skin looking natural,” she says, which nicely contrasted her sharp black wing that extended out to the tail of her eyebrows. “For SNL, we kept it more clean and classic since she was going through a ton of different costume changes, and we didn’t want there to be too much going on with the glam, especially with the eyes,” adds Instanbuli. “Sometimes, for the red carpet, we would do more smoky or something more dramatic, but for this, we wanted to make a statement with a classic wing and a beautiful, strong lip.”

The lip in question? Spike Valentino in Charli’s favorite shade, Couture in the Streets, a warm nude. “Although it was matte, it was still buttery and velvety enough that it kept her lips hydrated and perfect throughout the show,” says Instanbuli of the formula, which she touched up right before Charli took the stage for her perfomance.

A bold wing, glowing skin, and an effortless nude lip? It doesn’t get more Brat than that.