Bold eyeshadows and daring liners stole the show at the CFDA

BY DANÉ PRINSLOO
Nov 1, 2024
6 min read

On Monday night, the fashion world eagerly waited to see what celebrities and stars wore to the The Council of Fashion Designers of America. The CFDA is a non-profit organisation that consists of almost 428 American designers in the fashion industry; including womenswear, menswear, leather goods, jewellery, shoes and bags. The annual Fashion Awards was held in the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Naturally the CFDA Awards is a big deal for people in the fashion industry, but there is no fashion without beauty! Beyond the red carpet fashion moments, we can’t help but notice the beauty looks from also see flawless makeup, to statement manicures and gorgeous hair.

Here are 9 CFDA looks we're absolutely obsessed with. Each look brought something special to the red carpet, and we can’t stop gushing!

1. Cynthia Erivo

Cynthia Erivo has been in her “Wicked” era since production for the film started in July 2022. It seems like she is still embracing her character with the black cape and green accent on her necklace. Cynthia’s makeup is also enchanting with long wispy lashes and shaved eyebrows. She used her go-to makeup artist; Joanna Simkin, to do her glam for the award ceremony. We loved the contrast between the green and red in her necklace and her makeup, as well as on her nails. Cynthia had a bold maroon red eyeliner in a wing shape as well as framing her bottom waterline. The makeup artist kept the rest of her face quite neutral with a bright under eye and subtle blush to tie in the eyeshadow to the rest of the face.

Besides playing Elphaba in Wicked, Cynthia Erivo is known among the beauty-lovers as a Manicure Queen. For every event, she has different nails with different art and bold colours. She usually wears extra long coffin-shaped acrylics created by her favourite nail tech; Rose Hackle. This year, for the CFDA Awards, her nails were a mix of mint green, black, red and silver, with gemstones, snake symbols and crosses.

2. Kylie Jenner

This year Kylie has been wearing more natural makeup and we love how gorgeous it looks on her. She wore a feathery Haute Couture dress by Haider Ackermann that was the main focus of her look. She paired it beautifully with a more subtle makeup look and slick black hair. Kylie used her usual glam team; Ariel for makeup (@makeupbyariel) and Jesus Guerrero (@jesushair) for the event.

We often see Kylie with a brown smokey eye and a cool toned pink blush, but for the CFDA’s this year, she used more peachy tones. We love a monochromatic look, and the peach blush matches perfectly to the pale peach lipstick on her. Her brows look shorter than usual and are brushed up and fluffy to match the style of the feathered dress. Kylie’s hair is gathered into a sleek ponytail and structured to look like a short bob. We love the simplicity of her hair and makeup and it is refreshing to see something different from Kylie even though it might only be small changes.

3. Erykah Badu

Erykah Badu had lots of fun styling her look with jewellery pieces. Her headpiece, necklaces and mouth art can be seen as the main focus. Her eyes also stand out with a bold and messy black eyeliner that’s mimicking the shape of lashes under her eyes. The eyeliner also follows her eye shape, which makes the white of her eyes pop. We can see some rose-coloured eyeshadow placed on her eyelids that match the pink/peach coloured crystals on her head. Her nose contour is also prominent, and her lipstick is a dark nude to emphasise the silver art that she’s holding in her mouth.

4. Blake Lively

Blake Lively has had a difficult year after the release of the on screen film ‘It Ends With Us’. She received a huge amount of backlash on social media for the way she spoke about the film while doing the press tour. She seems to have redeemed herself and the fact stands that she is still an American fashion and beauty icon. She was absolutely glowing at the CFDA’s with a gorgeous baby blonde bouncy blowout. She kept her outfit and makeup simple with stunning diamond jewellery and her hair to be the main attraction. Her skin was glowing with a subtle tint of pink to her cheeks. We almost never see Blake with a gloss, but she looked amazing with this pinky nude gloss and lip liner combination.

5. Tyla

Our South African Queen Tyla attended the CFDA’s and her glam was gorgeous. She gave us something different with her bold choice of blue eyeshadow and black liner combination. Since her eye makeup was dramatic, the rest of her face was more subtle and her brows were brushed up and fluffy. For lips, she used a brown liner and clear lip gloss to add shine. Her hair was in a messy updo with her golden curls creating volume and some hanging over her face - there were some long pieces and shorter pieces that made it even more interesting. We also spotted Tyla’s manicure that represented her inner ‘tiger’ with tiger prints in brown and black in a sharp stiletto shape.

6. Coco Rocha

The Canadian model wore a dark blue denim outfit, designed by Kobi Halperin, with feather accents and bold eye makeup. The supermodel is known for her incredible cheekbones and editorial talent, so naturally she would make any beauty product look amazing. Her bold dark blue eyeshadow matched the colour of her denim jacket. The eyeshadow was topped off with some blue shimmer to add more dimension. Her eyes are also framed with black eyeliner, giving us a ‘grunge’ look. The rest of her makeup is very matte with peach blush and a nude lip. Adding to this nostalgic look, Coco wore her hair in a spikey 90’s style updo.

7. Alva Claire

British model, Alva Claire, arguably had the most interesting beauty look of all. Her eye makeup was done in a very artistic way. She had a dark grey gradient from her inner corner to a lighter ashy tone in her crease. She had barely any mascara on, and focused on the playfulness and subtlety of the makeup. Alva also added a few tiny rhinestones to her tear duct area to add definition. Her ultra thin, long eyebrows are becoming trendy again after decades of women trying to grow out their brows to become full, bushy and fluffy. She has a lip stain on that looks smudged and natural, but still gives her a bit of colour on the lips. We can see some fake freckles on her cheeks, making it seem as if she’s wearing little to no makeup.

8. Victoria Monet

Victoria Monet is a talented singer/songwriter who’s best friend is Ariana Grande. She wore an all black outfit designed by LaQuan Smith who accompanied her on the red carpet. Her makeup looked absolutely airbrushed! She had a dramatic eyeliner, following her waterline and around her eyes. The black liner was smoked out into a long bold wing and a light brown cut crease to open up her eyes. She added false lashes that were longer toward the outer corners of her eyes, which elongated her eyes even more. Her makeup was all matte except for the pop of gloss on her lips. She wore her hair in a sleek bun with a few strands falling softly on one side.

9. Meredith Duxbury

Meredith Duxbury is a talented Content Creator who posts daily videos of her doing her own makeup. For the CFDA Awards she wore a white and blue ombre dress by Oscar de la Renta. She kept the cool toned palette throughout her entire look, with ash blonde hair and icy coloured makeup - she reminded us of an ice queen. She kept her makeup very bright with light shades on her eyelids, topped with some pearly shimmers. Her cheeks have a slight peach tint and her lips are a muted nude shade. She added highlighter to her nose and inner corners of her eyes, which makes the viewers focus on the centre of her face and opens up her eyes. Her ultra thin eyebrows add a mysterious flare to her look and add personality.