Some stylists advise against wearing yellow on a red carpet, as the two clashing shades can create a bit of a ketchup-and-mustard effect. But last night at the Emmys, we saw three takes on yellow dresses that didn’t come off the least bit Ronald McDonald–y: Julianne Moore and Claire Danes in canary yellow (Dior Couture and Lanvin, respectively) and Julie Bowen in chartreuse (Monique Lhuillier). We were most impressed that their makeup looks all managed to complement the citrus tones — something not easily done. We got the breakdown of each star’s makeup strategy for the night.
Kohl-Rimmed Eyes: Claire Danes
Laura Mercier makeup artist Matin Maulawizada honed in on the (expectant) actress’s eyes. He started by drawing a black line around each eye with the brand’s Eye Pencil in Extreme Black. Maulawizada then went over the line with Kohl Eye Pencil in Black Gold (a dark, shimmery gold) which picked up the yellow in Dane’s Lanvin dress. For the lids, he used a blend of Metallic Crème Eye Colour in Burnished Copper and Sequin Eye Colour in Black Ice.
Smoky Eyes: Julie Bowen
Makeup artist Heather Currie layered several smoky shades to achieve her desired effect. She smudged MAC Eyeshadow in Carbon (a matte black) and NARS Matte Eyeshadow in Thunderball (a charcoal grey) across Bowen’s upper lash line and added a chocolate brown shadow (NARS Matte Eyeshadow in Bengali) to her eyelid crease for added depth. To accentuate the smokiness, she dotted the brow bone with a little bit of shimmery white from NARS Duo Eyeshadow in Pandora. For added definition, she lined the eyes yet again, this time with Covergirl Lineblast 24 Hour Eyeliner in black.
Punchy Pink-Red Lips: Julianne Moore
Instead of focusing on the eyes, the vice presidential nominee Emmy-winning actress accentuated her mouth with a bright, pink-toned red lipstick. To re-create the look, the team at Dior suggests applying Rouge Dior Lipcolor #999, then highlighting cheeks with the complementary Diorblush in Strawberry Sorbet. Finish off with Diorshow mascara in black.
