Twilight Beauty – Makeovers for the girls of New Moon

Glamour magazine flew me to Vancouver a few months ago to do a shoot with Nikki Reed, Ashley Greene, Rachelle Lefevre, and Noot Seear, the fabulous women of the Twilight Saga. I loved last years award-winning movie, so I was very excited to spend a day with them during filming of the sequel, New Moon. The Glamour team was also a major incentive: the sitting was organized and styled by consummate beauty editor Charlotte-Anne Fiddler (an incorrigibly fab girl), hairstylist extraordinaire Leonardo Manetti and photographer Matthias Vriens-Mc Grath, whose light is simply gorgeous…

The New Moon girls having a blast...

First, we did a group shot with the girls looking pretty much as themselves. There were a lot of giggles and camaraderie in the makeup room. Kristen Stewart came to hang out although she had a terrible cold (she was not scheduled to shoot that day). Personally, I was delighted to see Noot again since we had done some great sittings together when she was modeling. Then, the fun started.

The goal was to do individual portraits of each girl and really bring out their uniqueness. I love this kind of work where I get “carte blanche” to interpret a face, a personality and project an image. The key to a successful sitting of this kind is to let one’s imagination flow without holding back. The great editors trust my taste and judgement as much as I trust theirs, and after a quick powwow where we all choose a common direction, they know it’s best to weigh in towards the end of the makeup process, so the creative juices can flow. The newbies take a less successful approach by micromanaging the creative process from the get-go, which tends to inhibit real inspiration. Anyway, not the case at all with this sitting. Here’s what I was thinking:

A sensuous, sultry look for Nikki Reed

Nikki Reed has a very warm, sensuous, subtle sexiness about her. I wanted her to completely glow while letting the makeup remain unnoticeable. The palette was all neutrals and warm earth tones with some golden accents. This kind of makeup works really well with a few shimmery touches dispersed here and there to reflect light. The eyes were kept neutral but discreet lashes were added for extra depth and the eyebrows were filled in for character. The lips were brushed with a natural pink/beige shade.

Rachelle Lefevre ready for the red carpet

Rachelle Lefevre had a strong, fiery, retro-glamour side to her that reminded me of the most famous Hollywood redhead, Rita Hayworth (think “Gilda”). I kept the eyelids on the nude side with a coppery gold eye color then added individual lashes in various lengths. I accentuated the eyebrows with a coppery powder eyeshadow applied in small strokes with a brush. For the next step, I made the lips the main focus of the makeup by making them a fiery red. To finish off the look, I skipped the blush and opted for some contour shadow following the cheekbone for extra drama.

A new look for Ashley Greene

Ashley Greene has a beautiful pale complexion and short dark hair which inspired me to do a hot runway look. By playing up the high contrast between her hair and her skin tone with a smokey eye and pale lips, Ashley got a brand new look. She looked very cool and fashion forward, a little like Victoria Beckham. I used black, taupe and grey for the eyes, as well as a ton of lashes. The skin was kept light and natural (key when you do a dramatic look), and the focus point is the eye. The blush was a pale pink to keep the sheerness of the makeup. You see, there is a big difference between strong (like this one) and heavy makeup (too much of everything). The lips are a light shade of nude/beige.

Noot Seear's knockout look

Noot Seear has the kind of face structure and coloring that rocks with any kind of makeup. The magazine had asked me to do a colorful eye on one of the girls, so it made sense to do it on Noot. In general, a makeup that combines strong eyes with strong makeup tends to look “old school” or “costumy” unless it’s a completely deliberate and obvious fashion statement. Since this was not the point of our story, I chose to do the makeup so it would be easy to replicate for anyone, not just as a beauty picture on a model/actress. While I applied this greenish blue on Noots eyelids, some gold on the inner corners, I kept the skin very natural and glowy. A brush of beige-y pink along the cheekbones added a touch of softness. The lips were tinted with a sheer dusty rose lipstick to complement the eyes.

The girls looooved their looks and were very much into the process and I seriously enjoy a good makeover party. Let’s just put it this way, there are days where the sitting can get quite painful, those that are ho-hum and occasionally there are days like this one in Vancouver, where I think I have a fabulous job!

Tags: Ashley Greene, Celebrity Looks, Glamour, MAKEOVERS, New Moon, Nikki Reed, Noot Seear, Rachelle Lefevre, Twilight