Explore with us what English actress Vanessa Kirby wore to the Oscars 2021.
Stylist: Ryan Hastings
Outfit: custom Gucci by Alessandro Michele
Tailor: Nafisa Tosh and Hasmik Kourinian x Susie’s Custom Designs, Inc.
Makeup Artist: Jo Baker using La Mer, Gucci Beauty and Tweezerman
Facialist: Cynthia M. Franco
Hairstylist: Adir Abergel assisted by Eduardo Méndez
using Virtue Labs and ghd hair
Colorist: Aleksey Bishop
Manicurist: Thuy Nguyen using OPI
Shoes: Stuart Weitzman (not visible)
Jewelry: Cartier
Vanessa Kirby is one of the most incredible actresses of our generation and it is with great delight that we are here today to write about her first proper, in-person award show that she had the chance to attend in 2021: The Oscars.
Kirby wore a custom pale rose pink silk gazar strapless column gown with box pleat dramatic train by Gucci, paired with a Cartier High Jewelry necklace of 1,112 diamonds totaling 27.45-carats creating infinite plays of light.
The precious necklace was put backwards to give it a moment of its own.

Her shoes of choice were a pair of Stuart Weitzman Nudist Hollywood sandals in poudre satin (not visible).
Kirby explained her jewelry choice to Vanity Fair.com: “Ryan Hastings and I are really led by the shape and color of the dress when it comes to jewelry. Somehow it just seems to all come together. Ryan has such incredible taste and I trust him implicitly. And we have such a good time doing it! He’s a genius. For me personally, it’s also about the memories you attach to jewelry.”



Makeup artist Jo Baker revealed InStyle.com several things about the look, and we’re here to explore them all step by step, starting with the inspiration for the look: “She’s fierce, badass, and a mega power, and I wanted to convey that in the makeup. For me, the inspiration always stems from the dress, and I just absolutely loved Vanessa‘s soft, modernistic, futuristic, powder pink Gucci gown with a little cut out in the middle. I found it to be so cutting edge, but Oscars elegant at the same time. I wanted to bring the same softness and severity to her makeup look.”
The beauty breakdown for this look was a feast for the eyes, courtesy of Gucci Beauty and Jo Baker (edited for clarity):
According to the aforementioned publication, since Vanessa forgot her skincare bag, her makeup artist Jo Baker contacted La Mer so they could send the actress some products to prep her skin, and she used The Concentrate and La Crème de La Mer. On the day of the event, the makeup artist used La Crème de La Mer as a highlight and La Mer The Treatment Lotion on her décolletage and arms.

For her makeup, Baker created a base with Fluide De Beauté Fini Naturel foundation in the shade 110C followed by a soft sweep of Poudre De Beauté Mat Naturel in the shade 0 on the lower cheeks and forehead; she left some dewy shine on the cheeks.
The eyes were left bare except for a refined, inky lash achieved using Mascara L’Obscur (the lashes were curled using a Tweezerman‘s Rose Gold Classic Curler–and curled again after mascara application) and a dab of Eclat De Beauté Effet Lumière gel gloss on the middle of the lids while brows were emboldened with Crayon Définition Sourcils in the shade 1 Gray Blond.
Baker added a touch of warmth to the cheeks with Poudre De Beauté Éclat Soleil in Shade 1 and finished off with a dramatic lip using the Rouge à Lèvres Mat lipstick in the shade 502 ‘Eadie Scarlet‘ and Crayon Contour Des Lévres Lip Line in Bordeaux. The color was applied and the blotted with a tissue, then added another layer to achieve an intense deep color with blurred edges.

As for her hair, her hairstylist Adir Abergel revealed: “I fell in love with the lines of Vanessa‘s dress and wanted to follow the same simple lines with her hair. I looked to early 90’s minimalist photography and architecture for inspiration and decided on a center part, slicked back mid chignon.”
For her nails, manicurist Thuy Nguyen shared with all her Instagram followers a detailed story on how she chose Vanessa‘s nail color and a step-by-step tutorial that we’ll report here:
“Ryan (her stylist), Adir (her hairstylist), Jo (her makeup artist) and I sat down for a few minutes to talk about Vanessa‘s complete look. We all knew we wanted red and maybe a vampy one?? Something edgy, something to take her look a step into that bold side. So we danced around all of OPI‘s classic reds for a few minutes, taking the time to look at the different hues each red color brought out. We ended with the thought of an ox blood color and that was how I landed on OPI‘s Complimentary Wine. I believed that Complimentary Wine has enough of the ox blood red hue + sophistication we needed to knock this look out of the park.
That said, here’s my look breakdown for Vanessa:
#1. I filed her nails into an oval shape;
#2. I pushed + trimmed cuticles;
#3. I cleaned her nail beds with OPI‘s nas99 Surface Cleanser;
#4. OPI‘s base coat (cure for 30 seconds);
#5. 4 thin coats of Complimentary Wine (cure for 1 minute after each coat);
#6. OPI‘s Top Coat (cure for 1 minute)
#7. Wipe away excess gel residue with an alcohol wipe;
#8. Dabble on your favorite cuticle oil!!”

*’To cure’ means ‘to dry’. When the polish is hardened enough that you can take keys out of your purse or you can finish the day’s house work without ruining your polish. Drying time usually takes 15-20 minutes but the polish will NOT be cured for another 2-3 hours. Other factors like the type of polish, amount of coats, and even the weather can make the cure time take even longer.*
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Vanessa Kirby was nominated in the category Best Actress for her role as Martha Weiss in Pieces of a Woman.
Enjoy the behind the scenes videos down below.