Behind the Scenes

Exclusive Interviews and a Behind-the-Scenes Look at V.F.’s Cover Queen: Caitlyn Jenner’s Beauty Prep

With yet another historic cover produced by Vanity Fair and photographed by Annie Leibovitz, here’s a candid look at Caitlyn Jenner’s hair, makeup, and manicure prep with the all-star glam squad of Mark Carrasquillo, Oribe, and Deborah Lippmann, which helped her to realize her own beauty and truly become the woman she always wanted to be.
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Marilyn Monroe once famously said, “Fear is stupid. So are regrets.” And in this century, the bravest girl just stood up: Caitlyn Jenner. As this exclusive cover queen is making major headlines, I turned to the trusted glam squad: makeup master and artist Mark Carrasquillo, hairstylist giant Oribe, and celebrity manicurist Deborah Lippmann, who helped Caitlyn to love who she saw in the mirror on our set.

“I didn’t want her to look like a man in a dress. I wanted her to look like a beautiful 65-year-old woman," said Carrasquillo—and that is exactly what he achieved.

To begin, he cleansed her face with Bioderma Sensibio H2O, which is great for sensitive skin. Then the SK-II Facial Treatment Mask was applied, followed by Clarins Lotus Face Treatment Oil, which was massaged into her skin. He then prepped her lips with the Lip Balm by La Mer.

Makeup artist Mark Carrasquillo working on Jenner.

As for the makeup, he wanted to give her a soft look and wanted to keep the skin semi-matte without too much shine. And since she has great features, he did not do any contouring and left the shadows alone. He used Tom Ford Traceless Foundation S.P.F. 15, and then Eve Pearl Salmon Concealer for additional coverage under the eyes, around the nose, and in any trouble spots. The eyebrows were lightly filled in with Estée Lauder Stay-in-Place Brow Lift Duo in Soft Brown. He curled her lashes and used Velour mink lashes, but topped only with a few individual ones, as they both wanted beautiful but very real-looking lashes. Then they were coated with Estée Lauder More than Mascara in Rich Black, concentrating on the root of the lash, less toward the tips, and he applied one coat of mascara to the bottom lashes. Then, to emphasize the eyes a bit further, he used_Tom Ford Eye Defining Pen in Black along her top eyelid following her lash line. Wanting to keep her eyes clean and sophisticated, he opted for very little eye shadow, and instead used the Sculpting Powder by Kevyn Aucoin in Medium, and softly blended in her crease and along her lower lashes. This was followed by a soft, peachy blusher on her cheeks, by Serge Lutens in Shade No. 2, which is one of Carrasquillo’s go-to favorites.

On the lips, he used Serge Lutens Lip Pencil to shape and define her lips, as no lipstick was used (only a bit of the pencil mixed with a lip balm).

He set her makeup with the light Serge Lutens Finishing Powder, as he wanted a natural-matte finish. And later, he played a bit more on her eyes. He even went for a bright red lip for one of the images, which was Jungle Red by Nars. Wow!

“For me, I felt deeply responsible to represent what her goals were . . . She said, her whole life, looking in the mirror had different meaning and now, looking in the mirror (at the shoot), she felt more beautiful, and that was good enough for me," said the soft-spoken and much-sought-after makeup artist Carrasquillo.

Hairstylist Oribe doing his magic on Jenner.

As for her hair, there was the hair-guru giant Oribe, who spoke to Caitlyn prior to the shoot to prep, and they discussed achieving natural-looking, glamorous hair, but not overdone. “We looked to Cindy Crawford’s hair for inspiration, which is always glamorous but natural-looking," Oribe explained. “I wanted to create a glamorous look that I normally do for any woman, and sexuality was very important in this context. Bruce was one of the sexiest men alive, and I thought it was equally as important for Caitlyn to be a sexy woman,” he added. And to create such luxurious-looking hair, he looked to one of his Oribe brand go-to-products—Dry Texturizing Spray—to create volume, and Signature Royal Blowout Heat Styling Spray to add shine and softness. Then he left her with a care package for maintaining her hair and extensions: Oribe Masque and Shampoo and Conditioner for Beautiful Color.

“This was such an important shoot for me in my career, because she’s about to change the world,” expressed Oribe.

Manicurist Deborah Lippmann tending to Jenner's hands.

And the go-to manicurist to the stars, Deborah Lippmann, had the same sentiments. “Looking back on my career, this shoot was historic on so many levels, because I realized how important nails are to transgender women . . . Nothing compared to this cover. It opened my heart, and it opened my eyes, and I feel so blessed to be a part of it.”

It turns out Lippmann was the first professional manicurist to touch Caitlyn’s nails, as she always did her own. And for this cover shoot, Lippmann decided on an almond shape (no extensions—they are Caitlyn’s own nails), which gave her an elongated look. She prepped and moisturized Caitlyn's hands with Lippmann’s own array of luxurious hand and nail accoutrements. And for the chosen enamel? “The color red was a statement throughout, and Lady Is a Tramp was it! And of course Caitlyn laughed when I told her the name of the shade,” Lippmann explained with a chuckle.

“She was so happy to be a girl, and she was so at ease. Her attitude was very much, ‘Let's do it!,’ and she enjoyed every moment of it.” And so do we.