If there’s one celebrity’s beauty look we’re always keen to emulate, it’s Miranda Kerr’s. Her reputation is classic (no red carpet faux pas’ here) and Miranda is forever about keeping it simple and natural, working with her glowing complexion to create a look that is all at once glamorous and fresh.
And it seems we’re not alone. One of our most popular video interviews has been with Miranda’s makeup artist Noni Smith, who has been working with Miranda since she broke onto the scene at 14. We’ve dug it out from the archives to recreate some of Noni’s timeless Miranda Kerr beauty secrets — from perfectly groomed eyebrows, to signature red lip and clump-free eyelashes.
Watch the video and read the transcript below…
RESCU: You are on Rescu. TV and we have got a treat for you. Noni Smith, Miranda Kerr’s makeup artist and also an incredible makeup artist in your own right, who we have been trying to snag for some time. Noni, we want to know the secrets. How do you do it? How can we do it?
Noni Smith: Well, actually it’s fairly simple if you have amazing skin, which is the foundation of all beauty, to me.
RESCU: Yeah, you are all about skin. Your makeup is always really about minimal and then just flawless kin.
Noni Smith: Well, with Miranda we try to use minimal. We don’t really use foundation. We use just concealer on the bits where it’s needed.
RESCU: Right.
Noni Smith: She loves the rosy cheek look.
RESCU: But it’s never overdone. It’s almost imperceptible.
Noni Smith: Yeah, well that’s what we’re aiming for.
RESCU: And do you use a cream or a powder to achieve that lovely lit from within look?
Noni Smith: A combination actually. There’s a NARS blush called cactus flower that we use quite a bit, which is a peachy golden cream.
RESCU: And where would you apply that?
Noni Smith: Just on the apples of the cheek. And sometimes we go over that with more of a pink, in a powder. We’ve been using a Chanel one, I think it’s called number 70, it’s a powder blush. Very lightly there. You just always have to be subtle. Just try and be subtle. I usually put the lip on first though because a red lip is something that Miranda absolutely loves.
RESCU: But you do tend to work in a shade of red.
Noni Smith: Yeah
RESCU: Does she have a preference for a blue or an orange base red?
Noni Smith: Usually an orange base red. We love a Chanel lipstick at the moment, it’s called Rebel.
RESCU: Yeah, it’s a great color.
Noni Smith: Just a nice, sheer orange red when you want to look fresh. If you want a bit more punch we go into a NARS pencil.
RESCU: So, pencil first? Or pencil as the lipstick?
Noni Smith: It’s a chubby pencil, which is a lipstick pencil. That one is called Red Square. And it’s a really amazing old Hollywood orange red. It pretty much suits everybody.
RESCU: Right. And what about highlighting? Because that’s also a signature of Miranda’s look. The beautiful highlighted features. What do you use and how do you use it? Is it bronzer or highlighter that you like?
Noni Smith: I love luminizer. Highlighter, luminizer, same thing. I love this one Becca makes.
RESCU: She does a great one.
Noni Smith: Luminizer. It’s just a Becca luminizer which is in a cream in a tube. And I love opal. Because that works across the board with everybody’s skin tone.
RESCU: And where do you apply it for Miranda?
Noni Smith: We go top of the cheekbone.
RESCU: Those killer cheekbones.
Noni Smith: Yeah, top of the cheekbone. Sometimes I mix it into the foundation so that you get a sheer amount of it all over the whole face. Gives a beautiful glow. Sometimes I even do a little bit on the cupid’s bow here just to accentuate her lips. Sometimes I use it on the nose. Some clients of mine that really love that.
RESCU: I think it looks beautiful. I love the glowy look. And I think that that’s her signature, the healthful glow.
Noni Smith: Absolutely. I mean, that’s what she’s all about is health, beauty. Coming from within. So everything we do has to be fairly imperceptible on the skin. Just has to look like someone who’s very healthy, fresh, never overdone.
RESCU: And what about the eyebrows? Another signature part of her look.
Noni Smith: The eyebrows. Well I’ve just heard that Miranda’s been voted best eyebrows.
RESCU: I can definitely testify to me casting my vote in that direction.
Noni Smith: And she is slightly obsessive.
RESCU: Does Joce do her eyebrows? Joce Petroni or do you do her eyebrows?
Noni Smith: Actually, she does them.
RESCU: Really.
Noni Smith: She’s pretty obsessive about the tiniest little bit coming and I have to put my glasses on to see it and I’m like, oh yeah right. But the overall effect of them is just beautifully groomed and still really natural.
RESCU: And do you put anything through it, do you do a pencil or a gel?
Noni Smith: We use clear eyebrow gel. All the time.
RESCU: Is there a brand that you prefer?
Noni Smith: I love the MAC one myself. It holds really well, all day.
RESCU: And it doesn’t go crispy.
Noni Smith: Doesn’t go flaky or strange on the brow.
RESCU: No, it’s a really good product.
Noni Smith: And sometimes we’ll just use a little bit of a eyebrow powder brushed through just to give them a little bit more strength. She looks good with nothing in them but sometimes, we love it really quite strong.
RESCU: And she’s got a beautiful…lots of distance between her eyelid and her brow so you get to play there.
Noni Smith: You can really play. And the shape of her eyes is amazing, pretty much no matter what you do.
RESCU: I know, that feline beautiful look. So what do you do with her eyes to really bring them out?
Noni Smith: We use highlight actually, it’s another place we use a highlighter or luminizer just in a corner. We do a wash usually of a taupey brown sort of tone across the whole lid all the way up to the brow. And then we just do a little bit in the contour, usually like a bronzey sort of color. Little bit underneath the eye. Sometimes she likes a bit of dark inside the eye, with the dark brown pencil just to give them a bit of punch, bit more definition. Curl them. Lots of mascara. Top and she likes mascara bottom.
RESCU: And what mascara do you use? Because it’s never clumpy. It always looks, again, perfectly groomed and naturally.
Noni Smith: Well that’s the eyebrow comb…the eyelash comb, sorry, you have to use the eyelash comb later. Because I don’t, I find a lot of mascaras do do that.
RESCU: Yeah, they clump.
Noni Smith: But at the moment we’re using a Lancome one. I think it’s called Drama.
RESCU: Yeah, Hypnose Drama.
Noni Smith: Yeah, that’s the one.
RESCU: It’s a good one.
Noni Smith: It’s a really good one.
RESCU: They do great mascaras.
Noni Smith: I agree. I think they’re probably top of my list. And then MAC comes next.
RESCU: And so, tell me. You’re charged with looking after the most beautiful woman in the world and probably one of the most photographed women in the world.
Noni Smith: Right.
RESCU: So, what do you do to keep within the brief? Because she knows her own look really well.
Noni Smith: Oh yeah, oh yeah.
RESCU: But then, a lot of celebrities rely on their makeup artists to stretch them and to take them to new places.
Noni Smith: Right.
RESCU: How do you work together?
Noni Smith: Well, because I’ve known her since she was 14.
RESCU: A Dolly Covergirl.
Noni Smith: And I’ve spent a lot of time away with her on trips, sometimes three weeks at a time.
RESCU: Did you do her wedding makeup?
Noni Smith: Well, she did her wedding makeup.
RESCU: Wow
Noni Smith: She’s very good at doing her own makeup.
RESCU: Amazing.
Noni Smith: Yeah. Which is why I’m happy to hand her a brush sometimes. But sometimes she doesn’t’ want to and she wants me to do it. But you have to be very flexible in that way. They know how they look best too. Never be pushy. Always allow for compromise. And that’s how you keep your clients. Really.
RESCU: And, are you the person that she goes to or do you come across a new product and say, you know what I’d really love to show this to her because this is going to be fun?
Noni Smith: Absolutely. Yeah, I find things and I show her and she loves them and then she’ll find some things and show me and I’ll order them online. Because often you can’t get them in Australia.
RESCU: Right.
Noni Smith: There’s a particular concealer that we’ve both become obsessed with by Illuminaire. Which is a mineral concealer in a tube. And just gives amazing coverage without looking cakey and because it’s a mineral one it’s got that reflect as well so it hides even better than normal concealers.
RESCU: She doesn’t look like she needs to hide anything. Lucky Orlando. Every morning when wakes up he must just go…
Noni Smith: He looks pretty good in the morning too. I’m often there at 5 a.m.
RESCU: And what do you do to take it up a notch for evening look? How does Miranda like to do her evening makeup?
Noni Smith: Sometimes it’s just a more defined version of the day look. A bit of a stronger lip, bit more of a punchy red. Maybe a liner on the insider. But it’s still very much in keeping with her daytime sensibility of being natural and healthy looking. Nothing overdone and she does prefer the lip to the eye.
RESCU: She doesn’t need to do a thing to those eyes.
Noni Smith: No, I know.
RESCU: Well, thank you so much for sharing some of these secrets with us. And I’m actually going to go home and try a few of your illuminator tricks.
Noni Smith: Oh yeah?
RESCU: I mean, if it’s good enough for Miranda it’s good enough for…thank you Noni.
Noni Smith: You’re so welcome. Thank you.
