She’s only 17, but actress Bella Thorne definitely commands the red carpet like a pro. She always manages to nail the winning trifecta of event dressing: perfect hair, flawless makeup and on-point styling. And after her head-turning moment at Sunday’s MTV Video Music Awards, we had to catch up with her superstar glam squad to find out all the scoop behind the look.
Sara Jaye Weiss/Startraks
The actress chose a sweet-and-flirty mint green Maria Lucia Hohan dress, which strayed from her usual full-on, skin-baring glam looks, and according to her stylist, Brad Goreski, that was exactly the point.
He told PEOPLE that he wanted a look that was unexpected, and since she’s always wearing minis, this ankle-grazing piece hit the mark. Plus, she was inspired by a famous Disney character.
“The whole Tinker Bell inspiration came together when she decided to combine the dress with a top knot and looked like she was channeling Tink,” Goreski shared.
Sara Jaye Weiss/Startraks
Courtesy Bella Thorne
He also armed her with a few gleaming gold accessories to accentuate the pretty shade of her dress with glittery, lace-up Stuart Weitzman sandals, a Jimmy Choo clutch, Kavant & Sharart rings and Phillips House earrings.
Sara Jaye Weiss/Startraks
Thorne’s mane master, Aviva Perea, was on hand to help the actress nail her top knot style. “Of course no Tinker Bell–inspired look would be complete without a high bun, but to give the look a modern makeover we added lots of texture and did more of a messy top knot than a smooth bun,” Perea said.
Sara Jaye Weiss/Startraks
To achieve the look, she started by running a generous amount of Neutrogena Leave-In Cream through Thorne’s hair and then rough-dried the hair using her fingers. Next she took one-inch sections of her hair and wrapped them around a one-inch curling iron going in alternating directions. Then she gathered all of her hair into a super-high ponytail four inches back from her hairline and secured it with a bungee hair tie. After, she sectioned the ponytail into four pieces, she organically started to pin the strands into the shape of the top knot. Finally, she used more Neutrogena Leave-In Cream to smooth the sides for a little hold and shine.
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And even though you may not have guessed looking at the soft, romantic updo, Perea actually secured it with more than 40 hair pins! “Once a client leaves my chair for a red carpet I am not able to touch them up again, so I have to make sure the top knot or bun or updo stays no matter what kind of gust of wind or any other element hits the style, it will always stay where I left it,” she told PEOPLE. “It can be the softest, most romantic updo that looks like there are only two hair pins, but inside there are usually at least 40!”
As for her beauty rundown, Thorne trusted celeb-loved makeup artist Nina Park to give her a “sun-kissed, youthful and fresh” (as Park describes it!) look for the show. “I always love playing up her eyes. But honestly, complementing her beautiful eyes and lips by creating a glowy, dewy complexion is my favorite part,” Park shared with PEOPLE.
She credits her hero product to Neutrogena Healthy Skin Blends Natural Radiance Bronzer in 30 Sunkissed, which she swept onto the hollows of Thorne’s cheeks and forehead with a large powder brush. Then to give a natural finish, she applied MoistureSmooth Color Stick in Fresh Papaya and pressed it in with her ring finger.
“I wanted the focus to be on her beautiful pale green dress, so I opted for a bronzy, dreamy makeup to complement the hair and dress,” she said. “Knowing the inspiration was Tinker Bell, we focused on accentuating her eyes with a clean winged liner paired with her flawless skin.”
What are your thoughts on Thorne’s VMAs style? Are you loving her Tinker Bell–inspired outfit? Share in the comments below.
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–Colleen Kratofil, with reporting by Jackie Fields
