After a long two-year hiatus, Emily Cooper—played by Lily Collins in Netflix’s Emily in Paris—is finally back on our screens. The first part of season four—consisting of five episodes—just debuted, and the new season is filled with love triangles, elegant Parisian fashion, and of course, French beauty. But after four seasons, Emily’s beauty has finally achieved a perfect balance of American and French beauty, says lead make-up artist Aurélie Payen.
‘It was important that I didn’t re-create the looks I’ve done in season one, two, and three, and to evolve Emily’s character—especially with how her personal life has evolved,’ Payen told Bazaar.
It’s safe to say Emily is not the same character we saw in season one, and her make-up is proof of that. ‘When Emily arrived in Paris, she was extremely American, but I wanted to translate her years in Paris with some true French beauty looks,’ Payen explains. ‘This season, we went with either bold make-up or no make-up at all. It’s very French to go to an appointment or go shopping with no make-up on. It shows a sign of self-confidence.’
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In this new season, expect to see lots of no-make-up moments during Emily’s day-to-day—but bolder, colourful looks as well. Payen played around with exciting hues for Emily’s evening and party scenes. ‘We used more colour this season,’ she says. ‘From black-brown lips to graphic liner with dots under the eyes, which was my favourite look.’ To create a deep look, she used a Makeup by Mario Master Mattes eyeshadow palette to contour the lips and a burgundy-brown lipstick from the brand. ‘Contouring the lips makes the lip colour look a shade darker than it actually is, so it appeared almost black, she explains.
Certain looks effortlessly mixed both American and French beauty, such as Emily’s green eyes and red lips moment. ‘The vibe was very ’80s,’ says Payen. ‘We had green eyes with a red-orange lip and wet hair. ‘We had never done that before. Although they are opposite, it mixes the best of both cultures.’
During Emily’s minimal make-up looks, Payen made sure to load up on skin prep (including products from her own skincare routine). Since the show filmed the first half of the season in the winter and the second half in Italy during the summer, Payen relied on the Beau Domaine Fluid Cream for a light yet hydrating base. She also relied heavily on beauty tools to create a great canvas for minimal make-up.
‘We channeled the idea of putting on make-up because you want to—not because you have to,’ Payen adds. She used the Foreo Luna and Bear devices to cleanse and sculpt, respectively—plus, an LED mask from the brand, which she says does everything from minimising breakouts to addressing sunburn and brightening complexions. Lastly, she always prepped the skin with Talika’s reusable eye patches.
You may have even noticed some of the products had their own moment in Emily’s bathroom. ‘We worked with set designers, but they don’t know much about make-up products,’ says Payen. ‘I knew there was no way her bathroom had zero product in it, so I added items to make it more realistic. Emily is clearly someone who takes care of herself—from what we see onscreen—so we wanted to make sure that was reflected.’
While Emily toed the line between French and American beauty, her friend Mindy—played by Ashley Park—still represented true American make-up. ‘Mindy still has an American vibe with visible make-up and big lashes,’ says Payen, who used lots of Dior Beauty products to create bold eyes onscreen.
With the first five episodes out, we have only a sneak preview of the many beauty looks to come before season four comes to an end, and Payen says to expect a lot more mixed beauty looks. ‘For me, it’s very important to enhance every trend—both American and French. The benefit of make-up is that you can pick and choose different vibes and looks.’
Part one of season four of ‘Emily in Paris’ is available to watch now on Netflix. The second part hits the streaming platform on the 12th of September.
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