heidiilliams's blog

As is often the case, a star’s ensemble informs their hair and makeup. According to makeup artist Gianpaolo Ceciliato, the dress Emily Ratajkowski wore to the Tony Awards presented a classic case of this. It didn’t hurt that his client’s looks — "She’s just like a doll and open to trying things, so she’s really a dream girl" — are inspiring too.

“When she sent me the dress reference she was just beautiful the way she was, wearing no makeup, and I thought that would be the perfect choice, and it inspired me the most,” says the beauty master to Allison Williams, Emma Roberts and Brooke Shields. “But I wanted her to also look special. We like the smoky eyes and drama, but the dress was so beautiful and gorgeous I said we need to make it light and just make you glow, and she agreed and was so happy.”

To create the eye look, Ceciliato used the center three shadows in the Marc Jacobs Style Eye-Con No. 7 The Starlet ($59) palette, applying the gold shade all over her eyelids. “Then I used the bronze to define the crease, and I blended it with the copper shade,” he tells Pret-a-Reporter. He also used a little bit of the Twinkle Pop Eye Stick in Volver 402 ($28) in the inside corner of her eyes, and on the brow bone, then lined them with Highliner Gel Crayon in Blacquer ($25) before applying mascara.

And while it perfectly accompanied the model-actress’ navy Marc Jacobs dress, Ceciliato says it’s the type of makeup that can be worn for any occasion and “by any kind of girl, brunette, blonde — gold is a universal color for everybody.”