Ninety-five editions and still all the attention of the world on: on March 12 at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles with the delivery of the 2023 Oscars a new piece of cinema history but also of costume and fashion is accomplished. The images of the most famous red carpet of all will bounce on each support for weeks to then enter history and be retrieved in the years to come as a reference for some type of theme. Memes included (like Will Smith’s 2022 slapstick).
Waiting to see which moment will be the most cited of this year’s edition, a roundup of the nights of the past years shows us a certain caution on the part of the stars in terms of make-up and hair. If actresses and actors are willing to dare with dresses (trains, transparencies, manifest outfits & co.), with make-up they seem to be safer by choosing that typically Hollywood glamor of the divas of the past: perfect and very luminous skin, preferably red mouth, eyeliner black. «Apart from someone used to proposing more creative make-up, on the red carpet you can see above all that look with which she is never wrong, the equivalent of the little black dress», says Sara Di Stefano, celebrity make-up artist & hair stylist. «The skin is flawless thanks to a play of chiaroscuro that favors the spotlights: concealers, foundations, lots of luminizers, blushes and contouring where it is needed to offer the flashes splendid and shining faces. At that point, if there is already a full mouth, little else is needed: thin eyeliner and eyelid shading in natural, bright tones». A set that with the evening dress and neat hair instantly makes you star.
To tell the truth, some mistakes can also be seen from time to time on the Hollywood red carpet: “Sometimes you notice the concealer is too light or the skin is shiny: the make-up artists don’t follow the actresses all the way to the carpet, but they prepare them first, so it happens in the meantime, let your face shine”, continues Di Stefano. “But the most unforgivable mistake in my opinion is not reserving the same maniacal care for the body: non-hydrated skin, the gap in color between the face and décolleté, the undisguised tan line”. In short, not all of them are like JLo who shows up at every event with every inch of perfectly smooth and luminous skin.
Who takes care of it is Mary Phillips, Jennifer Lopez’s make-up artist on special occasions (including weddings), one of the most popular make-up artists in Hollywood: the looks of the Kardashian-Jenner sisters and Hailey Bieber are also hers. Also this year her agenda is blocked for the Oscars just like that of Hung Vanno, the favorite make-up artist of Julianne Moore and Selena Gomez, who took care of Emily Ratajkowski, Laura Harrier and Lily James last year. Jessica Chastain instead relies on Kristofer Buckle while Cate Blanchett on Mary Greenwell for the red carpet but on Morag Ross on the sets. In fact, there was just Ross in the crew of Tar, the film for which Blanchett is nominated for Best Actress.
But even make-up and hair are awarded the Oscar and this year there are artists of the highest level competing for it. On the set of black panther: Wakanda Forever had the same crew as the first one Black Panther of 2018: Joel Harlow for the make up (his also the tricks of Star Trek and gods Pirates of the Caribbean as Johnny Depp’s personal makeup artist), and Marvel film veteran Camille Firend for hair. Behind the looks of Nothing new on the western front there are Heike Merker and Linda Eisenhamerová, both accustomed to war settings and livid atmospheres. For The Batman there are Naomi Donne, her also the iconic looks of Cruella (appointed in 2017) e The Royal Lieutenants, and the duo Mike Marino and Mike Fontaine responsible for the transformation of Colin Farrell into The Penguin. But the work that Adrien Morot, Judy Chin and Anne Marie Bradley have done for is also extraordinary The Whale, turning Brendan Fraser into a 600-pound man. Special mention for the cast of Elvis: Mark Coulier, English make-up artist specializing in special effects, has already won two Oscars with The Iron Lady (2012) e Grand Budapest Hotel (2015); Jason Baird, former head of transformations of Star Wars: Episode II (2002), Thor: Ragnarok (2017) e Aquaman (2018); but above all the Italian pride, highly sought after in Hollywood, Aldo Signoretti. In his curriculum there are three Oscars won with Moulin Rouge! (2001), Apocalypto (2006) and thanks to the metamorphosis of Toni Servillo in Star (2008). Let’s see if the magic also works with Austin Butler aka Elvis Presley.
The films nominated for the Oscar for “best make up & hair
