At the VMAs on Sunday, Kim Kardashian oozed an effortless sexiness that was due in part to her form-fitting, slinky dress and in part to her loose waves and ultra-natural — for her — makeup. Though there were still hours of prep behind the look, she came off looking like she was hardly trying.
The typically glammed-up reality star’s team “wanted to keep her looking gorgeous, really toned down, stripped down and clean, with really beautiful shiny hair and clean makeup,” her hairstylist Michael Silva tells Pret-a-Reporter. “It’s the end of the summer — she’s [showing off her] summer body, so she just looks beautiful.”
For her locks, which fell loose over her shoulders, Silva says they spoke about going for a “very sexy, very natural, polished texture — a combination of that summery beach beauty glossy, natural, wavy hair.” To accomplish that, he didn’t overwork it. Into her damp hair he “encouraged the natural texture with my hands — I don’t want to use the word scrunch, because that sounds dated, but manipulated the hair and worked the natural texture into it.”
As far as products, Silva first applied Kenra Platinum Snail CC Creme from the mid-lengths to the end, “to even out the ferocity in the hair,” layered with Kenra Platinum Revive Oil. Next he sectioned her hair and sprayed Kenra Platinum Texturizing Mist all over, setting it in the shape he wanted and drying it with a ghd Air Hairdryer with diffuser, without using a brush or his hands (which could make it frizzy). Once it was totally dry, he used the ghd Platinum Styler to enhance and pump up the waves section by section, flattening the roots a bit so it didn’t look ‘80s. He added Kenra Silkening Mist to amp up the shine and add a reflective almost wet-looking finish.
The same kind of polished ease was integral to makeup artist Mario Dedivanovic’s approach. For Kanye West’s wife, “I was really playing off a Mediterranean inspiration,” he says. “I wanted Kim to look like a Greek goddess, with dewy, clean makeup.” Bronze and copper tones — from Laura Mercier Matte Radiance Baked Powder in Bronze-03, which he used to contour the outer edges of her face, to the Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eye Colour in Sand Glow on her lids — highlighted her tan, luminous skin.
That was what he really focused attention on, as opposed to doing a lip or an eye. “I wanted her face to be the star of the look — I wanted it to shine, with a somewhat ‘wet’ look.” He did a lot of highlighting of Kardashian’s face and body, with Laura Mercier Face Illuminator Powders, which imbue a natural sheen. Furthering that effect was the Tatcha Luminous Dewy Skin Mist he spritzed on her complexion to finish. Even her lip stuck to that palette: Laura Mercier Lip Pencil in Hazelnut Tea and Velour Lovers Lip Colour in Sensual paired for the ideal no-makeup nude. All in all, Dedivanovic admits, “This look was somewhat more natural than what I typically do for Kim’s glam. It felt more summery.”
