Nicole Richie’s Billboard Music Awards Look Will Deliver The Perfect Holiday Makeup Inspo

This year's 2020 Billboard Music Awards did not disappoint when it came to red carpet beauty, but it was really Nicole Richie's purple smoky eye that made viewers do a double — possibly triple — take. Sure, the fashion designer is no stranger to a hazy smudge of eyeshadow (most recently, she wore a smoky eye to the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party and the premiere of the HBO show Camping), but last night's interpretation was something entirely different than we've seen on her.

At first glance, Richie's look was a sultry purple smoky eye cornered with a blur of black pigment. But there was more to it than its deep plum color. Richie's makeup artist Beau Nelson used a Karla Cosmetics' Multi Chrome Eyeshadow in the shade Snooze, which gave it a chromatic, iridescent finish and provided the illusion of a rainbow when light hit it.

For the rest of her face, Nelson used Tarte's Shape Tape Concealer and Tom Ford's Shade and Illuminate Soft Radiance Foundation, according to his Instagram Stories. While the rest of her makeup stayed fairly simple, Nelson did decide on a rosy pink lipstick to complete the look, and celebrity hairstylist Gregory Russell tousled Richie's hair into a swept-back chignon, fastened with a clip.

This red carpet appearance was also indicative of a trend that appears to be forming: unique modifications to the classic smoky eye. This fall, stars have been reinventing the usually neutral and two-toned look. Recently, Lucy Boynton rocked a barely there version, and even at the Chanel Spring/Summer 2021 show, models lined the runways wearing unique variations of it — featuring matte finishes or a smoky eye constructed of just one color. But the verdict is out if this will snowball all the way into winter.

Ahead, shop the products Nelson used to get Richie's vibrant Billboard Music Awards look to help get you started on spicing up your own winter makeup.

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