Penélope Cruz in Zoolander 2
Penélope Cruz’s on-set makeup artist, Pablo Iglesias, talks about the inspiration behind the actress’ Zoolander 2 beauty look, while VIOLET GREY brand ambassador Kira Nasrat explains how to re-create it at home.
Written By JESS BASSER SANDERS
Perhaps one of the most hotly anticipated sequels of our time (teased on Valentino’s Fall 2015 runway and the February cover of Vogue, among other places), fashion-industry spoof Zoolander 2 is finally hitting the big screen—just in time for fashion month. And this season, Spanish bombshell Penélope Cruz joins clueless male models Derek Zoolander (Ben Stiller) and Hansel (Owen Wilson) as sexy Interpol agent Valentina. Cruz’s too-hot-to-handle character enlists our beloved out-of-touch heroes to help track down a serial killer, smoldering all the while in a series of beauty looks courtesy of her longtime makeup artist, Pablo Iglesias.
“There is complicity and trust between us,” Iglesias says of his relationship with Cruz, with whom he has worked for more than twenty years, both on set and on the red carpet. Cruz was heavily involved in developing the beauty for Valentina, and for this look—which she sports in her first appearance onscreen—the two were aiming to define the character’s personality. “We wanted it to be stunning and super sexy,” Iglesias notes. The inspiration was ’90s supermodel Cindy Crawford meets ’60s starlet Monica Vitti, resulting in an interesting and sophisticated—but still very seductive—Latina look, says the artist. “We combined eyeliner with very well-defined eyebrows, and left her hair uncombed because she’s been wearing a motorcycle helmet, giving her wildness and strength,” he explains. Below, VIOLET GREY brand ambassador Kira Nasrat shares tips on how to channel Cruz’s walk-off–winning look.
THE ZOOLANDER 2 TUTORIAL
RE-CREATED BY KIRA NASRAT
VIOLET GREY’s brand ambassador mimics Penélope Cruz’s Zoolander 2 beauty look using beauty essentials approved by The Violet Code.
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WALK-OFF–READY SKIN
“Use Embryolisse’s lait crème as a moisturizer and a primer—it does everything! Massage it into the skin, especially under the cheekbones to help define them. Then add two pumps of this Armani foundation with Bobbi Brown’s Full Coverage Face Brush, starting in the T-zone and buffing outward. Pat skin with a damp Beauty Blender for a seamless finish, then apply Nars’ Creamy Concealer with a Bobbi Brown concealer brush on any areas that need a little more coverage, like between the brows, around the edges of the nose, and under the eyes.”
GIORGIO ARMANI LUMINOUS SILK FOUNDATION
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REALLY, REALLY RIDICULOUSLY GOOD-LOOKING BROWS
“To get strong brows like Penélope’s, use this double-sided pencil, brushing the hairs up with the bristle end and defining with the pencil. Next, use the top right color in Charlotte Tilbury’s Eyeshadow Palette in The Sophisticate to trace back and forth along the eyelid crease with Utowa’s blending brush. Then blend upward toward the brow. With the same brush, tap some of the lightest color in the compact (at the top left) gently onto eyelids.”
HOURGLASS ARCH BROW SCULPTING PENCIL
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LINED EYES ARE SO HOT RIGHT NOW
“Line your top lids with this Charlotte Tilbury pencil, following the lash line. Use Utowa’s pointed brush to blend and blur the color and then extend out with a flick to create a diffused cat eye. For added definition, use YSL’s felt tip liquid liner. I like to hold the liner at a slant, so the tip is parallel to the lid, and press it against the lash line. Go back and fill in wherever needed, then draw the liner out just past the edge of the eye to amp up the feline effect.”
CHARLOTTE TILBURY ROCK ‘N’ KOHL ICONIC LIQUID EYE PENCIL BEDROOM BLACK
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BLUE-STEEL CHEEKS
“To contour, tap Utowa’s angled brush into this sculpting powder. Blend into the hollow under the cheekbone using short, circular movements. Once you can see the product against your skin, start brushing it back and forth from the ear down to below the apple of the cheek. You want the contour to be quite defined for this look.”
KEVYN AUCOIN THE SCULPTING POWDER
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THE ESSENCE OF BEAUTY
“Using the same Utowa brush, tap very gently into this bronzer and blend over the whole cheek, layering over the contour. Finish the cheeks with Bobbi Brown’s blush in Tawny, again with the same brush and applying to the apples of the cheek—do a little Nike sign across them. Everything is supposed to overlap—the contour, the bronzer, and the blush.”
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PROFESSIONALLY GOOD-LOOKING LIPS
“First, line lips with Chanel’s Lip Definer in Natural. Next, for the lipstick, use the little brush on the pencil’s end and mix the bottom two colors in the Serge Lutens lip palette as the finishing touch.”
SERGE LUTENS LèVRES EN BOITE LIP PALETTE 2 NUDES
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Get The Zoolander 2 Tutorial & more at VIOLETGREY.com
