Lucia Pica on Jessica Chastain's Make-up

Earlier this year, Jessica Chastain was announced as AnOther Magazine's cover star for spring/summer 2012, appearing as she never has done before. Last month, the actress was included on the Times' prestigious 100 Most Influential People in the World list for 2012, alongside Alexander McQueen's Sarah Burton, actress Tilda Swinton and artist Christian Marclay.

Styled by Olivier Rizzo, wearing Miu Miu and (the now-iconic) sparkling paisley Jil Sander earrings and photographed by Willy Vanderperre, Chastain's dramatic transformation was aided by a beauty look created by make-up artist Lucia Pica. Here, AnOther speaks to Pica about her inspirations, the secret behind a perfect matte lip, preferred eyebrow shapes and her favourite beauty icon of all-time...

What was your initial reaction to the final shots?
It was so strong – she looks amazing! I felt the whole story was extremely polished, sophisticated and elegant.

What were the starting points for the beauty in the story?
We looked at the 1920s and 70s; Salvador Dali meets Gala Mitchell. The focus really was on the irridescent skin, the silvery shadows and a really defined and elongated brow.

"I bleached Jessica's eyebrows and drew a line above her natural brow; a little higher adds an element of sophistication"

The brows are one of the most striking aspects of the look – how did they come about?
Thin brows are definitive of the 1920s. What was different was that I bleached Jessica's eyebrows and drew a line above her natural brow; a little higher adds an element of sophistication I feel. I used Eye Brows pencil in stud by M.A.C..

What's your preferred brow shape?
There's something really sexy about an unruly brow. A bare face and lips with a thick brow is really attractive. If one has a naturally strong brow I would recommend they left it full. But for a dramatic look, bleaching brows can be really fun and interesting. It focuses the attention on the eyes.

How was it working with Jessica?
She was a pleasure to work with – she was very happy to sit in hair and make-up for three hours and experiment with looks. Not everyone is willing to have their eyebrows bleached but she was very accomodating. It was a long process and she was very patient.

Could you talk through all aspects of her make-up?
For the base, I used Face and Body foundation by M.A.C in N1 followed by shade and illuminate in intensity one by Tom Ford; perfect for Jessica's porcelain complexion. It's great because it doesn't have to much shimmer or sparkle and it's really waxy. I used Crayon Kohl in black by Dior for the eyes with pressed eyeshadow in ir white by Shu Uemura mixed with Cream shadow in liquid metal by Illamasqua, finished off with Lipglass in clear to give a high shine. I used individual eyelashes by Make-up Forever with Dior waterproof mascara in black. Originally, I was going to make the eyes darker but opted to go for a more delicate look. For the lips I used Pure Lipstick in purple velvet by Yves Saint Laurent mixed with Scarlet Empress by Nars with Lip Pencil in burgundy by M.A.C.. To create a matt finish I used Matt Lip Color in 02 Fred Farrugia. I generally prefer a matt finish for lips.

Who is your beauty icon of all-time?
Isabella Rosellini. She was my favourite model when growing up in Italy - she was striking, beautuful, glamourous and cool. She was so different to the other models of that time. I was really attracted to her masculine/feminine look which is still something that defines sexy for me without being vulgar.

Jessica also wears Le Vernis Nail Colour in Vendetta by Chanel.

Text by Laura Bradley