Lupita Nyong’o’s Silent Film-Inspired Makeup Is Perfect for Party Season

No matter the occasion, Lupita Nyong’o is going to have the coolest, most inspired makeup look. Earlier this fall, for example, she arrived at the Toronto Film Festival wearing “futuristic mermaid glam” inspired by her latest film, The Wild Robot, and the actor is always experimenting with fun hairstyles from braids and cornrows to towering updos. Lucky for us, makeup artist Nick Barose gave us a behind-the-scenes look at her “glamorous, moody and vampy” glam for the Governors Awards this weekend.

Barose tells Byrdie that he wanted to create a look that would pair with Nyong’o’s Chanel dress, and looked to old silent films for inspiration. He “kept the skin fresh and glowy as the perfect backdrop for dramatic eyes and lips,” opting to “play up the eyes and lips with golden, coppery tones on the eyes with deep toned lips to keep it modern.”

With an all-over glow, Nyong’o’s timeless berry-toned lip gloss and matching eye look were the perfect complimentary pair. She wore a smoked out eyeshadow that created a cat-eye effect, styled with a red liner in her waterline to match her lipstick. Of course, before going in with any makeup Barose prepped the skin using Femmue’s Rose Infused Toning Pads. He focused on the T zone, as “this will later help control shine without drying out the skin.”

Continuing on with the skin prep, the makeup artist topped the toner with Beau Domaine’s The Serum, and let it fully dry before applying the brand’s The Fluid Cream on her face and neck. “This helps ensure extra glow in the red carpet especially in this cold, dry weather,“ he says. Lastly, he created a hydrated base for her lips. “For bold tone lips, it’s important to make sure the lips are extra hydrated. I prepped with Femmue Lip Sleeping Mask by leaving it on for a good 10 minutes before blotting.”

Barose opted for all Chanel products to craft Nyong’o’s glam, starting with the Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Foundation as the base for her all-over glow. For “extra sparkles and fun shimmering tones,” he used the Chanel Enchanted Night Eyeshadow and Blush Palette on her cheeks and on top of her eyeshadow.

The look was complete with her red glossy lip. The first step was lining the lips with the Chanel Le Crayon Lèvres in 192 Prun Noir “to define the vampy dark tone lips.” He explains that this “helps ensure a long wear time and intensifies the lip tones and shape.” Next, Barose “dabbed Chanel Rouge in 31 Le Rouge on top of her other lipstick, focusing on the center to give it that extra vampire chic effect. Then I misted the Femmue Dual Essence Camellia all over the face for extra gentle glow.”

To add to the drama of her look, the actor worked with hairstylist Vernon François on an exciting sculptural braided hairstyle that looked like it could defy gravity. Her strands were swooped and swirled onto her forehead, and wrapped up into a modern art-esque swirling updo.

We’ll be taking inspiration from Nyong’o’s moody, “silent film” glam throughout the rest of the cooler months, and it’s so perfect for making a statement this upcoming holiday season.