Jennifer Lawrence’s Makeup Artist Is So Skilled, She Calls Him ‘A Plastic Surgeon’

It’s as if that 2015-era “Power Of Makeup” video trend never happened — in this day and age, there are still far too many people who don’t realize just how transformative, quite literally, well-placed cosmetics can be. When strategically applied, makeup can change the way the wearer’s bone structure, eye shape, and feature size look, and no one knows that better than the professional celebrities who have logged countless hours with their top-rated glam teams. Jennifer Lawrence just reeducated the world on that simple principle as she conducted a Q&A with Kylie Jenner for Interview Magazine. Lawrence refuted plastic surgery speculation, commiserating with Jenner over how frustrating the under-the-knife rumors are when, in reality, they say it can all be chalked up to some very talented makeup artists.

This particular interview pairing couldn’t be better for teasing out some juicy beauty secrets. Lawrence has long been an avowed Kardashian stan, a dedicated follower of their reality show ventures since age 14 who eventually became a friend of the family. Throughout their conversation, Lawrence refers to Jenner hyper-affectionately as her “angel baby,” and that pre-formed closeness means it wasn’t long before the two moved on from fluffier questions into some good old-fashioned real talk. On the subject of her Kylie Cosmetics empire, Lawrence said, “And I also think it’s incredible what makeup can do because I work with Hung [Vanngo], who overlines the lip, and I call him a plastic surgeon, because everybody in the last few months since I’ve been working with him is convinced that I had eye surgery.”

Lawrence continues, “I’m like, ‘I didn’t have eye surgery. I’m doing makeup,’” then laughs, “Well, apparently I’ve had full plastic surgery.” The movie star explained she’s been working with Vanngo for just a while now, but his abilities are incredible.

She goes on to say that people often will post “before and after” shots purporting to show surgical changes, but that they can all be credited to a brilliant glam team and the natural development of the face with age. “I grew up,” Lawrence told Jenner. “I lost baby weight in my face, and my face changed because I’m aging. Everybody thought I had a nose job, and I’m like, ‘I’ve had the exact same nose. My cheeks got smaller. Thank you for bringing it up.’”

Feature-modifying makeup techniques like contour, lip lining, color placement, and eyeliner are practically as old as time, and are all the more impactful in the hands of a seriously talented artist. Time to start giving celebrities the benefit of the doubt — with a carefully-chosen eyeshadow, there’s no scalpel necessary.