Call us biased, but Janelle Monáe wears some of the most innovative hairstyles in the game. It's like she uses each red carpet and appearance as a way to remind us that glam doesn't just have to be pretty — it has a purpose, too. While haircuts aren't necessarily a new concept, we were still shook with a capital S from her arrival on tonight's Academy Awards red carpet. Why? She arrived with a new, super-short pixie cut.
"We did the cut during middle of the night before the Oscars," her longtime hairstylist and all-around queen of creativity Nikki Nelms tells us. "Janelle was not nervous. It was her idea!"
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Right after Monáe walked the carpet, Nelms Instagrammed the look with a quippy caption: "Short hair don't care." Oh, but we do. Nelms cut her lush locks into choppy face-framing layers that only enchanted those gorgeous features. And as if we weren't already paying attention to her, the Hidden Figures and Moonlight star (whose films were both nominated) topped her 'do with a gilded headband that strongly resembled a crown. Because duh: QUEEN.
Speaking of, makeup artist Jessica P. Smalls used products from the Covergirl Queen Collection (Monáe is a brand ambassador) to achieve a "bronze goddess" look. "I took some COVERGIRL truBlend Bronzer in Bronze and mixed it in into her moisturizer to prep her skin," she tells us. "This added a bit of shimmer and all over color. Once her look was complete, I defined her cheeks a bit more by blending Covergirl Queen Collection Natural Hue Bronzer in Ebony Bronze to intensify the glow.”
And of course, Monáe, resplendent in a beaded Elie Saab gown and jeweled Brian Atwood sandals, wasn't about to team her number with a regular ol' French manicure. Nope, not for the Oscars. Instead, she adorned her matte peach manicure with gold glitter and jewels that nearly rivaled her Forevermark diamond rings. Now that's how you shine on 'em!
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