Ever scroll through celebrity Instagram selfies thinking, “How does she do it?” If so, you’re in luck. Pulse asked a squad of high-profile beauty experts how to get your favorite stars’ best, most “like”-able features, from J.Lo’s famous hair to Rihanna’s glossy pout. Spring is all about looking equally effortless, which, of course, takes a little bit of effort.
The luscious lips
Whether on set for a music video or going wild on vacation, Rihanna’s makeup game is consistently on point. While lounging around in January, the singer got this bold look from best friend Leandra “LeLe” Goodridge, and we haven’t stopped swooning over her glossy lips since.
“Although Rihanna’s lips look light, you want to do more than just throw on lip gloss,” says Dior Beauty makeup artist Ricky Wilson on recreating the singer’s pout.
Ricky Wilson’s expert tips
1. Apply a little lip balm for conditioning. This prevents that ugly collection of gloss that can happen in the inside of the pout.
2. Choose a nude pencil to fill in the lips.
3. Top it off with a sassy shade of nude gloss.
The products: Dior Addict lip glow in Coral (right), $32, Dior Contour lip liner pencil in Grège, $30, and Dior Addict gloss in Ambre Lumière, $29.50, all at dior.com
The runway-ready hair
Jennifer Lopez is a true performer: The former fly-girl is always camera-ready (even when she’s justtooling around in her car, like in this selfie from March). Her crowning glory? A head of thick, superslick hair. But how to keep locks breezy and frizz-free for your photo op? DreamDry salon senior stylist Olivia Halpin illuminates the way.
Olivia Halpin’s expert tips
1. Start with shampooed, conditioned hair. Towel dry it to remove as much moisture as possible.
2. Apply a dime-size amount of a volumizing gel at the crown, and a small amount of a light moisturizing cream to the ends of your hair.
3. Begin blow-drying your hair, focusing first on the roots and then on your ends. Make sure to use the nozzle attachment — it will fight frizz and add tons of shine! To create more volume, flip your head upside down while drying the roots.
4. Once hair is almost completely dry, divide it into four or five large sections and use a large paddle brush to finish drying. To get extra polish and shine, finish with a shot of cold air.
5. To finish, spray a texturizing spray — a little goes a long way — through your ends to create “piecieness” and shine, and lightly scrunch hair.
The products: Kérastase Lift Vertige volumizing gel, $36 at kerastase-usa.com; Oribe Après Beach Wave and Shine texturizing spray (above), $37 at barneys.com; Phyto 7 Dry Hair Hydrating day cream, $28 at sephora.com
The golden glow
Kim Kardashian is the unequivocal queen of selfies, and she never posts without looking picture perfect. It’s no surprise, then, that last October the reality star flaunted blown-out locks and tight, bronzed skin for a simple swimsuit shot that became the postbaby seflie seen ’round the world.
“[For Kardashian] I use Body Bling. It’s a tinted moisturizer,” says Scott Barnes, a celebrity makeup artist and one of Kardashian’s trusted experts. “It’s not a self-tanner, so you don’t have to wait four hours” for it to bronze your skin: It works instantly.
Scott Barnes’ and Polly Blitzer’s expert tips
1. Use a firming lotion the night before to tighten the skin and make it more adherent, says Blitzer, founder of beauty site beautyblitz.com.
2. A little Body Bling goes a long way. Use just a few dollops about the size of a pearl and work into the skin consistently throughout, says Barnes.
The products: Body Bling shimmering lotion (left), $42 at scottbarnes.com; NIVEA Skin Firming & Toning Gel-Cream, $11.69 at drugstore.com
The smoky-hot evening eye
Jessica Stam is best known for her dazzling doll-like peepers, and the smouldering, smoky-eyed selfie the model snapped backstage at a shoot last August was an instant “like.” Re-creating the look can be daunting, but celebrity makeup artist Susan Giordano, who has worked with Penélope Cruz, breaks it down.
Susan Giordano’s expert tips
1. Curl your lashes, then brush a light-toned shadow from lash line to brow bone.
2. With a medium-toned shadow, use an eye contour brush to create a shadow in the crease. Follow the contour and bring the shadow slightly above the crease.
3. With a dark brown pencil, line your upper lid, close to the lashes. Make the line thick, then use a finger or a Q-tip to smudge it.
4. Use the pencil to line the outer two-thirds of your lower lid, and smudge.
5. Load a thin liner brush with gel liner in brown or black and apply by holding the brush horizontally and dragging it across the upper lash line, close to the lashes.
6. Finish with two coats of mascara.
The products: Gel liner in Blackout, $18, and eye shadow in Iced Coffee (above), $16, both at giordanobeauty.com; Diorshow mascara, $26, and Sephora Collection Contour eye pencil, $10, both at sephora.com
Picture pointers from the pros
One photographer reveals her top tips for nailing a sensational snap
1. Don’t shoot from below: “When you shoot from below, you risk exposing too much nostril and giving yourself a double chin, and your face will always appear rounder. In this photo, her arms look larger than they actually are, and the low perspective is making her look wider overall.”
2. Avoid artificial lighting: “Here you can even see the tonal contrast between her face, which has makeup on it, and her arms, which don’t,” says Mina Magda, a photographer at the Billy Farrell Agency. “The false light makes a face with makeup look flat and pale, while untouched skin will glow an unnatural yellow.”
3. Banish the clutter: “The background here is all wrong — it’s cluttered, there are weird glares on various surfaces and you can even see the source of the bad artificial lighting! No one wants to see your unglamorous office space — we all know what those look like.”
4. Get app-y: This selfie uses the free photo app VSCO Cam. “It will give your images a rich, professional quality,” says Magda.
5. Be careful with your cropping: “The cropping is off. She’s centered, so there’s symmetry, but the angle puts the weight of her body in the foreground, leaving the background with a lot of random empty space.”
6. Take advantage of natural light: “Because she’s by a window, the natural color and contours of her face are illuminated — and not tinted undesirable shades.”
7. Consider your surroundings: “She’s positioned herself in between a clear white wall and a window, giving us a nice view of the buildings outside. You can tell she considered the clarity of the composition, which is a small but crucial thing to remember.”
8. Always shoot from above “This will give you your best angles. Here, her chin and jaw are better defined, and she looks slimmer. The overhead slant has extenuated her waist.”