Zendaya has spent The Odyssey press tour proving that the most memorable makeup looks don’t always require much makeup at all—and the artist behind them is always the same: her longtime makeup artist, Ernesto Casillas.
Casillas’ approach has always centered on what he calls “beautifully layered skin with dimension, a pop of color and glow,” a formula that has followed Zendaya across the globe, from the cornflower-blue eye she wore to the Paris premiere to her Grecian-inspired London look and luminous Oscars makeup earlier this year.
For the very humid New York stop on Tuesday, Casillas stripped things back even further with a look that featured zero mascara, no eyeshadow and skin doing all the work—and it might be the smartest, glowiest version yet. Minimal, skin-first makeup isn’t just a trend; it’s a no-fail approach for surviving a New York summer night, sticky temperatures and all. No mascara means no smudging under the lights, while a lighter base has a better shot at looking just as fresh when the night wraps.
Casillas built Zendaya’s complexion using Prada Beauty’s Augmented Skin Cream ($390), Essence ($135) and Eye Cream ($335), then layered on the Reveal Skin Optimizing Foundation ($70) in shade NW45 and Blurring + Micro Correcting Concealer in LC3 ($48) for a soft, barely-there base.
“For the premiere, we wanted Zendaya’s skin to look beautifully luminous and sun-kissed,” he says. “The makeup was intentionally very minimal, with fresh, glowing skin as the foundation of the look. I layered Prada Beauty’s Touch Cream to Powder Blush in Caffee + Cherry ($45) across the cheeks, nose, temples, forehead and chin, focusing on the areas where the sun would naturally hit.”
For the finishing touch, a swipe of Prada Balm in Astral Pink ($50) brought “a soft hint of life to the lips and completed the effortless, radiant finish.” And honestly, with skin this good, who’s looking for mascara?
