Full pout, flushed cheeks and a classic smokey eye. Why our beauty director wants everything that Jennifer Coolidge, star of White Lotus, is having
Her star has been ascending since recently starring as the unforgettable ditzy heiress Tanya McQuoid in TV hit, The White Lotus - bagging a Golden Globe, Critics Choice and SAG award along the way. But for me, Jennifer Coolidge will forever be entrenched in my mind as Stiffler’s mom from hit 1999 movie, American Pie. I am showing my age but it’s also a testament, for those who don’t know, to just how long her career has been. She isn’t a breakout star, she’s 61 after all. And one of the things that makes her so intriguing is it’s hard to know where Jennifer Coolidge ends and where her characters start.
Having watched many interviews with her, she is just as flamboyant and kooky on the red carpet as she is when playing a role. I implore you to look up her response to an interviewer at the Golden Globes when asked about her next dream role. Spoiler alert: it involves her morphing into a dolphin - and resulted in her starring in an ad for budget makeup brand Elf, during the half time of the Rihanna Super Bowl 2023 show.
So while my love for her has always been strong, what has really piqued my interest during this current awards season is her beauty look. She has always been a blonde, buxom glamourpuss and it is refreshing (and sadly rare) to see an older woman still owning that kind of look and being utterly fabulous with it. Similar to the Pamela Anderson beauty aesthetic, it’s a bit sex bomb, very pretty but also very wearable - the kind of vibe most of us want to achieve, whatever our age. From a personal perspective, I think I also love Jennifer Coolidge so much because I'm approaching a milestone birthday and have started (pointlessly) pondering notions of age-appropriate beauty. Whenever I catch myself doing this, I imagine Coolidge wagging her finger and shaking her head. Age ain't nothing but a number, after all.
Essentially Jennifer Coolidge stands as a beacon to women everywhere to own their beauty look, whatever decade they’re in. This is why I have been spending arguably too much time stalking her makeup artist Lilly Keys’ Instagram page to find out which products she has been using on Coolidge - and tweaking my own regime accordingly.
Jennifer Coolidge’s red carpet skin prep
Keys preps Coolidge’s skin for the red carpet with a couple of standout products.
First up is the Solawave Advanced Skincare Wand Red Light Therapy, £135. The facial tool uses high-frequency vibration, red light therapy and micro-current to depuff, sculpt the face and brighten the complexion. Coolidge says, “It makes you look like you’ve rolled around on the moon,” which is all I need to hear.
For skincare, Keys has Babor Perfect Glow Ampoules, £34.90 (for 7), in her kit. These are little glass ampoules filled with a rosy pink serum that instantly makes the skin look glowy but also is packed with active ingredients that hydrate, smooth and plump. A great product for wearing under makeup and for special occasions.
Keys also uses a combination of the Victoria Beckham Beauty x Augustinus Bader Cell Rejuvenating Power Serum, £180 and the Rejuvenating Priming Moisturizer, £92. Not a budget option, I know, but if you can afford it then it really is a winning combo.
Jennifer Coolidge’s flawless skin base products
When it comes to her red carpet base, Keys relies on a several products. For the premiere of Coolidge's most recent film, Shotgun Wedding, in which she stars in with JLo (if you're interested in JLo's secrets to looking amazing at 53 we've got you covered), she wore Beauty Pie Everyday Great Skin Foundation, £13.50 which creates a gorgeous finish that’s neither too shiny or too flat and matte. (Not a member of Beauty Pie? Sign up with Code GTGSENTME for £10 off annual membership)
Keys also uses both cream and powder highlighters on Coolidge's skin for extra glow. The Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Light Wand Highlighter, £30 and Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Glow Highlighter, £38, feature heavily on her Instagram page.
Jennifer Coolidge’s simple but sexy eye makeup
Coolidge has a trademark eye look: a simple, slightly shimmery taupe-mushroom hue, combined with liner and lots of lashes. She wears custom-made lashes - now that's a sign that you’ve made it.
Keys' go-tos are a mix of the Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Dreams Eyeshadow Palette, £45 and the Charlotte Tilbury Super Nudes Easy Eye Palette, £47 and the Victoria Beckham Beauty Satin Kajal Liner in Ash, £26, which is a super-flattering grey hue.
Jennifer Coolidge’s power pout products
If there is one thing Coolidge is known for, it’s a seriously good pout. Her lip look at the SAG awards is my idea of perfection - that perfect nude that’s not too matte but also not too glossy.
I immediately snapped up both products that Keys used - NARS Powermatte Lipstick in American Woman, £20, with NARS Afterglow Lip Balm in Torrid, £24, on top.