Courtesy of Melanie Inglessis
At the 2024 Oscars, attendees chose one of two styles to walk down the red carpet. There was the immersive character dressing found in Florence Pugh’s Dune-coded, waterdrop-covered ensemble and Ariana Grande’s Glinda the Good Witch-inspired dress and hair. On the other side of the spectrum? Pure, classic, Hollywood glamour that was spotted on the likes of Margot Robbie, Zendaya, and Kirsten Dunst.
On March 10, Dunst walked the red carpet of the 2024 Academy Awards. Though the longtime Hollywood mainstay wasn’t up for any awards this year, her husband, Jesse Plemons, was part of the ensemble for the highly nominated Killers of the Flower Moon. Obviously, to celebrate her husband’s accolades, she had to show up in style—which she did, down to her classic red lip.
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Other than Dunst's makeup, her entire look was simple, classic, and monochromatic white. The actor wore a fitted Gucci gown with spaghetti straps and a slit up the back of the floor-length skirt. The dress was only a few shades lighter than her bright blonde hair, and coordinated with her silver strappy heels and diamond earrings.
Despite the timeless elegance of her outfit, it was her makeup that stole the show. Celebrity makeup artist Melanie Inglessis tells Byrdie that the inspiration “stemmed from her simple yet chic Gucci dress,” elevating the “cool girl” energy of the look even more. “[We] settled for gorgeous skin, a soft smoky eye and a red lip.”
Courtesy of Melanie Inglessis
Though the lips were the centerpiece of the look, Inglessis started off the process by prepping Dunst's skin for a luminous base. "Key products for a great make up is always good skin," says Inglessis, who used all Danucera products to prep for the look.
To start, she massaged Danucera’s multi-use Cerabalm ($95) into the actor’s skin to cleanse and hydrate, and then wiped it away with a warm cloth. Then, she toned with the brand’s D22 Tonic ($88) “using upwards motion to stimulate, tighten and exfoliate the skin, leaving a beautiful glow.” For moisture she applied the Iconic Eye ($145) under the eyes, and “indulged Kirsten in a face massage” with the Cream Supreme ($195) to leave her skin “moisturized, bright, glowing and ready for makeup.”
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With the skin prepped, the fun part started—makeup. To blur any imperfections and make Dunst’s skin all the more perfect, Inglessis custom-mixed two complexion products. The makeup artist said she used Gucci Beauty Luminous Matte Foundation ($69) and mixed it with Danessa Myricks Yummy Skin Glow Serum ($34)—a liquid highlighter—and pressed it into the skin “with a Beauty Blender that I have soaked with rose water.” She says this is her favorite technique because it leaves “no streaks, no marks.”
After that, she the applied the “great red lipstick” we couldn’t take our eyes off of, Lisa Eldridge’s Velveteen Liquid Lipstick in Ribbon ($36). Of course, she also brought a flush to the cheeks with Patrick Ta crème and powder blush duo ($38) in the shade Just Enough.
Right before Dunst headed off to the carpet, Inglessis was sure to brush up her brows. Then, she patted on a touch more Cerabalm to Dunst's collarbones and cheekbones "for a pop of natural glow."
