FASHION Magazine

Olivia Wilde’s black Valentino gown was one of the highlights on the 2014 Oscars red carpet last night, but upon closer inspection her makeup should be getting just as many accolades. While neutral makeup was certainly the biggest beauty statement last night, Wilde’s ’60s-inspired cat-eye was perfection—and it’s all thanks to one simple little trick.

Revlon makeup artist Melanie Inglessis was behind the look—she’s Wilde’s go-to makeup girl and told PopSugar that a typical makeup session is more like girl time, complete with gossip catchups and fun antics. For the 2014 Oscars, Inglessis described Wilde’s makeup as “effortless, chic and French.” She used two black Revlon eyeliners to complete the look, first Revlon ColorStay Eyeliner and then Revlon ColorStay Liquid Liner. The cat-eye’s retro appeal is all due to its thickness along the upper lid and the delicate-but-exaggerated flick at the end—but it really comes together thanks to a simple defining technique: a simple swipe of white eyeliner. (Look close: do you see it?)

Olivia Wilde looked cheerful and flirty with her beau Jason Sudeikis at her red carpet premiere of Rush on Sunday night, a mood enhanced by her ’60s sexpot cat-eyes and tousled waves. L.A.-based makeup artist Melanie Inglessis (who also did Wilde’s makeup for FASHION’s September cover) was responsible for her look, which was a nod to the retro feel of the film, the true story of rival race-car drivers in the 1970s.

“I did a really sharp black line on the eyes and a lot of lashes, like a modern Sophia Loren,” says Inglessis, who used a full strip of lashes for each eye but cut it into five pieces, applying them along the lashline and on top of one another for maximum coquettishness. “It was a flared cat-eye, shorter at the beginning and longer at the end.”