Meghan Markle's Makeup Artist Reveals What Look Wowed Prince Harry

Meghan Markle is known for bringing the glam. Even before she married into royalty, Meghan stunned at award shows with her sleek, bold looks — something she continues to do to this day. In November, the duchess attended the 2021 Salute To Freedom Gala at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in a red custom Caroline Herrera design by Wes Gordon, according to Vogue. The stunning gown featured a plunging neckline and thigh-high slit, and was, as the outlet noted, not as "wild" as some celebrities' red carpet looks, but certainly married class with a bit of sultriness. 

The Duchess of Sussex has always stuck with a rather minimalist style when it comes to her hair and makeup. At the Freedom Gala, she wore a slicked-back bun with winged eyeliner. In a recent interview with People, Meghan's glam team spoke about reuniting to create the right appearance for the event. Interestingly enough, the team is the same group of experts that helped Meghan get ready on her wedding day.  

For the Freedom Gala, makeup artist Daniel Martin worked together with hairstylist Serge Normant to achieve red carpet perfection. Martin told People of Meghan Markle's glam squad, "It was so much fun to have all of us back together again. It was chill and relaxed, like the gang was back together. Harry jokes around a lot, and Meghan is really funny. It was nice to have those belly laughs again!"

For Meghan's makeup, Martin wanted to "create this symmetry with her eyeliner — up and back," and told People he persuaded her to try something different than what she'd done in the past. "I wanted an Audrey Hepburn-inspired eye without it being harsh with black, so I used purple," he said. "I just love purple and red together." Martin subsequently admitted that both Meghan and Prince Harry "loved" the look. "He thought it was cool!" Martin exclaimed in regards to Prince Harry, before adding that Meghan, herself, enjoys a "dramatic" eye, so they stuck to the basics of what they knew she loved. 

Makeup artist Daniel Martin revealed the products he used to create Meghan Markle's gala look in an interview with Allure. He shared,  "What I was excited about was that I was able to introduce Meghan to these brands that she had never heard of." Martin explained that he used Tatcha skin-care products, along with Dior Backstage Face & Body Foundation. The makeup guru added that he didn't apply foundation to the entirety of the duchess's face; he worked on her skin to get it to an even place and then boosted the look with a touch of foundation. 

For the dewiness, Martin combined a cream base (Tatcha's The Serum Stick) with powder highlighter. And for the eyebrows, he applied Lamik Beauty Revelation Brow Duo. Discussing the purple eyeliner he applied, he said, "The color purple does something to her eye color. You don't necessarily see the color itself, but you see how bright her eye looks, and that's what I wanted to do."