While her new film, Wicked: For Good, is releasing this fall, Cynthia Erivo played an entirely different role at last night’s Tony Awards: Host. “I love working with Cynthia because she is such a beautifully calm soul,” her makeup artist Joanna Simkin tells ESSENCE. Singing and whistling while getting her makeup and nails done, “she manages to maintain a level of peace during the most chaotic storms of glam scenarios.”
Draped in a Schiaparelli couture gown detailed with oyster peals, beaded embellishments, and a peach velvet texture, Simkin says that’s the direction she referenced for beauty. “The makeup direction was really led by the dress,” she says. “To compliment her gown, we went for pearlescent, glowing makeup: fluttery lashes, highlit skin, and a tonal lip all created an ethereal look.”
For her celestial skin, “hydrating and airy” complexion products, like the TIRTIR Milk Skin Toner and Ceramic Milk Ampoule, were key. Then, “to take down a bit of the glow while still remaining fresh and hydrated-looking,” Simkin says she used the famous Mask Fit Red Cushion Foundation in the semi-matte shades 43N and 45W. But, the most important part of Erivo’s makeup look was the lashes.
Layering two separate strip lashes and some individual clusters, Simkin customized a fluttery set for the actress. First, she glued a pair of KISS Lash Couture Noblesse Lashes to her lash line, then she cut three pieces of the voluminous, curly Lash Couture Masterpiece Lashes into spiky clusters for added dimension.
While Erivo is big on lashes, she’s still primarily known for her theatrical manicures. “This nail look is a bold, sculptural celebration of red carpet elegance, with a touch of softness and romance,” celebrity manicurist Mycah Dior says. “The design features a deep, gradient crimson tip over a natural base, embellished with hand-sculpted orchid flowers, delicate vines, and jeweled accents.”
Using clear acrylic powder to custom sculpt Erivo’s nails, she then mixed two Aprés Nails shades, Vampire Drunk and Never Bordeaux You, rejecting minimalist French tips with a custom red. Then, like Simkin, Dior translated the rose and orchid details from her gown onto her nails. “The sculpted florals served as a nod to the delicate elements in her outfits, helping create a cohesive, romantic red carpet moment from head to toe,” she says.
Using the lilac shade Dusky Dawn, she airbrushed an aura effect onto Erivo’s pointer and ring finger, before sculpting orchids on top of the aura, then highlighting the center of the flower with lilac and a deeper purple, Virgo Away. To complete the look, she added embellishments and chrome details to maximize the romantic drama on her other fingers, before sealing it all in with a top coat.
With the actress one of the manicurist’s most consistent celebrity clients, “she sees nails as part of the full storytelling moment, and that’s a nail artist’s fantasy,” Dior says. And, “[this look is] luxurious, artistic, and unapologetically couture, just like Cynthia.”
