We Found the Perfect Red Lipstick Emma Stone Wears in 'Cruella'

Just what you need for that reemergence makeover.

We Found the Perfect Red Lipstick Emma Stone Wears in 'Cruella'

After a year and change spent peering at co-workers through sad Zoom filters and perfecting our skin care routines, makeup is back. Thank God. And what perfect timing for Cruella, a live-action film about the fur-obsessed Disney villain that's now in theaters. 

Set in London during the punk-rock movement of the ‘70s, the film stars Emma Stone as a young grifter named Estella. Tired of a life of petty crime, Estella thinks she’s finally scored a dream job as a designer for Baroness von Hellman (Emma Thompson), the head of a prestigious Dior-like fashion house. But Estella is both talented and rebellious—a dangerous combination to someone like the Baroness, who is more than happy to take credit for Estella's hard work. Without spoiling too much, their fraught relationship eventually inspires Estella to transform herself into a new, more confident persona: Cruella de Vil.

Any movie centered on a fashion designer—even one who aspires to kill puppies for a coat—is guaranteed to serve up looks, but Cruella is even more visually exciting than expected. (That big Disney budget goes a long way.) Stone, and the creative team behind her, deliver so many moments through the two personas that it's all a bit overwhelming. Estella, a punk girl who grew up on the streets pickpocketing, is defined by her chipped nail polish, smudgy eyeliner, and perfectly not-perfect 'do. Her alter ego Cruella, meanwhile, is known as an avant garde fashion disruptor; her beauty signatures become bold red lips, dramatic eyeshadow, and that unmistakeable two-tone hair.

For makeup artist Nadia Stacey, Cruella was the assignment of a lifetime. “When Emma Stone called, she said the movie was set in the 1970s, around the punk era. As a hair and make up artist, that is just an absolute dream,” she tells Glamour. "London at that time is a fantastic setting—there was this explosion of punk and change for women. Not just in fashion, but also in social attitudes."

For Estella, Stacey looked to '70s icons like Blondie singer Debbie Harry, the Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde, “Because the Night” singer Patti Smith, and German new wave artist Nina Hagen—women who “had that kind of effortless beauty that still has a kind of messiness to it.” Estella's hair is a deep red, in a shade that is obviously from a box. “It's not a natural red because I think if Estella's going to dye her hair, she's going to dye it,” Stacey says, with a laugh.  

Stacey also used on Stone MAC's Eye Kohl pencil in Smolder—drawn “really crudely around the eye”—that she smudged out a bit to create a smokey effect. The nails are Butter London in Union Black Jack, finished in a matte top coat that was Stone's idea. (Stacey says the actor also requested that non-toxic polish be used.) “It sort of looked like the Batmobile,” Stacey says of the result. “We chipped them and kind of messed them up a bit so it looks like she's had it on for weeks.” 

Mac Cosmetics Eye Kohl Eyeliner Pencil in Smolder

Butter London Union Jack Black Nail Lacquer

Overall, the idea is that Estella's beauty look would come more out of necessity than any particular inspiration. “I kind of like the idea that on one of her little stealing adventures, she's taken a few products from somewhere, so that's her look all the time,” Stacey explains. 

And then there's Cruella. Stacey says the inspiration for her came from Siouxsie Sioux, the influential lead of Siouxsie and the Banshees. While Estella was all about the DIY approach, Cruella was allowed to embrace a more extreme style. “Everything with Cruella's makeup is about a mask or deception, because she's trying to trick the Baroness,” Stacey explains. 

Her bold red lip—a real highlight of the film, I must say—is the appropriately named Lady Danger by MAC. Stacey also took Stone's foundation down a notch, to create a more noticeable difference on screen between the two personas. To that end, Cruella's eyebrow was also drawn more dramatically to slightly change her face shape. The eyeshadow was blended straight out to further create that mask-like effect. 

Mac Cosmetics Matte Lipstick in Lady Danger

The result is an extra-in-a-good way vibe that I can see a lot of people channeling as they start considering their reemergence makeover. That's not to say everyone will be dying their hair black and white…but maybe click “buy” on that MAC lipstick before it sells out. 

Anna Moeslein is the senior entertainment editor at Glamour. Follow her on Instagram @annamoeslein.

This story originally appeared on: Glamour - Author:Anna Moeslein