Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman Go Goth in W

In the March issue of W magazine, Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman went dark and vampy with goth-style makeup to promote their new film, The Other Boleyn Girl. Some snarky internet ladies who won’t be named have criticized Scarlett’s look in the shoot, but I love it! This is an excellent example of how to handle makeup on two different skin tones.

Here’s how to get the look, whether you have fair or olive-toned skin:

You have fair skin with pink tones like Scarlett - Use a black kohl pencil to line under your eyes. Feather dark brown shadow underneath the pencil; don’t go all the way to the inner corner, and don’t go more than 1/4in. down. Line top lashes with black liquid eyeliner like L’Oreal Telescopic and sweep on enough black mascara (Diorshow is great for a plump and not spidery look) to cover those light-colored lashes you’ve got. Lining the inner rim of the top lid with the black kohl pencil will help achieve the effect, but don’t poke your eye out. You can do this on the bottom inner rim with white pencil to make sure you don’t get that raccoon look. Top lids with brown eyeshadow and do the crease in a very dark shadow; purple or maroon is very flattering on fair skin. Angle the dark shadow out into a cat-eye shape pointing up toward the end of your brow. Line lips with a dark berry-colored liner. Use a berry-colored lip stain, then after it’s dry, top it with the closest matching lipstick you can find. Sweep a rosy blush subtly down the cheekbone, but don’t touch the apples of your cheeks. Keep skin matte with a finishing powder like Ulta Mineral Pressed Powder.

You have olive skin with yellow tones like Natalie – Do the same as above, but use a pure brown eyeshadow rather than a reddish-hued one under eyes and replace black liner with a brownish-black. Use the same pure brown on lids and an olive green rather than maroon in the crease. Use a bronzer like BeneFit Boxed Powder in Hoola on cheekbones instead of the rosy blush, and dust it lightly up temples. Use a peachy blush to VERY subtly dust over cheeks. Finally, replace the intense lip look with a light cream soda colored gloss and no lipliner. Keep skin dewy, but not shimmery – I suggest a mineral foundation like Bare Escentuals BareMinerals.

P.S. Don’t you love that Scarlett got her chihuahua Maggie into the shoot?

photo credit: Stephen Klein