Lifted, sharp cheekbones, lightbulb-bright skin and not a whisper of a jowl: Margot Robbie has, as Gen Z would say, “skin goals”. Promoting the launch of her latest starring role in Wuthering Heights, Robbie has method-dressed her way through most of February. This includes some method make-up, too: rosy cheeks, softly powdered lips and mascara-less eyes are beauty references straight out of the 19th century.
We’ll get onto the make-up shortly, but no make-up look is anything without an excellent canvas, and for that, Robbie’s long-time make-up artist Pati Dubroff has a £380 tool that she uses to prep the skin of her famous clients. She has said in the past that she takes 20 minutes to painstakingly perfect the skin before even a drop of foundation touches the skin.
The skincare prep
Part of the skin prep includes using the micro-current device called the Ziip Halo 2.0 (£379, Ziip). Dubroff has used the Ziip device since 2018, and has recommended it to Margot, too. In fact, in an interview with my Telegraph beauty desk colleague Annabel Jones back in 2019, Margot told her that she’s “obsessed” with the Ziip. “I’ve been using this micro-current device called Ziip which has given me noticeable results. I’m not paid by the brand or anything, it’s really, really good.” (Margot still isn’t paid by the brand – I’ve checked.) Jennifer Aniston, Elizabeth Olsen and Gillian Anderson are fans, too.
So what is all the fuss about this gadget, that is – let’s be honest – a huge investment? Micro-current is a low-level electrical current, delivered through a tool, to “work out” the muscles. It was first used as a modality in the 1980s as a treatment to help stimulate muscles in facial conditions like Bell’s Palsy. It wasn’t long before it was being used in beauty treatments, and then later in at-home devices. If used regularly, it can help to lift and tone the muscles.
The Ziip, which is a small, palm-sized device, uses a combination of micro-current and nano-current: the former reaches down to the muscles, whereas the latter has a lower electrical current to improve the skin on the surface level. That means that with continued use, you should see a slight lift in your facial muscles, as well as that “glow” on the skin. Robbie’s make-up artist, Dubroff, loves it for this reason (and no-one can argue with the actress’s red carpet glow).
The bronzed glow
There’s no sign of a Tango’d orange tan for Margot. Dubroff prefers to use tanning drops on herself and her clients looking for a natural-looking, lit-from-within sun-kissed glow. She uses the Hydrabronze Tan Drops by the cult Australian brand Three Warriors (£38, Three Warriors), which she uses strategically to sculpt and define along the jawline, across the cheekbones, around the forehead and subtly around the lips. The end results is skin that looks sculpted and gently tanned.
The cheekbone-lifting blush
As a make-up artist for Chanel, Dubroff tends to use a lot of the luxury line for Margot’s make-up looks. Indeed, for the signature blush best seen at the Paris premiere for Wuthering Heights, Dubroff used a clever technique for the perfect flushed cheeks.
She first used No1 De Chanel Lip And Cheek Balm in the shade Berry Boost (£42, Chanel), dabbed onto the cheeks with fingers, and then blended in with a brush (it was the perfect shade of bordeaux to match Robbie’s Chanel gown). This shade is also used on Margot’s lips.
So far, so normal, but the magic for creating a real blush moment is with a second layer of blush. Dubroff then used the shade Rose Radiant in the Joues Contraste Intense cream blush by Chanel (£45, Chanel) on top. “With a lighter shade you can use more,” explains Dubroff in a video on her Instagram page, blending it in with a big fluffy brush. This double-layered blusher works brilliantly to make blusher the main focus.
A subtle focus on the eye
In an interview with Who What Wear earlier this year, Dubroff shared the secret behind Robbie’s soft glam eyes is a mixture of black and brown lashes.
“You generally want brown on the bottom lashes and black on top,” she said, adding, “I actually use all brown mascara for a softer glam look on Margot Robbie.” Indeed, Google searches for brown lashes have surged by 34 per cent year-on-year and increased by an incredible 800 per cent over the last 5 years.
To achieve this softer eye look, you could try Eylure’s Cluster Lashes in Brown/Black or if you’d prefer a mascara, you could try the SWEED Pro Lash Lift mascara.