Advertisement

Oscars 2020: Five major beauty moments on the red carpet

Janelle Monáe arrives at the 92nd Academy Awards on Sunday.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Share via

From Billy Porter to Billie Eilish, many of the beauty looks at the 92nd Academy Awards proved you could go your own way, pay attention to details and make it bold and interesting.

Here are standout beauty moments at Sunday’s Oscars.

Bold style

Picking up where the Grammys left off last month, Billie Eilish shows off her long nails and neon and black hair at the 92nd Academy Awards.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Eilish, who performed during the ceremony, retained the two-toned hair (black with neon green roots) that she rocked at the Grammys last month, and that color combination has come to define her signature look.

Advertisement

However, it was her considerably long nails, painted in a stark black lacquer and punctuated with a single rhinestone on each nail, that she made sure to flaunt and fan across the front of her ivory-colored Chanel jacket.

Here’s a look at the best and worst dressed on the Oscars 2020 red carpet.

Her hands were also clad in fingerless netted gloves that spelled out the name of the French fashion house.

Details matter

Janelle Monáe kept her Oscars look all about rhinestones.
Janelle Monáe kept her Oscars look all about rhinestones.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Advertisement

Opening performer Janelle Monáe wore more than just a smattering of crystals. Her entire gown, including a Grace Jones-like draped hood, was encrusted in countless rhinestones. She reflected that wardrobe detail elsewhere with her eyeliner created from a delicate row of rhinestones and also by having one crystal dotting each cuticle bed of her fingers.

Side parts

Billy Porter at the 92nd Academy Awards.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Porter kept his hair combed down with a clean side part, perhaps to let the Giles Deacon number he wore shine in all of its gilded glory.

Advertisement

The clean, side part carried through to several leading ladies who channeled classic Hollywood. Soft cascading waves with a deep side part were also seen on Laura Dern, Mindy Kaling, Beanie Feldstein, Julia Louis Dreyfus and Margot Robbie.

Experience standout Oscar dresses from the last five decades, including Farrah Fawcett’s disco dress and Billy Porter’s tuxedo gown, in augmented reality.

It’s a style that tends to rule during the Oscars for its timeless appeal but it was a surprise to see this year considering the damp weather, which is kryptonite for Veronica Lake-like soft waves.

Pixie cut’s moment

Charlize Theron was part of the pixie-cut crowd at the 92nd Academy Awards on Sunday.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

More standout looks came in the way of platinum pixie cuts, most notably worn by lead actress nominee Cynthia Erivo. Her white-colored hair, styled by Coree Moreno for Dove Hair, perfectly mirrored her custom Atelier Versace gown. Steely gray eye shadow and metallic blue tips on her nails carried on the cool tone of her dress and hair.

Olivia Colman, Charlize Theron and Kristen Wiig all had close-cropped blonde pixie cuts as well, bringing an unpredictable (and most welcome) modern cut to the red carpet.

Pastel shades rule

Regina King
Regina King, who won an Oscar last year, went with shades of pink for her gown and makeup at the 92nd Academy Awards.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Advertisement

Presenter Sandra Oh had a predominantly pale-pink wash of blush (Armani Beauty Neo Nude A-Blush in 32) and lip color (the brand’s Lip Maestro Liquid Lip Color in 102), given to her by makeup artist Mai Quynh.

Another presenter, Regina King, had makeup inspired by the pink hue of her custom Versace gown. Makeup artist Latrice Johnson gave King a palette of pink shades, most visibly carried out in the lip color, Charlotte Tilbury’s Matte Revolution Lipstick in Pillow Talk Medium.

Glamour from every angle

Penelope Cruz
Penelope Cruz had 1990s-inspired makeup for the 92nd Academy Awards to go along with her Chanel Haute Couture gown from the spring-summer 1995 collection.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz brought a balance of relaxed and pure unabashed glamour.

Both had deconstructed and modern approaches to their hair and makeup. Johansson had a slightly messy up-do and subtle metallic eye makeup to juxtapose the pale silver Oscar de la Renta gown that looked to be poured and draped directly onto her.

Cruz had simple and sleek blown-out hair and 1990s-inspired makeup, done by makeup artist Hung Vanngo using Lancôme, which gave an overall relaxed vibe to the most glamorous of gowns — in Cruz’s case, a black-and-white Chanel Haute Couture dress complete with pockets.

Advertisement