One of the many things we admire about Kaley Cuoco: her ability to pull off a daring makeup trend like it’s NBD. If any actress is going to road-test some aspirational, ahead-of-the-curve look we’ve just seen on the runway or Instagram. It’s her—in no small part thanks to her makeup artist Jamie Greenberg. We caught up with her to ask about some of Cuoco’s recent makeup exploits; and lucky for us (and you), she was happy to spill all the behind-the-scenes details. Get ready to get inspired to dabble in something new this weekend.
1. Double-Winged Eyeliner
We’ve been seeing double- and even triple-winged eyeliner on the runways recently. But only when we spotted this version on Cuoco were we convinced it could play for real life. “This look was for an appearance on Conan O’Brien,” Greenberg recalls. “We love to come together after we see what she’s wearing and just play. That day we were messing around on her eyes and I made a joke and did two lines…and she was like yesssss! On TV you can’t really see the detail, so we made sure to post it on Instagram. Kaley loved the look.” Need more encouragement before you play with multi-winged liner? See what happened when Glamour editor Jen tried the trend.
2. Matte Color Pop Lips
If you haven’t heard of ColourPop by now, we’re guessing you’re not a social-media beauty junkie. The cult brand’s lipsticks, especially; have become an obsession among beauty vloggers and Instagrammers for their saturated pigments and affordable price tag. “The colors pay off and last, and they also smell good,” Greenberg says. But a vivid fuchsia like this is not in Cuoco’s usual repertoire. “This look was for the Paley festival,” Greenberg says. “We knew she was wearing all black.
When she sat down, Kaley thought we should do a smoky eye. But when I showed her the ColourPop lip color; it convinced her to do a bold lip, which she very rarely does. We rocked it out and it looked fantastic. Kaley was so excited.” Unfortch, this limited-edition shade, Poppin’, can now only be found on eBay. The finishing touch to make her eyes pop: some Ardell faux lashes—one of our picks for the coolest beauty products you can find at Target this spring. PS: Kaley we love your phone case.
3. Oblong Smoky Eyes
Just days after we gawked at mod smoky eyes on models like Gigi Hadid at the Atelier Versace Couture spring 2016 show, Cuoco killed the same look with her SAG Awards makeup. But if the runway played into Cuoco’s look, it was only subliminal. “We are inspired by shapes,” Greenberg says of the almost triangular shadow. “The dress had shapes, the hair is shaped, and I wanted to add to the shapes with makeup. It was about balance, because all three are very strong. Sometimes when the dress is strong, the hair and makeup go light. But that day it was all about strength!” That included making the shadow’s edges defined rather than diffused. “On my Instagram someone said I didn’t blend the eyeshadow. You don’t always have to blend your shadow. Try playing with shape and boldness.”
4. Wet Lids
Here’s Cuoco modeling another of-the-moment brand you might not have tried yet: Milk Makeup, a line launched in February by the cooler-than-all-of-us bicoastal creative collective Milk and now sold at Sephora and Urban Outfitters. “Milk has done a good job of creating products that don’t already exist on the market,” Greenberg says, the glossy Eye Vinyl on Cuoco’s lids being one example that people are going crazy for (it comes in a handy click pen).
The occasion this time: an Alzheimer’s charity event, where Cuoco performed in a red gown. “She wanted to go light with nudes to complement the dress,” Greenberg says. “I had recently received some of the Eye Vinyl and asked her if she was into it, and she thought it was really cool. We are scared it was going to look too wet or Vaseline-like but we continued to play with the product until we found a great balance. This look reminded me of a picture of Madonna from the ’80s—just a wet lid! I LOVE a wet lid. People should try that more often.”
5. An Extreme Cat Eye
Even more ahead of the curve, this scheme brings to mind the Givenchy fall 2016 runway, where models like Bella Hadid wore cat eyes drawn out to new lengths. For Cuoco’s appearance on Jimmy Fallon, she wanted to do something dramatic but not dark. “I love to pull out her shadow in a graphic way, so we decided to go with a bronze for this look,” Greenberg says. “It doesn’t jump out at you, it’s something you notice gradually. It’s playful, and that day she had puppies all over her on Fallon—so playful was what we were going for!” The secret tool used to perfect those sharp angles: her driver’s license!
I hope you all try these hacks over the weekend!
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