Exclusive: All the details behind the best makeup looks of Star Awards 2023

Makeup artist: Peter Khor

The inspiration: The iconic actress’s glam squad, consisting of stylist Johnny Khoo and makeup artist Peter Khor, came together to decide on her quintessential elegant look.

Creating the look: To match the head-turning vibe of her Oscar de la Renta gown, Khor made her skin look immaculate, first prepping with Shiseido Ultimune skincare, then applying Shiseido Synchro Skin Radiant Lifting Foundation. Next he focused the spotlight on her lips using Shiseido Technosatin Gel Lipstick in #419 Heat Map, a radiant orangey-red. “To make the lip colour intense, I just applied straight from the lipstick bullet, blot it then reapplied,” said Khor. He also defined Zoe’s brows and eyes to enhance her elegance. On her eyes, he simply applied thin, precise strokes of eyeliner and a few swipes of Shiseido Imperiallash Mascara Ink Waterproof.

Makeup artist: Shaun Lee

The inspiration: Known for her fresh-faced beauty, Lim works her signature clean, natural look even for the Star Awards red carpet, and she trusts long-time makeup artist, Shaun Lee, to help her achieve it. “I wanted to create a classy look for Rebecca and stronger eye makeup to go with her new bob hairdo,” said Lee.

Creating the look: He touched up the actress’s skin with Armani Power Fabric+ Foundation and Anastasia Beverly Hills Magic Touch Concealer, applied sparingly only where it was needed. Lee used Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade to fill her brows. To add natural colour to her cheeks, Laura Mercier Blush Colour Infusion was lightly brushed on and to enhance her eyes, Lee used Anastasia Beverly Hills Nouveau Eyeshadow Palette to add depth and definition. A few swipes of Dior’s Diorshow Mascara to seamlessly blend Lim’s natural lashes with carefully applied falsies to enhance her eye shape. On her lips, he applied Dior Addict lipstick to give a wash of rosewood colour.

Makeup artist: Larry Yeo

The inspiration: “Effortless cool girl, with a touch of nonchalance.” That is how makeup artist, Larry Yeo, described the makeup that he created for the model-actress. Her look nailed the tastefully sleek, understated aesthetic of Hedi Silmane for CELINE, who dressed her for the night.

Creating the look: To get that dewy, supple complexion, Yeo hydrated and prepped Sim’s skin with Glow Recipe’s Watermelon Glow range before whipping out his favourite skin perfector, M.A.C Studio Fix Every Wear All Over Face Pen, that he promises “looks naturally perfect in all lighting.” Her expressive eyes were enhanced with soft, warm shades, starting with Laura Mercier’s Eye Basics Primer to prime lids and Rare Beauty Liquid Eye Shadow in Nearly Neutral. To give lashes the oomph to make the look, Yeo used SEPHORA COLLECTION False Eyelashes in Long. On Sim’s lips and cheeks, he used Charlotte Tilbury’s Pillow Talk Lip and Cheek Glow in Colour Of Passions, “which gives a lived-in stain that doesn’t look overly done”, adds Yeo.

Makeup artist: Lasalle Lee

The inspiration: Oh’s asymmetrical white tulle dress called for a pretty, glamorous look and makeup artist Lasalle Lee created a soft and sweet makeup look with a touch of glam.

Creating the look: Lee took inspiration from the Pink Pop shade of Charlotte Tilbury’s Pillow Talk Matte Beauty Blush Wand, a soft, flattering salmon pink shade. Her skin looked flawless thanks to a light touch of Make Up For Ever HD Skin Foundation, and Lee worked his magic on perfecting her brow arches. As the presenter-host was the backstage host for the Star Awards, Lee wanted her to look flirty and pretty. He applied the blush wand on the top of her cheekbones and complemented it with a cheek highlighter, Charlotte Tilbury Cheek to Chic in Love Glow to make her cheeks pop. On Oh’s lips, Lee used long-wearing liquid lipstick M.A.C Locked Kiss Ink in Gracious, a mid-toned bright pink.

Makeup Artist: Elain Lim

The inspiration: Makeup artist Elain Lim wanted a fresh yet glamorous look inspired by Jisoo in her latest music video. Like Jisoo, Jeanette is also a Dior Beauty ambassador so Lim also made sure to use Dior makeup to create this look.

Aw’s skin was first prepped with Dior Prestige La Creme to hydrate and smooth. “If you are blessed with good skin like Jeanette, go light on your base makeup and just focus on making the eyes stand out,” said Lim. She meticulously created Aw’s eye makeup using Dior Backstage Eye Palette, a multi-texture eyeshadow palette that houses primer, eyeshadow, highlighter and eyeliner all in one. On her lips, Lim applied Dior Addict Lipstick in #976 Be Dior to top off the makeup.

Makeup artist: Shaun Lee

The inspiration: Dressed in a stunning black Isabel Sanchis fishtail gown with an oversized-bow, makeup artist, Shaun Lee, wanted to showcase Liu’s eyes as the main focus for a minimalist chic makeup look.

Creating the look: Her immaculate skin was created with Make Up For Ever HD Skin Foundation and Make Up For Ever Mist & Fix. To bring out her eyes, Lee used Dior’s Backstage Eye Palette to contour and enhance the sultriness of her eyes, finishing off with the precise flick of winged eyeliner. Lee applied Anastasia Beverly Hills Matte & Satin Velvet Lipstick in Dusty Rose to give her lips a natural pink tone and matched it with a light dusting of M.A.C Glow Play Blush on her cheeks.

Makeup artist: Dollei Seah

The inspiration: Makeup artist, Dollei Seah, wanted to play up He’s eyes for this look. “Her usual eye makeup is soft but for the Star Awards, we wanted to draw the attention to her eyes,” said Seah.

Creating the look: She started by prepping the skin with Charlotte Tilbury’s Magic Cream, “the magic behind hydrated skin and long-lasting makeup all day or all night,” adds Seah. For the dazzling eye look, Charlotte Tilbury The Classic Eyeliner was used to line along the waterline and the smoky look was created using the darker pink-red shades in the Charlotte Tilbury’s Pillow Talk Eyeshadow 12-Pan Eye Palette. A wash of Charlotte Tilbury’s Lip Lustre Lip Gloss was used to make her lips glossy and pouty.

Makeup artist: Lasalle Lee

The inspiration: Chang was a picture of sleek and classic beauty in a bustier cut black dress and the perfect makeup to match.

Creating the look: Makeup artist Lasalle Lee put the focus on her eyes using a pencil then a liquid liner. First, he used the eyeliner pencil Fenty Beauty Flypencil Longwear Pencil Eyeliner in Black then using a small blending brush, he softened the pencil strokes subtly. Next, he used the liquid eyeliner Fenty Beauty Flyliner Longwear Liquid Eyeliner in Black to line and give the eyes definition. Patience and a light hand is key here to enhance the eyes without making it look heavy or too smoky. Chang’s lips were finished with a neutral pink shade with a touch of coral from KVD Beauty’s Everlasting Hyperlight Vegan Transfer-Proof Liquid Lipstick in Dragon Bones.

Makeup artist: Zhou Aiyi

The inspiration: Loh’s makeup is a prime example of the ‘less is more’ philosophy done perfectly.

Creating the look: Makeup artist Zhou Aiyi used Charlotte Tilbury’s Magic Cream to prep the skin and perfected it with Charlotte Tilbury’s Airbrush Flawless Foundation for a smooth, satin finish. Next, Zhou blended in Charlotte Tilbury’s Pillow Talk Matte Beauty Blush Wand for a whisper of blush. The eyes were kept sleek and simple with a splash of metallic cream shadow and a flick of winged liner. To give the eyes some dimension, Zhou smudged an eye shadow colour similar to her lip colour just under the lower lashes. And finally, a dusty rose lip colour was applied to set off her light hair colour.

Makeup artist: Peter Khor

The inspiration: To create this clean, chic, glowy makeup look to match her sleek, wet-look hairstyle, makeup artist Peter Khor used NARS Optimal Brightening Concentrate and NARS Light Reflecting Moisturizer to get Goh’s skin red carpet ready.

Creating the look: “Good skincare and light foundation gives the skin a natural glow,” said Khor. “I didn’t use highlighter here as it can look unnatural in different lighting.” He simply applied NARS Blush, a blusher with subtle shimmer on the cheeks to enhance the skin’s natural radiance. Khor also used NARS High-Pigment Longwear Eyeliner, NARS Climax Liquid Eyeliner and NARS Climax Mascara to open up and define her eyes.