We accept 
Behind the scenes with EMILY BLUNT.
Written By Christina Han
— PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARC REGAS
Twenties. Sixties. The Hunger. As editorial director for VIOLET GREY, these are just a few of the one- (or two-) word email or text message missives I received from makeup artist Jenn Streicher since early this summer. They were code-like and succinct and, to an unknown party, wholly mysterious. But for me, the sporadic messages were the product of extensive creative discussions with Jenn’s longtime friend and client Emily Blunt. Whether on cross-continental flights for Emily’s press blitz with Tom Cruise for Edge of Tomorrow or driving around Ojai Valley, where Emily and her husband, John Krasinski, have a home, the two were constantly plotting and planning for Emily’s future cover-story shoot with VIOLET GREY.
On set in New York’s iconic Carlyle Hotel, the team was assembled by Emily herself. Photographer Norman Jean Roy was called upon after the two first worked together on a Vogue shoot, stylist Jessica Paster is a longtime collaborator and makeup artist Jenn Streicher was of course at the ready. The newest members of the beauty team included nail artist Gina Eppolito and hairstylist Ashley Streicher, who is also Jenn’s very talented sister. Notes on our fairy-tale day, below.
Christina Han
Editorial Director
Christina Han
Editorial Director
The
TEAM
1
/4
WHAT YOU SEE: Photographer Norman Jean Roy capturing the moment before Cinderella (a.k.a. Emily Blunt) begins sprinting down 86th Street.
WHAT YOU DON’T SEE: Emily’s flat Isabel Marant boots underneath that gigantic Zac Posen dress.
WHAT YOU DON’T SEE: Emily’s flat Isabel Marant boots underneath that gigantic Zac Posen dress.
2
/4
JENN STREICHER (makeup artist): “I have to put on lipstick to do my job.”
ASHLEY STREICHER (hairstylist): “Me, too.”
Jenn wears Lipstick Queen’s Velvet Rope Lipstick in Brat Pack, while Ashley applies YSL Rouge Pur Couture Lipstick in Rose Libertin.
ASHLEY STREICHER (hairstylist): “Me, too.”
Jenn wears Lipstick Queen’s Velvet Rope Lipstick in Brat Pack, while Ashley applies YSL Rouge Pur Couture Lipstick in Rose Libertin.
3
/4
WHAT YOU SEE: Makeup artist Jenn Streicher applying a final touch of moisturizer to Emily‘s skin.
WHAT YOU DON’T SEE: The Bangles’ “Eternal Flame” playing softly in the background (“Close your eyes, give me your hand, darling. Do you feel my heart beating? Do you feel the same...”).
WHAT YOU DON’T SEE: The Bangles’ “Eternal Flame” playing softly in the background (“Close your eyes, give me your hand, darling. Do you feel my heart beating? Do you feel the same...”).
4
/4
DO NOT LET THIS SCENE FOOL YOU. This is the most serious this trio has looked all day. In fact, this photo was certainly staged.
THE DRESSING
ROOM
1
/6
The Mood Bed.
2
/6
Dresses need to get their beauty sleep, too.
3
/6
This Zac Posen dress does not sleep well with others.
4
/6
Little red shoes for Little Red Riding Hood.
5
/6
Curious to know what lies inside these darling VIOLET GREY duster bags?
BLUNT’S
BEAUTY
The actress divulges a smattering of beauty secrets.
— EMILY BLUNT & HER FIRST RED LIP COURTESY OF JENN STREICHER. CANNES FILM FESTIVAL, MAY 2010.
LESSONS FROM JENN STREICHER
“When I do my own makeup for an event or something I definitely copy a lot of what she’s done on me or taught me. I cannot do it as well as her, of course. But she definitely got me into a bold lip. Before I met her, I never did it. I never wore lipstick, and she was always like, ‘C’mon, you’d look really cool with lipstick.’ But I’d never do it, and then one day we just did this red lip when I was in Cannes, and I’ve never looked back. She’s encouraged me to be bold with lipstick.”
PHOTO SHOOT PREP
“I got a facial in New York at this little holistic spa called Pratima. They do these really beautiful facials which incorporate all-natural products that they make with natural ingredients and essential oils. It's very hydrating, which I needed in the New York fall.”
THE SKIN-CARE ROUTINE
“I use a dry-skin toner from Kinera. I really love the Murad products. I think they’re really protective and great. I use a cleansing oil by Murad which isn’t soap so it’s good at not drying your skin out. Then I layer on the most amazing serums by Auspect Clinical. Pro-B and Pro-C for morning, Pro-A and Pro-B for night.”
LESSONS FROM MUM
“Oh, my mum always just plastered [sunscreen] on us when we were kids. So I wear it every day as a result of my mum saying, ‘You are all so fair-skinned and you cannot just go out in the sun without sunscreen on.’ It’s probably a big secret that she helped me out with. It’s not really a secret, but it‘s something that people forget.”
Read the
Cover Story
EMILY BLUNT is a first-time creative director for her photo shoot with VIOLET GREY.
FILED UNDER: GIFTS
The Never Fail Lash Set
#GIVEVIOLET
For lashes that can bat their way out of a parking ticket.
$130
Master the
Tutorial
Longtime friend and makeup artist Jenn Streicher created a gilded eye and ruby-lipped look for EMILY BLUNT.
MEET THE
Streicher
Sisters
Three artists, one family: Meet the Streicher Sisters.