Why Lupita Nyong'o is changing the face of beauty

Lupita Nyong'o has been named People Magazine's most beautiful woman.

And no wonder! She's steadily become our favourite beauty inspiration in the last few months and she's graced just about every important cover - including W Magazine, Dazed & Confused and The New York Times Magazine.

Here's a gorgeous time lase video of her People Magazine cover shoots, proving just why the 12 Years a Slave star is so sought after.

A couple of weeks ago, Lupita Nyong’o gave an impassioned speech about race, fame and the standards of beauty women of colour face today.

The Oscar winning actress emotionally recollected her childhood at the Essence Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon, as she claimed: ‘I remember a time when I…felt unbeautiful.’

‘I was teased and taunted about my night-shaded skin,’ recollected the Mexican-born Kenyan star.

But it is exactly that night-shaded skin that has caused such a stir on every red carpet from here to Hollywood.

Winning an Oscar for your first job out of drama school is no mean feat but for her performance in Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave, Lupita had it in the bag.

Since the film’s release at the end of 2013, the 31-year-old has been dressed by Prada, Dior and Gucci and has become the latest poster girl for Miu Miu.

We sat down with Lupita’s make-up artist Kay Montano to talk about her rising star and why this newcomer is changing the face of beauty for women of colour everywhere.

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What makes Lupita such a rule breaker in the beauty stakes?

‘Forget wearing blue eyeshadow, Lupita is breaking rules everywhere. When was the last time you saw a woman with her colour skin and her hair on the red carpet?

‘When it comes to beauty, she’s already breaking so many rules just by existing. She’s already gone through a huge, liberating journey to get to where she is. The fact that I’m putting some red lipstick on her is no big deal.’

What’s she like to work with as a client and as a canvas?

‘Aesthetically she’s an absolute dream to work with, most make-up artists would give their right arm to work on her. I’ve been doing this since I was 16; there aren’t many canvases I haven’t worked on. But Lupita’s rich, dark skin  - I’ve not had enough privilege to work with it before.

'She’s completely free to be creative. She’s not at all frightened. With a lot of actresses you work with, they don’t want to push the envelope. But she was really fearless. She asked for brighter pink lipstick and everything!

‘On top of all that, she’s so kind. She’s so sweet and unassuming. When I think of Lupita I think of how gracious she is.'

The beauty looks we see on her on the red carpet – how much of that is her?

‘It’s totally her. I’m there to make suggestions and make people feel secure. But with Lupita, what you see on the red carpet is absolutely her. She shines.’

What is it about her that has captured the world’s attention?

‘Lupita is so uniting for women across the board, no matter what colour their skin is. When I tweet links to beauty looks I’ve done with Lupita it’s not just black women who are engaging – it’s all women. Women love her. They’re rooting for her.

‘She’s definitely going to influence women of colour to take some chances because they can see how beautiful she looks. If I was 12 and I was the darkest girl in my town and I suddenly see Lupita Nyong’o on the red carpet and everyone’s celebrating her beauty, I mean that is how social change happens.

‘That’s why I love beauty because the seismic shifts happen really subtly, from the inside. I find that so powerful.’

For all the ladies out there wanting to recreate Lupita’s stunning red carpet, Kay gave us the lowdown on the must have items for darker skin.

Foundation – Nars is fantastic. Lancome have just released a new range for darker skin too, that’s what I used for her at the BAFTAs.

Concealer – Laura Mercier – every make up artist worth their salt has Secret Camouflage, which has a range of darker shades.

Lipsticks by Lipstick Queen – Poppy King’s Lipstick Queen is one of the best brands to come out in the last five years. Her lipsticks are fabulous; they have a quality unlike any other brand.

Blusher – Be careful with blusher because anything that looks ‘normal’ on pale skin will look ashy on dark skin. Forget pastels. Never, ever do pastels on dark skin. What you do, like I did on Lupita, is use a rich terracotta or a deep berry, burgundy. Where you would use a soft pink on pale skin, dark skin should go for the burgundy. To get the peachy effect on dark skin, use the terracotta. Nars do those colours really well.