Lucy Hale on how she learnt to love coloured makeup

From our perspective, Lucy Hale is the epitome of an experimental beauty icon. In fact, she’s exactly who we usually turn to for inspo around everything from magenta eyeshadow to lilac lipstick (yep, she’s done it all).

Take one look at her ‘gram and her ‘colour chameleon’ status appears crystal clear; it seems as if she’s always up for trying the latest trends, especially if they’re of the bold, bright and brave varieties.

As it turns out, though, it did indeed take a little coaxing to originally get her out of her colour comfort zone. Great news for those of us who assumed adventurous makeup lovers were born, not made.

The person behind said persuasion, you ask? Hale’s long-time makeup artist Kelsey Deenihan, AKA the very woman wielding the rainbow shadow palettes.

The two teamed up for an Instagram Live makeup tutorial to share how Hale learnt to embrace colour, and (ironically) the safe zone shade she’s terrified to try…

‘Trial and success’ sealed the deal on coloured shadow

Discussing their favourite looks over the years, Hale named a teal-and-charcoal combo as her own, crediting Deenihan with encouraging her to experiment. “[I loved] the mint green one (pictured below). You really helped me like colour, because I used to be really scared of it. I used to want to do [just a classic] smoky eye, and now [I love it]…”

“What’s funny is [that] I think you helped me like colour, [too],” Deenihan laughs, noting that brights weren’t always her first reflex, either. “I [used to] always gravitate towards a warm, neutral, brown [look], but then since you were so down and you were like “well, we should try it”, we just kind of went for it. That’s the true definition of a muse right there.”

“I’m always down for anything [these days],” Hale adds, confirming that she’s not only the ultimate muse for Deenihan, but for anyone looking to take their looks into more adventurous territory.

Deenihan’s own favourites? Two standout shadow looks. “The green [eye (pictured above) is definitely] one of mine,” she says. “A couple of years before that, we did [a] blue-y purple-y [look] (pictured below) and that was my favourite for so long, and then we topped it with the green.”

Bold lipstick is her go-to (and nude is her nemesis)

Eyeshadow isn't the only arena they go bright in anymore, either. “For a long time we would only do crazy eyes, and then we started doing [bold] lips here and there, and I love that you switch it up; you’re not only an eye person,” Deenihan adds.

“I will say, a nude lip kind of scares me. [I’ll do a brown nude or a pink nude], but a true nude makes me feel like I look like a corpse because I’m so pale…” Hale laughs.

Black liner is another no-go

It seems it’s the classic shades this dynamic duo is most weary of. As for black liner, Deenihan says she prefers to use warmer, lighter liner shades to complement Hale’s lighter complexion.

“Brown is always such a better option for you, because you’re [quite] pale, so when we use a lot of blacks it’s just not as flattering on the skin. We usually stick to brown; even if we’re doing a dark smoky eye, we’ll still use brown liner,” she explains.

Ah, the irony. Open to emerald eyeshadow, weary of a nude lip and black liner.

Main image credit: @bridgetbragerhair

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