Hollywood Beauty Hacks
7 Hollywood Beauty Hacks Every Lazy Girl Needs to Know
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Every year, a pack of top celebrities and theater masterminds comes together to put on a play in just 24 hours. The chichi event is sponsored by Montblanc and Beauty.com, with proceeds benefiting Urban Arts, an NYC arts education program that helps underserved public schools. It's all pretty awesome when you have top names like Melanie Griffith, Amanda Seyfried, Justin Long, Laverne Cox, and more joining forces. America Ferrera even joined the director's circle. This year's six hilarious skits did not disappoint, with Katrina Bowden and Justin Bartha pretending to be Amanda Seyfried and Justin Long, plus Rachel Dratch taking on an Ebola patient. We even spied Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux cracking up in the A-list audience.
But before we could play celeb spy, we joined the hair, makeup, and skin pros from Oscar Blandi, Kevyn Aucoin, and Boots No 7, respectively, to see how some of the stars were made over for the stage. See how these familiar faces were transformed into their characters and also how glam they looked at the bumpin' afterparty. We asked them about prepping for a role in 24 hours and how they would get ready beauty-wise if they only had 24 minutes! You'll definitely want to try these Hollywood beauty hacks the next time you accidentally snooze for too long.
Katrina Bowden
Claim to fame: Cerie on 30 Rock
Her 24-hour play prep: "There was not really a whole lot we could do until we got here this morning and saw what we were working with. I guess I consider myself pretty good at memorizing lines, so I wasn't very concerned about that part. My biggest concern is being loud enough and being big enough on stage, because I don't typically do a lot of [live theater]. That was what I was preparing myself for ahead of time — just being loud and vocal."
Her 24-minute beauty plan: "I will never leave without mascara. I swear by it. I usually don't even leave to walk the dog without at least a little bit of mascara on. I love Benefit They're Real [$23] and Lancome Definicils [$28] mascara. And I just put a lot of it on. I just wiggle [the brush in the lashes], then I let it dry, then I wiggle it, and let it dry. It is never one layer. It is about making it look as perfect as possible."
Katrina Bowden
Hair: Katrina was meant to look like Amanda Seyfried (who she was playing in her skit), so extensions were added to match the actress's length. Hair was prepped with Oscar Blandi Texture Spray ($25) and Pronto Invisible Volumizing Dry Shampoo Spray ($23) before it was wrapped around an inch-and-a-half curling iron to create a soft wave.
Katrina Bowden
Makeup: "Katrina wanted to be very beautiful [to look like Amanda], so we used nice shimmer on her lids, Kevyn Aucoin Rose Quartz shadow [$29]," said lead Kevyn Aucoin makeup artist Felicia Rochelle." The makeover was completed with Kevyn Aucoin Essential Mascara ($32), bronzer in Tropical Days ($48), and peach Matte Lip Color in For Keeps ($33). Did Rochelle think she pulled off the Amanda look? "Yeah, she always has really clean makeup and colors, and this just plays her natural beauty."
Laverne Cox
Claim to fame: Sophia Burset on Orange Is the New Black
Her 24-hour play prep: "I'm still prepping! I need to make sure I project to the back of the theater."
Her 24-minute beauty plan: "Powder, blush, eyeliner, and mascara. But maybe not even eyeliner if it's really quick, but definitely mascara. I love powder because I've always been a powder girl, but I also have oily skin. So, when I wear powder, the oil eventually shines through — so, sometimes I powder over powder. It looks a little cakey, but eventually my oils will come through and it's fine."
Laverne Cox
Hair: Laverne's locks were prepped with Oscar Blandi heat protectant ($23) before being twirled away from her face with a one-inch curling iron. "Dry conditioner is a great way to refresh wigs and extensions," said Oscar Blandi hairstylist Gina Guercia. "It's completely weightless and a way that you can actually nourish and condition the ends without weighing the hair down. It acts as a way to replenish the hair and bring back the elasticity of the extensions. It also brings the luster back because extensions and wigs become extremely mattified — especially if you are styling them on a regular basis. They become like a rat's nest." She noted that it's a great Winter hair savior for dry strands that need to be untangled and refreshened.
Makeup: To make Laverne's beautiful eyes pop, Kevyn Aucoin The Precision Liquid Liner ($24) was applied. And her bold brows were brought out thanks to Kevyn Aucoin The Precision Brow Pencil in Brunette ($26).
America Ferrera
Claim to fame: Betty on Ugly Betty
Her 24-hour play prep: (Note: this year, she was technically directing but made a surprise onstage appearance.) "Have as much fun as possible. Once you are out there, the audience is so excited and understands what we have done and how much time we have had to do it. I never failed to have a blast."
Her 24-hour play prep: "I'd brush my teeth, wash my face, put moisturizer on, and that's about it!"
Hair: Her hair was dry-styled by blasting it with hot air and then splashed with cool air while it was in rollers. A bit of Oscar Blandi braid paste ($25) was added to the ends to keep the style from falling out.
Makeup: "One key thing for her look was the Kevyn Aucoin Rose Quartz Eyeshadow ($29) because she wanted to keep it really clean but kind of stand out," said Martin. "She wanted her eyes to stand out but not be too dramatic." To complete it, she tapped on berry Kevyn Aucoin Passiflora lip gloss with her fingers to create a stain.
Melanie Griffith
Claim to fame: Everything! Working Girl (1998) was one of her classics and scored her an Oscar nomination.
Makeup: "Melanie wanted something kind of youthful, so we did the Kevyn Aucoin liquid illuminating highlighter [$52] all over the skin to bring that radiance to it," said Martin. A tinted balm evened out her skin tone, and her eyes were kept matte and soft. "I took Kevyn Aucoin Eye Pencil Primatif in black [$26], and I lined the inside of her eyes as opposed to on top of the lash so it looks a little more playful and youthful that way," the makeup pro added. Cheeks popped thanks to Kevyn Aucoin Cream Blush Duo #2 ($28), and lips were lined with Medium Lip Liner ($25) and topped with gloss.
Diane Neal
Claim to fame: Casey Novak on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Her 24-hour play prep: "I actually don't prep at all. We are so old. We have been doing it so long that none of us really care. We care about the children, but as far as everything else goes, we are so comfortable on stage that we don't care that much. Sometimes you get someone who is really uptight and worried about [the play]; so instead of napping, you are helping them and running lines and stuff. But this time, we all took naps. It was like, there was a nap for everyone!"
Her 24-minute beauty plan: "Normally my skin is decent — not covered in hives like it is now, which I think is a hot look. It adds some depth and texture, which is 'in.' I am very into sunscreen because I am the palest person ever. There is no pigmentation in my skin, which is scary. I use some ChapStick and mascara, but these days I have these fancy eyelash extensions, so I don't even need any mascara. Literally just sunscreen, ChapStick, and a Star Wars t-shirt."
Diane Neal
Hair: Extensions were added to give her length and texture for the braid. "We used braid paste [$25], which is our newest product, to make the braid look thicker and fuller so that it doesn't slide out and stays for the remainder of the show," said Guercia. "Typically if you do a braid on just natural hair, it will slide out because it is so soft. This product gives it a lasting effect with the texture." She twisted the sides of her hair back into the braid and then pulled the plait out to make it look looser.
Diane Neal
Makeup: "Diane was really concerned about her complexion, so I used a simple skin enhancer because it looks beautiful," explained Kevyn Aucoin makeup artist Viviana Martin. To give Diane's complexion a "pick-me-up," Martin combined a foundation serum, Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer ($48), with an illuminating product, Kevyn Aucoin Liquid Celestial Illuminating Liquid ($52). "The mixture makes skin look beautiful, polished, brand-new, and ready to go!"
Tracie Thoms
Claim to fame: Joanne in the Rent movie and Broadway play
Her 24-hour play prep: "This one is low stress. Other years, it was the most stressful thing. You know, like taking B-12 vitamins and eating bananas throughout the day. [It helps me] to remember [lines]. If your brain runs out of sugar, you can eat an apple and it bounces back. The sugar in it helps your brain function. You could crash later, but if you don't eat sugar or carbs in your diet, you lose some simple brain function."
Her 24-minute beauty plan: "Those of us who do theater are used to doing our makeup really, really fast. I have it down to a system: quick foundation, concealer, and eye shadow. If I don't cover things very well, then I put on a light layer of foundation, a little concealer, eyebrow pencil, mascara, and blush."
Tracie Thoms
Hair: Her hair was braided to wrap around her entire head so that a wig (meant to look like Diane's long red braid) could fit on top and be pinned to the plait. Postshow, Tracie let her gorgeous natural curls breathe free.
Makeup: To give Tracie a lot of lashes (as per her request!), Rochelle used Kevyn Aucoin Essential Mascara ($32). "It gives the appearance of false lashes," she said. "It's a nice jet black, and it's really, really beautiful."
Leven Rambin
Claim to fame: Glimmer in The Hunger Games
Her 24-hour play prep: "Not a damn thing. You can't. You just try and remember why you act in the first place, which is because it is fun and you love it. It is not so serious all the time. So no, I didn't do a damn thing."
Her 24-minute beauty plan: "I usually take less than that anyway to get ready. I just tone my face with Burt's Bees toner and spritz on Lather's ginger-citrus moisturizer. Then I add Burt's Bees pomegranate lip balm.
"I just have really bad skin. And I break out from everything, and [my pores] clog from dirt. [My dermatologist told me that] even if you don't wash your face, you should tone it, just tone it, because it lifts off more dirt and makeup. When you look at the pad, you are like, 'Oh my gosh, that is like a sickening amount of dirt that is still left behind.' I don't get all wet, and I think it is more efficient."
Hair: To create natural waves, Oscar Blandi pro Nikki Avanzino twisted the hair as she worked a curling iron through it (so it's like a double spiral effect). Dry shampoo was misted on the roots and ends to add grit.
Makeup: "She is playing a tomboy, so we just wanted really clean and pretty makeup," explained Rochelle. "So we used Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Fluid Foundation [$65], which looks like a second skin." Bronzer and a matte lip completed the look.
Annet Mahendru
Claim to fame: Nina Sergeevna Krylova on The Americans
Her 24-hour play prep: "We tried all different kinds of characters, and I think that we are still trying to figure it out. I'm still preparing. I am playing a feminist — a very sophisticated girl who is a big Hillary Clinton supporter and who is auditioning for a beer commercial."
Her 24-minute beauty plan: "I like a cold shower, and I do yoga. It is about lifting your spirit to get that sparkle."
Annet Mahendru
Hair: Her character is a feminist, so she wanted to wear a fedora. Hair was tucked under at the nape to create a faux bob and pinned with large bobby pins. Then it was teased a bit at the base. When the hat was added at the crown, you could see how the updo swooped under into the bob shape. More pins were added as well as hair spray to ensure it would not fall out.
Makeup: To create a sophisticated eye, Kevyn Aucoin eye shadows were layered, including #103 Hint of Peach ($30), #104 Soft Clay ($30), and #106 Coffee Bean ($30). It was topped with a liquid eyeliner and false lashes.
