The Queen of “The Look”: Miss Audrey Hepburn

Audrey Hepburn is pretty much the epitome of a pop culture phenomenon. Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley are probably only really up there with Audrey in regards to how iconic their outward appearance was, how much this defined their resonance with the masses.

From tote bags to purses to fridge magnets, Audrey’s face, in all its guises, stares out at you from shop windows, advertisements, the archives of classic Hollywood. Her eyes are those of a doe, large and upturned with lashes as long as the list of her admirers, and that lovely mouth; in a little titled smile, even when relaxed.

She is perhaps best remembered for a role that came later on in her Hollywood career, that of Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. It’s strange to think now that she wasn’t the first choice. That Capote, who wrote the short story upon which the film was based, wanted Marilyn Monroe. But it is Audrey smiling beneath a large black hat and asking “How do I look?” that is so unmistakably her’s now.

But Audrey had so many different looks. Holly was only one of them. And it is a testament to Audrey’s beauty and talent that she was able to change so much from that precious princess licking ice cream in Roman Holiday to that perfectly coiffed woman in How To Steal A Million. She did not only define and dictate fashion in the 1950s, but also for much of the 1960s, with her killer cat eye and fabulous fringe.

And so it made absolute sense for our dear Audrey to be the second silver screen lovely for me to feature on my blog series entitled The Look. Because let’s face it, very few people have ever had the look like Audrey had the look.

Thanks to a poll on Twitter, I chose the following gorgeous picture of Audrey to use to recreate her seemingly effortless look:

What people said most drew them to the picture was the way that Audrey’s glorious eyebrows and eyes were highlighted by carefully applied eye make up and understated lipstick.

And so without further ado, here is my effort at recreating this goddess’ look as a mere mortal:

Recreating Audrey’s look was no mean feat. I was extremely nervous because I had to try and imitate the awesome powers of Audrey’s long time make up artist, Alberto de Rossi, who also created gorgeous looks for Elizabeth Taylor and Ava Gardner. Huge shoes to fill. I hope that I did Audrey and Alberto proud!

This is what I did:

1. First I took several deep breaths 😉
2. Then I made sure my face was clean and moisturised, especially my eyebrows and eyelids
3. I filled in my eyebrows with both eyebrow pencil and pomade, as Audrey’s eyebrows are so defined and thick
4. I moved onto the eyeliner, which was done with both black kohl liner and liquid eyeliner, in order to create that very black line
5. I used ebony liner with a very small lipstick brush over the eyeliner in order to create that soft almost smokey effect that is present in the picture
6. After that I set to work applying warm brown tones to my eyelids to define them as well as to complement the black liner
7. Then I put on eyelash primer (a must for definition and staying power) and three different types of mascara. I know this may seem excessive, but one mascara does not possess the glory that is Audrey’s eyelashes!
8. And then came what I feel are the mama of eyelashes: the dramatic style, which are double layered. All I can say is, Audrey baby god bless you for being able to see so well and not walk into walls. Snaps!
9. I applied these with utmost care in order to not disturb the eyeliner and shadow. I may have needed to put a towel around my shoulders and scream Adrian a few times because I was sweating with vague terror
10. Then I lined my lips with bare toned liner and applied lipstick

I used the following products, most of which are very affordable ❤

1. Eyebrow pomade in dark brown by Eylure, which is lovely and dark and easy to use
2. Eyebrow pencil in dark brown by Eylure. Matchy matchy!
3. Black kohl liner by Wet & Wild. Be careful of this one though, it can be a bit messy
4. Black liquid liner by Michelle Ori. Audrey voice: Dee-vine
5. Ebony, Pumpkin, Rosy, Heather, Buttermilk and Moccasin shades from the Beauty Treat’s Colour Obsession eyeshadow booklet
6. Michelle Ori eyebrow and eyelash setter
7. Avon Au Naturale lipstick
8. LA girl lip liner in Bare
9. Avon Mark make up setting spray

I so hope you enjoyed this post. Please do let me know if you think Audrey and Alberto would say yay or nay. And let me know if there’s any silver screen goddess of days gone past that you’d like me to try and capture the look of.

See you soon xx