Rooney! Emma! Angelina! Here are 5 of our favourite beauty moments from the Oscars

Date February 28, 2012

Well, our vote for the biggest upset at this year’s Oscars has to be the makeup. From Michelle Williams’ usual routine of a glossed lip and lightly lined eye to Cameron Diaz’s typical pink lipstick, it seemed like almost all the top stars were playing it safe on the red carpet. Neutral shades and sheer nail polish abound! That being said, amongst all the usual suspects it’s still possible to find inspiration—like Rooney Mara’s perfect brows, Angelina Jolie’s flawless red lip, and Emma Stone’s all-over pink shimmer. We’ve rounded up five of our favourite beauty outliers from the red carpet and have behind-the-scenes tips from the makeup artists who created each look.

See the best in red carpet beauty from Rooney, Angelina, J.Lo, Shailene, and Emma! »

Photography by Michael Buckner/Getty Images

We wouldn’t be surprised if Rooney’s Oscar look became a visual reference under the dictionary entry for “porcelain skin”—her complexion puts everyone else’s to shame. But what we’re really enchanted with are her eyebrows! Mara’s red-carpet makeup artist Kate Lee has achieved the holy grail by giving her brows that are both well defined and natural in shape. The low arch is also key in making her blunt bangs look high fashion and not pin-up. Of course, her subtle makeup application and fluttery—but not obviously fake—lashes help. Joe Fresh’s beauty consultant Simone Otis gave us a tip on how to achieve Mara’s lashes: layer two different kinds of mascara, like Joe Fresh Length Lash mascara to start and then their Volume Lash mascara ($8, at Joe Fresh) on top.

Photography by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Emma Stone loves wearing delicate pink and purple shades on her lids—but what we think is most interesting about her Oscar look is that the pink shimmer wasn’t just on her face. Makeup artist Rachel Goodwin gave Stone’s skin a multi-dimensional glow by applying St. Tropez illuminator in “Rose” ($29, sttropeztan.com) to her arms, shoulders, and décolleté. We always considered Stone as a poster girl for constant SPF usage—but we certainly approve of this very subtle faux flush.

Yes, Angie doing a red lip is pretty predictable. But there was something about this colour that we couldn’t resist. It’s an orange red… but almost blue? (We’ll dub it “Snap Dragon.”) Whatever the mix of this mystery shade, Jolie’s application was flawless: the satin finish appeared almost matte and toned down the colour’s fiery nature—allowing it to complement her equally impressive smoky eye. And the pristine application has put us on touch-up high alert the next time we wear a bright lip colour. To best duplicate Jolie’s lip colour at home, we suggest Cover Girl Blast Flipstick ($8, at drugstores) in “Cheeky.”

Photography by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

We’ve already discussed (and disagreed with) her choice of red-carpet gown, but when it comes to makeup, Shailene actually brought a fresh look to the Oscars. The smoky-brown eye seemed very age appropriate, and looked stunning against her hair and complexion. (That bun? If only it had been placed just a few inches higher!) Makeup artist Stephen Sollitto used Hourglass Cosmetics exclusively to create her look, applying shades of cognac liner and copper eyeshadow to build depth and drama around the eye. However, our favourite part of Woodley’s look is the use of Lash Lacquer ($28, at Sephora)— it’s a high gloss, latex-like top coat that Sollitto painted on the roots of the eyelashes after applying mascara.

Remember the eyeliner technique from Chanel’s haute couture show? Well, here it is, toned down but shimmered up, on Jennifer Lopez. The lower-lash-line cat eye is so flattering because from the front, it actually looks like a smoky eye. However, it has an added eye-brightening boost that only winged liner can deliver. The other bonus of a lower-lash cat eye is you avoid the obvious dip that can sometimes befall a regular winged line. (Emma Stone, we’re looking at you.) Grab a chunky liner, such as Nars Soft Touch shadow pencil in “Aigle Noir” ($28, narscosmetics.ca) and start practicing this look, pronto.