Lady Gaga arrives at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 28, 2018 in New York City.
Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images
At the 2018 Grammy Awards, Lady Gaga stunned in a custom black long-sleeve lace Armani Privé gown complete with thigh-high slits and a dramatic train. Pulling together her full look is one of Gaga’s most extravagant (and elegant) statement pieces yet — a pair of 300-carat black diamond earrings from Loraine Schwartz — and a “Time’s Up” pin paired with delicate white roses to show support for the #TimesUp movement against sexual harassment.
“Gaga’s eyes were inspired by a dark starry night. Romantic and striking to complement her gorgeous Armani Privé gown,” says the “Million Reason” singer’s long-time makeup artist Sarah Tanno. To execute this creative vision, Tanno relied exclusively on Marc Jacobs Beauty with the focal point being her captivating eye makeup.
After rimming Gaga’s eyes heavily with Highliner Gel Eye Crayon Eyeliner in Blacquer 42, she created a sharp winged line using a waterproof liquid eyeliner (Marc’er Precision Pen in Blacquer). Once she blended a soft peach eyeshadow all the way to the brow bone (Eye-Conic Multi-Finish Eyeshadow Palette in Glambition), Tanno used a shimmery black shadow to help blend the liners for the desired winged shape. Finishing the high-impact eye look, she used Velvet Noir Major Volume Mascara and a few taps of loose silver glitter for a shimmery effect.
To keep the focus to on Gaga’s eyes, she kept face products to a minimum: Shameless Youthful-Look 24-H Longwear Foundation SPF 25 in shade Y270 for her luminous complexion and she imparted a soft pink veil of color on Gaga’s cheeks (Blush Soft Glow Duo in 504 Kink & Kisses). For her peachy-rose nude lips, Tanno used Poutliner Longwear Lip Liner Pencil in Prim(rose) 304 and Crème Lipstick in Cream & Sugar.
“We always do a completely new look for every event especially for the Grammys,” says hairstylist Frederic Aspiras, who first worked with the singer in 2009.
Like Tanno, his inspiration for this evening was also Gaga’s custom dress design. “Gaga and I always wanted to do something special with hair braiding. When I saw the dress it reminded me of gowns from the Victorian Era, and how women wore corsets. I used that as inspiration to incorporate into the hair braiding and voila! The result was romantic, seductive, Victorian-inspired hair.”
For Aspiras, a major key to creating this intricate hairdo is to start off with a healthy tangle-free base, suggesting that you comb out tangles with John Frieda Luxurious Volume Full Hydration Detangling Mist. To give Gaga’s hair texture and volume, he relied on the brand’s Luxurious Volume Perfectly Full Mousse, then created a center part, and blow-dried her hair with a diffuser attachment to help the hair set.
While braiding each of the two sections, he applied John Frieda’s Frizz Ease Clearly Defined Gel to help smooth the side braids and gain control over frizziness and tied each end with a clear elastic.
Next up was the eye-catching Romeo and Juliet-esque corset, which he notes was his favorite element of the ‘do and “it was so cool on every level.” To finish and lock the style in place, he sprayed John Frieda Luxurious Volume Forever Full Hairspray.
When asked about his chemistry with LG, Aspiras says: “We understand each other and both work extremely hard. We dedicate ourselves to our craft. I admire her, and I like to think she does the same! I try to come up with innovative hairstyles, colors, and techniques to go along with the entire look. It’s a challenge and that what keeps me excited! I’m proud of every hairstyle I’ve created for her.”
