Chappell Roan’s 2024 VMAs Makeup Was Renaissance-Like

It’s no exaggeration to say that Chappell Roan is a once-in-a-generation talent, from her revelatory debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, to her mesmerizing, drag-inflected self-presentation.

On Wednesday night, at her first-ever MTV Video Music Awards, the 26-year-old pop star dazzled the red carpet, delivered a chill-inducing performance of “Good Luck, Babe!” and took home the award for Best New Artist. True to form, Roan did all the above in full-tilt camp fashion. The evening’s inspiration? “Medieval romantic storytelling,” says her makeup artist Andrew Dahling, who gave Roan two different makeup looks steeped in Gothic romance. 

“Chappell always has a clear story when it comes to her looks, which informs and inspires me to help bring the full vision to life,” Dahling tells InStyle. “She shared references from the past, which gave me a world to live and create in for these looks.”

“I really wanted her to look and feel like Renaissance royalty,” says Dahling of Roan’s red carpet look—a paled-out complexion, shimmery eyes, and deep wine lip—that she wore above a tulle burgundy Y/Project fall 2024 gown.

“I loved the tones in her hair and dress and thought marrying them together in the makeup would bring an ethereal aspect to the whole look!” he says. Dahling used the MAC Paintstick in White to give her a ghost-like veil, then swirled Glow Play blush in Groovy and Plush Pepper on the cheeks for a soft flush. Her eyes were washed in moody jewel tones and gilded with pressings of Dazzleshadow Extreme in Objet D’ Art, Couture Copper, and Oh so Glitty.

As for the lips? “The bitten deeper tones in the center diffused with red and auburn helped stay true to the period-style makeup,” explains Dahling, who lined her pout in Half Red pencil before mixing M·A·Cximal Silky Matte lipstick in Velvet Teddy and Sin for a pitch-perfect lip shade. 

For Roan’s stage moment, Dahling riffed on the rich colors and luxe textures of Baroque oil paintings to create a shimmering Technicolor eye moment. “It was much more dramatic and emotional,” says Dahling of Roan’s stage look wherein she was a latter-day Joan of Arc in chainmail armor. “We decided that a painterly, romantic, almost undone style of makeup would be the most effective way to translate the heartbreak and emotion from ‘Good Luck, Babe!.’”

To saturate Roan’s gaze in a haze of violet, cobalt blue, and gold pigments, Dahling used the Connect In Colour eyeshadow palette in shades Future Glam, Hi Fi Color, and Embedded Burgundy. “It was all very intuitive; a sort of dramatic, almost tragic beauty is what we wanted to come across, and using the blue and maroon in contrast with the gold metallic dazzle shadows and pigments felt right,” explains Dahling.

As Roan’s star rises at a dizzying speed, Dahling is grateful for their collaboration and her extraordinary influence on the next generation. “Chappell is the most inspiring, creative, and authentic artist out there right now,” says Dahling. “Her story, where she came from, and how much light she brings to the queer kids across America is so special! I remember what it was like to have someone to look up to when I was discovering myself in rural Kentucky, so to be a part of this with her and the incredible team she has behind her is truly an honor of a lifetime!”