Venus Williams Expertly Channeled '60s Glamour at the 2022 Oscars

IYKYK: the Oscars are like the Superbowl for fashion and beauty lovers. Celebrities appear after hours of prep and show off their most glamorous looks at Hollywood's biggest night of the year. Yes, movie lovers get to see their favorites win awards—but if we're being honest, the red carpet is the main event (for us, anyway).

This year, one of the most exciting looks by far came from Venus Williams. The tennis player walked the red carpet in honor of the six nominations for King Richard, which portrays the story of her father, and stole the show in the process. Her custom white Elie Saab dress, styled by Law Roach, featured a striking low neckline, which paired perfectly with her Elsa Perretti-designed silver cuffs by Tiffany.

While the outfit was simply show-stopping, we also couldn't get enough of Williams's '60s-inspired glam. Thankfully, Karina Milan, her makeup artist and Byredo ambassador, and Lacy Redway, Unilever stylist and celebrity hair artist, were willing to dive into all the details with us. Ahead, read on for the complete breakdown of the entire beauty look.

Face

Any good makeup routine begins with a great skincare lineup—and Milan didn't sleep on this one. She firstly applied the Lancer Skincare Lift and Plump Sheet Mask ($120), followed by the Eye Treatment Duo ($450) and the Legacy Youth Treatment ($1,000). Milan finished off the skincare with the Dani Glowing Skin Perfector ($95).

Eyes

"The inspiration for this look was a soft '60s eyes," explains Milan. "To start, I used the Byredo Flora Kalahari​ Eyeshadow Palette ($70) and Eyeshadow 5 Colours in Dysco ($70) for the eyes." The makeup artist then added the Kajal Pencil in Kali Kali ($30), which Milan loves for their blendable formula, to the shadows. According to Milan, "the BYREDO Tears in Rain Mascara ($46) and BYREDO Technical Black Eyeliner ($41)" completed the look.

Brows and Highlight

For Venus’s brows, Milan opted for the Byredo All-in-One Refillable Brow Pencil in Sepia ($42) for a soft, defined shape. She then used the Colour Stick in La Scène ($33) for a glimmering brow bone highlight.

Lips

To finalize the look, Milan used two products on Venus's lips to bring out the best color. The secret to this lip combo? Byredo's Lipstick in Worship Her ($44), applied on the outer edges for dimension, and Lipstick in Earth Dust ($44), dabbed in the center.

Hair

Williams's hair look was all about projecting confidence and power. “I feel like Venus is really stepping into her own with this look," says Redway. "She looks like a goddess, so I wanted to reflect this on the Oscars red carpet." To achieve a strong and striking effect, the goal was to make her hair feel larger than life so she would look statuesque walking on the carpet. Redway also shared that the team "kept her hair off her shoulders to let her plunging neckline stand out."

To create the style, Redways says she started by moisturizing Venus's hair from roots to ends with Dove Amplified Textures Twist In Shaping Butter Cream ($7). She then sprayed One Step Texture Mist ($6) to add moisture throughout and lock in some of her natural texture. 

"Next, I blew her hair dry using a comb attachment to maintain some of her natural texture while keeping her strands as smooth as possible," explains Redway. "Once her hair was dry, I flat-ironed the front of it, sprayed Total Volume Hair Spray ($6) around her crown, and brushed the top of her hair back from her face and up into a ponytail, using wrap paper around her hairline to keep it flat." She followed that by using a one-inch curling iron on her hair, spraying Total Volume Hair Spray ($6) throughout while pinning the curls at the base to set the style and get extra volume. 

"Once the hair cooled, I spritzed Dove Brilliant Gloss & Repair ($7) into the palms of my hands and pulled curls down using my hands, smoothing them as I went to create a high-shine look," Redway explains. To finish the look, she applied a little more hair spray on a boar bristle brush and shaped Williams's curls into that '60s-inspired bend while locking the style in place.