Over a two-hour theatrical performance, she held a Destiny’s Child Reunion, serenaded the crowd alongside husband Jay Z, danced with her sister, Solange, donned five custom-made, intricate Balmain looks, and educated the audience about black culture. If you missed it, unfortunately there’s no way to watch Beyoncé’s full performance and no way to watch her second weekend performance, either. So, there’s that. But, to give you a little glimmer of Beyoncé to hold onto, her longtime makeup artist Sir John has opened up about the exact techniques and tricks he employs to keep her makeup flawlessly “bronzed and super glowy.” Describing his inspiration as, “The coolest girl on campus at college, meets Greek goddess,” Sir John revealed in an interview with Elle that to get the desired complexion, “I focus on matte T-zone and dewy everywhere else. I used Tom Ford Bronzing Powder on the T-zone to mattify.” To make sure Beyoncé doesn’t sweat through her makeup during performances (What? Beyoncé sweats? She’s just like us?), Sir John says he’s “all about duality.” He explains, “I layer cream and powder for every stage. Cream and powder foundation, cream and powder blush, cream and powder eyeshadows and matte and cream lipstick. It’s the only way the makeup stays anchored throughout the day. I also don’t use moisturizer on her skin before a big set or concert. The moisturizer will lift the makeup, which we don’t want. For a big show like this, I use a primer to prep the skin.” With this technique, Sir John doesn’t use setting spray and emphasizes the pitfalls of excessively powdering your face. His method is to “cook” rather than “bake.” “They key to a beautiful face is not to over powder it. If you layer powder and cream together it cooks perfectly and doesn’t budge,” he explains. Thank you for the beauty tips, Sir John! I have set my automatic email reply to “I’m currently mattifying my T-zone for the rest of the day to be like Beyoncé.” I hope my boss appreciates my prioritization skills.
