Living life as a princess may be a fairytale for all of us non-royals, but looking like one can be a complete reality. Just ask Courtney Reed, the Chicago-born actress who plays Princess Jasmine in the Aladdin musical on Broadway. For eight shows a week, Reed transforms into Jasmine by painting on her look with all MAC Cosmetics products for 30 minutes before every show.
“I love the look because it’s not overly theater,” Reed told InStyle when we visited her dressing room at the New Amsterdam Theatre on 42nd Street (which was decorated with Jasmine cartoons, natch). “When I leave, people tell me my makeup looks flawless, even though I came straight from the show!”
And now she’s sharing how to get the shining, shimmering, splendid face exclusively with InStyle. Check out the 11 easy steps to getting her look below. And check out the show in-person: visit aladdinthemusical.com to find tickets.
STEP 1: START WITH A GOOD FOUNDATION
“I start by putting on Studio Tech in NC42 ($31). I put it all over my face. It’s a little lighter than my natural skin tone, so it shows up on stage.”
STEP 2: BRONZE, BRONZE, BRONZE
“I used Bronzing Powder in Refined Golden ($25) and I put it all over like crazy!”
STEP 3: ADD BLUSH
“I use two blushes by MAC, one is a Mineralize Blush called Dainty ($27) and one is a Powder Blush called Springsheen ($21). I mix them. Usually I put the Springsheen right on the apple of my cheeks. Then I put the Dainty one on top.”
STEP 4: WING YOUR EYELINER
“I use black liquid eyeliner ($19.50) to create a straight line that’s really thick on my top lid.
STEP 5: ADD GOLDEN SHIMMER SHADOW
“My base eye shadow is the Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Rubenesque ($20). It feels like a liquid, but it doesn’t crease and stays on all night. I just love it!”
STEP 6: WING YOUR BOTTOM LINE
“After I do the lid, I start on the bottom line of the eyeliner. I line it with the liquid eyeliner, and I go from the middle of the bottom lashes to the outside. I also wing out the bottom, but the wing lines don’t touch. That’s the special twist.”
STEP 7: ADD PURPLE
“Then I take the most gorgeous purple eye shadow for my lids. It’s called the Sketch Velvet ($15), and it’s really pretty. It has a little sparkle to it. I add the purple just above the crease of my lid. It doesn’t feel natural to put such dark makeup there, but it actually looks so great from the audience’s point of view. It’s really about adding depth in nontraditional places.”
STEP 8: ADD THE SPLENDID SHIMMER
“The look gets really fierce when I add the Vanilla pressed pigment ($21). It gets kind of crumbly, but if you pat it down, it tends to stay. I put it right underneath my brow. It sparkles so much in the line. Then for just an extra touch, I add a thin white line in between the lines of my winged eyeliner with Pure White Chromographic pencil eyeliner.”
STEP 9: FILL IN YOUR BROWS
“I use Brun Satin eye shadow ($15) to fill in my brows. Even though it’s eye shadow, it works perfect for my brows to get just the right arch.”
STEP 10: FINISH WITH LIPSTICK
“I don’t wear any lip liner, only a lipstick topped with a gloss. The lipstick is nice and dark—it’s the Cremesheen in Party Line ($16). Then I top it off with the shimmering Dazzleglass in Stepping Out ($20). My hair always gets caught in the gloss. I never reapply it during the show because I have to kiss Aladdin (Adam Jacobs) twice in the second act, and I try and be a nice co-star. He feels pretty humiliated when there’s lipstick all over his lips. So I blot a lot in the second act.”
STEP 11: PUT ON THE FINAL POP – FALSE LASHES
“I use the MAC lashes ($16) and trim them because they are little long. A lot of people think that you have to put them on right on the lash line. For me, that’s impossible because I wear them so much, I don’t want to rip out my real lashes. So I put them where I put my eyeliner – just above. That’s why my eyeliner is so thick. I end up using the same lashes for a week or more.
Also, I use special lash glue because I’m allergic to latex glues. The one I use, Ardel Brush-On Lash Adhesive, doesn’t work as well as latex glues, but it stays on and I’m not allergic. Sometimes I have to reapply these in the middle of the show!”
Plus, see everyone who attended the 2014 Tony Awards!