Ciara’s French-Inspired Birthday Look Is The Gift That Keeps On Giving

It’s Ciara’s birthday, but she’s the one giving gifts in the form of a new French-inspired look. The singer, who turned 36 on October 25, got all dolled up to celebrate her big day — and it’s dripping with retro glam. The vintage ensemble was made complete with a gorgeous blowout done by stylist César DeLeön Ramîrez and classically French makeup by Yolonda Frederick. Her “birthday suit”, courtesy of stylist Kollin Carter, was a belted black dress with a white shirt collar and black tie from the Dolce & Gabbana archive. She also paired it with gloves and a beret, as it originally appeared on the runway in 1992.

Frederick opted for a smokey eye and red lip for Ciara — a pairing that not only will never go out of style, but will forever be reminiscent of French beauty icons as well as Old Hollywood glamour. The bold look was cranked up a few notches with a strong, arched brow and striking contour. The makeup artist tells TZR that she first prepped Ciara’s skin using 111Skin Celestial Black Diamond Eye Masks followed by Uoma Beauty Supa’ Natural Glow Serum. Then, she sculpted the brows using Got2B Spiking Glue and Uoma Beauty Brow-Fro Baby Hair Precision Brow Pencil in Black-Brown.

To create Ciara’s smokey eye, Frederick applied a wash of black cream color from the Danessa Myricks Waterproof Cream Palette before sweeping on a layer of a dark grey reflective eyeshadow from the Makeup By Mario Master Metals Eyeshadow Palette. She then applied Pat McGrath PermaGel Ultra Glide Eye Pencil in Xtreme Black around the lash line, Ardell Naked Lashes #421, and several coats of Iconic London Triple Threat Mascara to make the eyes pop.

“I love using concealers as a foundation,” Frederick says. “So Deep Golden and Deep Amber in beautyblender’s Bounce Airbrush Liquid Whip Concealer are my favs. Then NYX 3C Conceal Correct Contour Palette in Deep provided the perfect highlight and contour combo.”

She then stippled Makeup By Mario Soft Pop Blush Stick in Earthy Pink onto the cheeks before setting with Patrick Starrr One-Size Ultimate Blurring Setting Powder in Universal Translucent. Next, it was time to bring in some dimension with bronzer and highlight. “I followed by highlighting the high points of the face with Iconic London Luminous Powder in Deep and then bronzing the perimeter with Makeup by Mario Soft Sculpt Bronzer in Dark to create dimension,” Frederick says.

Ciara’s gorgeous red lip was created using Kevyn Aucoin Unforgettable Lip Definer in New Naked, Pat McGrath MatteTrance Lipstick in Obsessed!, and just a dab of MAC Lipglass in Clear in the center of the lips. “Finally, I misted the face with NYX Dewy Finish Setting Spray for a beautiful, reflective, clean, and sultry finish!” Frederick adds.

For her hair, it looks like Ciara may have gone a shade or two lighter for the birthday celebration, and Ramîrez styled it in a chic, bouncy blowout that gave strong Jessica Rabbit vibes. The singer was clearly thrilled with the outcome — Ramîrez later shared a video of Ciara dancing with a giant smile on her face. “When the blowout is sooo good… it makes you wanna dance!” he wrote in the caption.

It’s not exactly clear where the singer was headed in her French-inspired look, but in an Instagram video from her actual birthday, Ciara revealed that her husband, Russell Wilson, surprised her with a romantic rooftop dinner. “I didn't have much growing up, but I can say I had a lot of love,” she said in the caption. “That feeling made me feel like I could conquer the world. That’s how you make me feel. Like a little girl all over again. I love you so much!”

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