How Quinta Brunson’s Doe-Eyed Golden Globe Beauty Look Came Together

Abbott Elementary’s Quinta Brunson took to the 81st Golden Globe carpet in a near-nude beauty look complete with just curled lashes, a lined lip, and a kiss of blush. “I pretty much feel very fabulous without doing much all the time,” Brunson tells ESSENCE. “And I love that.” Behind the doe-eyed glamor was makeup artist Kasha Lassien, who played up Brunson’s “classic, timeless beauty.” 

“After seeing the gown, with its golden hues and shiny finish, my mind started to build looks that moved in that direction,” Lassien says. The star’s custom Balmain dress– adorned with an elegant 130,000 Swarovski crystals – laid the foundation for her sexy, yet softened makeup look. While her glowing face mirrored the shine of the dress, Lassien centered Brunson’s round eyes with smoky, shimmer-kissed shadows and voluminous lashes.

“Quinta naturally has these beautiful doll-like, doe eyes that really draws you in so I love to play them up and accentuate them even more,” she says. Atop contoured skin, Lassien applied a terracotta cream blush to the cheeks and lips with a satin ombre kiss. “The face was set with a setting powder and just like that, she was carpet ready.” 

But what is award show glam without statement hair? Celebrity hair stylist, Alexander Armand gave her “long voluminous tresses to complement her perfectly proportioned silhouette, high cheekbones, and beautiful voluminous eyes,” he says. To achieve this red-carpet look, he parted the hair into four sections and “used a silk press technique to straighten each section.” Following this, he added extensions in the back “for volume,” before curling her hair with a cushion brush to “unify and style the curls,” he says. To seal the look? Armand used Flourish by Alexander Armand for the perfect Golden Globe glow.

As Lassien says, the overall look was a subtle nod to “opulence,” thanks to “the glamor of the hair and the classic beauty that is the makeup,” she adds. “This is what the carpets are all about.” And beyond helping their clients feel good in their skin, Armand says, “being able to play a pivotal role in my client’s life during a defining moment that will potentially shape the trajectory of their career is a humbling experience.”