The skin prep A-list makeup artists actually use
July 22 | 4 minute read
Words by Arabella Roden
You know what I’m talking about: clear, hydrated, plumped, glowing – with nary a dark circle, blemish or dry patch in sight. It’s the perfect canvas for the talented hands of A-list makeup artists to work their magic. Surely it can’t all be down to good genes and drinking lots of water (even if it’s antioxidant, vitamin and adaptogen-infused)?
To find out, I took a deep dive into the kits of the aforementioned A-list makeup artists – we’re talking the woman hand-selected by Sofia Richie Grainge to do her bridal makeup, Pedro Pascal’s skin, hair and grooming expert, and Kim Kardashian’s right-hand man – and discovered exactly how they prep their clients’ skin ahead of events like the Met Gala, the Oscars and more.
As it happens, their secret weapons are luxe skincare products that might have flown under your radar – but are well worth adding to your wishlist!
Mario Dedivanovic
He’s the king of Kim Kardashian’s ‘glam squad’, and when it comes to the A-lister, Mario Dedivanovic turns to the best of the best. At the top of the list? Augustinus Bader. Kardashian is famously a fan of the brand, with celebrity facialist and Bader ambassador Lord Gavin McLeod-Valentine telling MECCA that she was the one who introduced him to the groundbreaking skincare range.
For the 2022 Met Gala (yes, the night of the infamous Marilyn Monroe dress), Dedivanovic first cleansed Kardashian’s face with The Cream Cleansing Gel, followed by The Essence, applied with a cotton pad. Once The Essence had fully absorbed, he then applied The Cream “all over her skin”. Dedivanovic also loves The Rich Cream, saying: “I use The Rich Cream on myself every day and on set. Good skin makes such a difference to the final makeup look, and The Rich Cream is one of my secret weapons to achieving a red-carpet ready glow.”
Another favourite? La Mer. For this year’s Oscars, Dedivanovic prepped Salma Hayek with The Moisturizing Soft Cream, The Hydrating Infused Emulsion, The Eye Concentrate, The Lip Balm and The Mist.
Sabrina Bedrani
For Michelle Yeoh’s night of nights – aka this year’s Oscars, where she won Best Actress – makeup artist Sabrina Bedrani relied on the original A-list skincare brand: La Mer (for which Yeoh is an ambassador).
“The key to achieving flawless skin on the red carpet always starts with hydration,” says Bedrani. “For Michelle's look, we wanted a soft, ethereal feeling and opted for La Mer to prep her skin. We began with the Treatment Lotion followed by The Concentrate and The Moisturizing Soft Cream to create a super hydrated canvas.”
Bedrani is also a fan of Kat Burki skincare, which she used to create “fresh, dewy, glowing skin” for Gal Gadot at the Golden Globes. She started with the Super Nutrient Elixir, followed by the PH+ Enzyme Essence and Vitamin C Intensive Face Cream.
Pati Dubroff
She’s a legend in celebrity circles, and her work is once again in the spotlight (and all over TikTok) given her role as Sofia Richie Grainge’s bridal makeup artist – add that on top of already being Margot Robbie’s long-time collaborator for red carpet appearances. And if you know Pati Dubroff, you know she’s devoted to skin prep – spending an average of 40 minutes on skincare before she even begins applying makeup to her clients.
First up: a 15 – 20-minute face mask from one of the ultimate ‘if you know, you know’ skincare brands: 111SKIN. While the Rose Gold Brightening Facial Treatment Mask is an A-list favourite, Dubroff ’s pick is the Anti Blemish Bio Cellulose Facial Treatment Mask, with any excess serum massaged into the upper body (another Dubroff hack to get the most out of your face mask? Rest it on your neck while you apply your makeup).
The artist then follows up with a microcurrent device – one of her favourites is the NuFACE Trinity Device – to lift and contour the appearance of the face. She then goes in with a chilled facial massage tool for extra de-puffing (Team MECCA loves the Rose Inc Cooling Spheres). A hydrating, glow-giving moisturiser is next: Augustinus Bader’s The Rich Cream, applied to the perimeter and high points of the face. For a lighter option, Dubroff turns to the 111SKIN Y Theorem Repair Serum NAC Y2 (PSA: there’s also a concentrated seven-day treatment). Finally, she’ll finish with a spritz of the Omorovicza Queen Of Hungary Mist.
Coco Ullrich-Mooney
From The Last of Us to The Mandalorian and countless TikTok edits, Pedro Pascal took over the internet (or at least, my corner of it) this year. For his (many) recent moments in the spotlight, the star’s grooming expert Coco Ullrich-Mooney turns to La Mer. “The products allowed for an easy application with great results… They always make your skin look amazingly hydrated,” she says.
Ahead of the Oscars red carpet, Ullrich-Mooney “applied a pea size amount of The Concentrate and The Eye Concentrate to the under-eye area. I then went in with The Moisturizing Soft Cream, all over his face.”
And for that show-stopping Met Gala look (Valentino shorts!)? The Cleansing Micellar Water, followed by “The Concentrate on face and neck, The Moisturizing Cool Gel Cream after on face and neck, [and] finished with The Lip Balm.” If adding these to our routine gets us one step closer to Pascal, we’ll take it.
