Recreate Gugu Mbatha-Raw's Retro-Inspired Beauty Look

Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2014

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Recreate Gugu Mbatha-Raw's Retro-Inspired Beauty Look

By Marianne Mychaskiw

At the New York City premiere of Beyond the Lights, up-and-coming star Gugu Mbatha-Raw was giving us serious Sophia Loren vibes with her subtle, smoked-out eye and retro faux bob. While the rest of us were waiting with bated breath for the Gucci cosmetics line to roll out, the star got to try out the range a few days early, thanks to her makeup artist Nick Barose. Oh, to live the fab life! “We road-tested the collection, and used it to create this super-glamorous Italian movie star inspired look,” he tells us.

After a layer of foundation, Barose used Gucci’s Golden Glow Bronzer in Indian Sand ($59; gucci.com) around the perimeter of Mbatha-Raw’s face to impart a warm finish, then added a touch of the Sheer Blushing Powder in Pink Camelia ($49; gucci.com) to the apples of her cheeks. Moving on to the eyes, the pro picked up the Gucci Impact Longwear Eye Pencil in Iconic Black ($32;gucci.com), then smudged it to diffuse the color. “Run the pencil in the inner rims of the eyes to add sex appeal in an instant, then curl lashes and add tons of mascara,” Barose says. He then used the lipstick in Aegean Pink ($39; gucci.com) as a stain, then topped the look off by adding a dab of the Vibrant Demi Glaze Lip Lacquer in Breathless ($32; gucci.com) at the very center of her lip, which gave her pout extra dimension.

Hairstylist extraordinaire Ted Gibson kept the vintage feeling going by creating a faux bob with soft, touchable movement. “I was thinking of ’20s and ’50s glamour when I looked at Gugu’s dress—those decades have some of my favorite hair moments,” he tells us. “She has very curly natural hair, so I used a few different products to give her the ultimate blowout.” Gibson combined the Leonor Greyl Eclat Naturel with the Mousse Au Lotus Volumatrice ($46 each; leonorgreyl-usa.com) onto Mbatha-Raw’s mid-lengths and ends before blow-drying her strands with a Mason Pearson brush ($230; nordstrom.com).

He then used a half-inch sized curling iron to create soft ringlets. “For each section, I rolled the hair and pinned the curl at the scalp,” he says. “I did this to her entire head, allowing Gugu’s hair to cool in the pin curls, which allowed them to properly set and keep their shape.” Once each ringlet was completely set, Gibson removed each of the pins and brushed through the curls, then tucked and pinned sections on the underside of the star’s hair at the nape of her neck. A veil of L’Oreal Elnett Satin Hairspray ($15; ulta.com) kept the style in place all night.