Every Juicy, Shimmer-Dusted Beauty Detail From Christian Serratos's Cover Shoot

From pillowy Schiaparelli to platform Jimmy Choos underfoot the bell-bottoms of all bell-bottoms (Maxrieny, if you’re curious), our January cover shoot starring Christian Serratos brims with gusto. If you haven’t already, we highly recommend catching up with the Selena: The Series star in this month’s feature. Below, we have the beauty-centric encore: an up close and personal peek into Serratos’s fiery beauty look. With industry elites hairstylist Bryce Scarlett and makeup artist Jenna Kristina at the helm, we’ll take you through every last detail, complete with handy how-to tips and the necessary product staples.

"For this look, I pulled inspiration from the clothes and the hair,” notes Kristina. "The fashion is big, the hair is big, and with the makeup, I wanted to take a back-seat approach that was still really beautiful. A rosy face and glossy eye seemed like the perfect companion. Frozen berry? Romantic glass? I’m bad at coming up with catchy names,” she laughs.

Regardless, every artist will tell you skin prep is the number one priority when it comes to setting a supple, amply hydrated stage for the powders, liquids, and creams that inevitably follow. "I love a fully moisturized face before makeup application,” Kristina confirms. "A recent obsession has been Allies of Skin’s Vitamin C Perfecting Serum ($118). It gives a beautiful, natural finish that gently renews the complexion.”

To enhance Serratos’s glow, Kristina used Dior’s Forever Skin Glow Foundation ($52) and Concealer ($36)—a cult-loved duo known for its second-skin coverage without an ounce of cake or "they’re wearing foundation” obviousness. To keep things luminous, she opted for a creamy pink blush, concentrating the application on top of Serratos’s apples, temples, and nose (in other words, those high-point areas the sun would naturally hit first). 

"I also sprayed down any skin that was exposed with Maybelline’s Facestudio Glass-Skin Makeup Finishing Spray ($10). It’s my fave secret weapon, and it gives the most incredible glow without looking overly shiny or greasy.”

To finish, Kristina decided on a dimensional glossy lid to subtly mirror Serratos’s demi-matte skin. The surprise? She used a hyaluronic acid–spiked lip gloss, Maybelline's Lifter Gloss With Hyaluronic Acid ($9) to lacquer each eyelid with a low-burn dose of sheen. It’s less overtly noticeable, but it will catch the light in a super-photogenic way. 

"A glossy eye isn’t made to be perfect. It’s going to crease,” says Kristina with transparency. "To keep it clean, take your ring finger every once in a while and tap your eyelid to smooth out the gloss. Or if you need a re-up, you can even reapply a little more product to the lid.”

As with the makeup, the shoot’s fashion choices had a heavy influence when it came to Scarlett’s approach to Serratos’s hair. "We decided to do something that would play up Christian’s natural hair texture but with a little more amp to it. The clothes were so fun, and we wanted the hair to be equally interesting and lively,” he says. Scarlett dubs the look "‘80s perm but with a modern twist—we wanted extreme curl here, a result that would be even curlier than Christian’s hair in reality.” 

"To start, I got Christian’s hair soaking wet and coated her strands with a mixture of Moroccanoil’s Curl Defining Cream ($34) and their Curl Control Mousse ($28),” says Scarlett. "Then, I began scrunching her hair while diffusing it with the Moroccanoil Power Performance Ionic Hair Dryer ($300) and diffuser attachment.”

Once the hair is 100% bone-dry, Scarlett recommends breaking up your curls or waves using your fingers, fluffing the hair out to reach its maximum volume. To finish, use a tiny, pencil-size curling iron to accentuate individual curls and to make your strands even curlier than their natural state. A spritz of dry texture spray throughout, (Scarlett used Moroccanoil’s formula) is the cherry-on-top last step for Serratos’s maxed-out curl and volume.

Read the full January cover story with Christian Serratos here.