Makeup artist Quinn Murphy is the man behind the primed pores and perfected lips of Lily Aldridge, Alison Brie, Kate Hudson, Dakota Fanning and Kate Bosworth—who he primed for Dior’s Fall 2018 Couture Show earlier this week in Paris.
“Kate's going to the Dior show and she had this beautiful, printed, very romantic dress with tones of red, black and green,” he explained by phone, fresh off of finishing her look. “We just wanted to keep it very Bohemian and fresh for daytime and focus the whole look on a strong brow and a soft wash of color on the eyes, and a stain on the lips.”
En route to his next high-profile appointment, we were able to ask the celebrity makeup artist about his summer essentials, the best way to get that warm-weather glow, and how to stay pristine through this heat wave.
What products did you use to create Kate Bosworth’s look for the Dior Couture show?
I used the face and body concealer from Dior, N2W, with a beauty blender sponge just to unify the skin tone. I used the Cle de Peau concealer on many areas that needed more coverage. She has great eyebrows, but I just filled in the natural shape with a Giorgio Armani eye pencil. For the eyes, I used a combination of a warm brown RMS eyeshadow in Seduce. Over that, I used a Kiko Cosmetics eyeshadow, called Bright Duo number 04. I also used this very interesting green highlight color on the inner corners of the eye, and it just picked up the green tones in the dress.
We followed with mascara, just on the top, using the Diorshow Lash extension effect volume mascara, in black. For the lips, I used a lip stain from an RMS palette, topped off Chanel Rouge Coco Gloss number 724, a kind of burnt orange lip gloss. It just made it all come together. Then, I used the Diorskin Mineral Nude Bronze instead of contour, just on the edges of her face to add dimension. Lastly we used a NARS blush.
How do you keep makeup intact during hot summer weather?
Skin prep is important. I used a moisturizer I love because it's not greasy. You don't want the makeup to slide around or separate. Then I used the Hourglass Mineral Veil Primer and just applied it everywhere. That really gives it good staying power. I also used setting powder at the end—and when you finish your makeup entirely, you can take an Evian spray, or any kind of water spray, and just mist it over your make up as the final touch, and that actually seals your makeup in.
Do you have a personal favorite summer beauty product?
I really love a long wear eyeliner. Dior has Diorshow Pro Liner Waterproof liners that are like liquid eyeliner and they last forever. Those are really nice, because you put them on and they give you a lot of depth and impact, but they're not going to move around.
What trend do you love lately in beauty?
I think that people are kind of going for more of a natural, hyper-real beauty skin finish. And so, I think that the contouring is getting a lot more subtle, or some people go without it. And I think that when they do want it, we could use a bronzer instead of a contour, and it really warms up your skin and gives you definition.
What’s a beauty trend you’re tired of?
I'm tired of heavy contour and highlight, and heavy, overdone foundation. I think we have to get to a place where we can return to something that looks more like naturally flawless, instead of made up flawless.
The good thing about doing skin that looks like it did when you were eight-years-old, is that you can then play with other parts of your makeup and not look overdone. You can do the lip, you can do the eye, you can do them both. If your skin just looks great, flawless and radiant, it really is the key to not looking overdone.
What are your best tips for getting the naturally flawless look?
Prevention is the number one thing: wearing sunblock every day. The other thing is to find a really great concealer and use it sparingly in only the places that need it. So, if you're talking about underneath your eyes, put it right into the parts that are blue or dark circles. You don't have to do the 80's half-moon, covering everything under the eye.
The best skin is when you're strategic about it. And you want people to go, ‘Oh is she wearing makeup, or does she just have that skin?’ That's my goal.
Is thinking about fashion a part of your process when creating a makeup look?
I never do makeup without thinking about what they're wearing and where they're going. I don't just do makeup based on what I want to do, or what I think works for them because that's not how people operate in their life. You know what I mean? It's like, you are wearing clothing so it has to go with it, it's a whole story. The best looks are when the hair and the makeup and the styling all tell one story.
