Makeup artist Vincent Oquendo is pretty sure he and hairstylist Marc Mena manifested working with actress Karla Sofía Gascón, the star of this year’s Golden Globe favorite, Emilia Pérez. “Back when Marc and I were working together at the Cannes Film Festival with Lily Gladstone, I already had Karla on my radar because I had read the synopsis for Emilia Pérez and thought it sounded out of this world,” he says. “It’s directed by Jacques Audiard and also features Zoe Saldana and Selena Gomez. I had a feeling it would be a big one—I’m a little witchy sometimes—so I sent my agent an email about Karla. I wrote, ‘She’s a trans actress. I really want to support her. I don’t care if there’s any money involved.’” This Friday, Oquendo and Mena followed the actress to Palm Springs for the opening night of the Palm Springs International Film Festival, where the Emilia Pérez cast received the Vanguard Award. Here, the makeup artist walks us through Gascón’s look.
“When I go to film festivals, I look through all of the films that are in competition. I look up the cast. I read all of the articles. It’s a privilege to be able to create a look for someone who I find incredibly inspiring. Karla’s performance in Emilia Pérez is just so honest. She’s just insanely magnetic on screen.
Freddy Alonso styled Karla in this very sexy, off-the-shoulder, drapey number from Vivienne Westwood, so I wanted to go for la dolce vita vibes with some edge with her makeup. But first, I prepped her skin. I love Dr. Dennis Gross’s LED mask so I started off with that. I used the Jillian Dempsey Gold Bar on her, too. It really gets circulation going and makes the skin look really alive. It’s also really relaxing. While that’s going on, I had her wear Goop Beauty’s Lift + Depuff eye masks. Then it was time for Beau Domaine’s moisturizing cream. It smells so lovely, but I also love how makeup grips to it—and it’s not too emollient so it won’t make products separate. Lumify’s Illuminations eye cream is also great because it has a soft glow that makes the under eyes really luminous, which is the dream for a red carpet. Oh, and because Karla’s taking so many flights and is always on the go, I put one drop of Lumify’s eye drops in each eye, too.
When it comes to makeup, it’s all about the brushes for me; they’re the key to a really beautiful base. Anisa’s are my go-to. They’re synthetic and bound so beautifully. I used the Ambient foundation in 8 from Hourglass and buffed it in with Anisa’s Pinnacle foundation brush. I like to use the same brush to stipple on concealer—I used Touche Éclat in 4.5 and Hourglass Vanish Airbrush in 7.5 on Karla. Then I took Anisa’s Eye Fan brush, which is really meant for eyeshadow, to hide any blemishes or darkness or to highlight specific areas. I like how much control it gives you and it has a dome shape that basically does all of the blending.
I used Rare Beauty’s Stay Vulnerable blush in Nearly Mauve, which has excellent color payoff, and Warm Wishes bronzer stick in Happy Sol to contour. Anisa has this fabulous new angled cream brush that makes this so easy. I like to apply everything in layers to create this really beautiful depth, so I’ll swipe it on, blend, and repeat.
If you’ve seen Emilia Pérez, you know Karla’s eyes have this beautiful twinkle to them. I always try to emphasize them while keeping them simple. I rimmed her eyes, both top and bottom, with Victoria Beckham Beauty’s Satin Kajal liner in Ash, a sort of gray, before I smudged it and smoked it out all over her lids. Then I took Bronze, a shimmery shade, and did a tight line. I used it on the inner corner of her eyes, as well. Before mascara—I like Victoria Beckham Beauty’s Future Lash because it’s pretty water-resistant and never bleeds—I never forget to curl the lashes. Especially with my more mature clients, I find this is so important to give you an instant bright-eyed look. The Tweezerman curler is my super favorite because it gives you a curl without having to work too hard. That’s the number one thing: You don’t want to have to press so hard on your lashes that you risk damaging them.
Karla likes her natural lip color, so I just like to play it up a bit. I went for Revlon’s tinted lip balm in Nude Illuminator, a sheer pink-y shade, and no lip liner—but I did highlight the bow of her lips with Rare Beauty’s highlighter in Flaunt, which I like to apply with my pinky finger.
I always use One/Size’s On ‘Til Dawn setting spray to finish off a look. Makeup literally does not budge when you use this. It’s also semi mattifying, which I personally really like because you don’t want to worry about your clients looking shiny. It’s a makeup artist’s dream.”
—As told to Daise Bedolla
Photos courtesy of Vincent Oquendo
