Once Sabrina Carpenter went viral with “Espresso,” #BeautyTok was flooded with fans recreating her perfectly fluffy curtain bangs and dramatic blush-draping.
By now, it’s clear the Short n’ Sweet singer has her own signature beauty look down pat: fluffy eyelashes, a mauve-colored lip combo, and romantically flushed, radiant cheeks. According to her makeup artist, Carolina Gonzalez, the inspo behind Carpenter’s aesthetic is a 1940s Vargas pin-up girl.
“She knows who she is — [her makeup] is just my interpretation of what she wants and the way I see her,” Gonzalez tells Bustle.
Here, Gonzalez reveals exactly how she brings Carpenter’s bombshell glam to life, along with her holy grail products and the old Hollywood highlighter trick she uses for a luminous glow.
Her Radiant Skin Prep
Carpenter’s makeup regimen begins with skin. After Gonzalez cleanses the star’s face with Pond’s Cold Cream Cleanser, she relies on a two-step hydration process: rose water followed by the Y Theorum Bio Cellulose Sheet Mask by 111SKIN.
Post-mask, she’ll use the NuFACE Facial Toning Device for contouring and shaping. This microcurrent tool is basically the boujee tech version of a gua sha that lifts and tones for long-term results. Finally, she locks in moisture with the 111SKIN Black Diamond Face cream and a touch of Mario Badescu’s Lip Mask.
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Her Old Hollywood Highlighter Hack
Carpenter’s glam always features high-placement pink flush. “Where you would place the highlighter is where I place blush,” says Gonzalez, who blends with both her fingers and a sponge (like the $5 jumbo foam wedges from Ulta) to bring the pigment upwards on her cheeks.
When she does add an extra glow, she gets inspo from fellow blonde bombshell Marilyn Monroe — who famously used Vaseline to give her skin a natural-looking highlight (though Gonzalez prefers using Aquaphor).
“I need [the highlighter] to have a balmy texture to it because it’ll keep everything in place,” she says. “If you’re doing a serum, it’s going to break down what’s underneath. It doesn’t give that highlighted glow.”
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Her Fluffy Lash Routine
To match the flirty blush, Gonzalez ups the ante with fluffy lashes that pull the eye outward for a sultry siren effect. Her love of Velour lashes led to a collab with the brand on the Velour x Carolina Gonzalez Collection, now available for pre-sale on the brand’s site and for purchase at Sephora on Feb. 11.
When Carpenter’s performing, she says she likes to stack these lashes on the edge of the eyes for a dramatic flair that’s visible from far away. “I like for it to look dreamy and natural, but still ultra sexy,” she says.
Her Pouty Lip Tip
To complete her makeup look, it’s all about a juicy lip combo, starring a mauve-toned liner. Instead of heavy shading, Gonzalez employs a contouring method to subtly sculpt and shade the mouth for a pouty effect. “I like a fuzzy blurred line,” she says, noting she uses a fluffy makeup brush to diffuse the pigment.
To finish, Carpenter always goes for a satiny shade like the Lip Maestro Liquid Lipstick in 214 by Armani Beauty. “I just make her pucker and give her a stain,” says Gonzalez.
