No perfect illusion here! Lady Gaga’s character Ally in A Star Is Born was known for her au naturel look, and it turns out the superstar actually skipped wearing makeup entirely to film many scenes in the award-winning film.
At this point we’ve pretty much all heard the story that Gaga’s A Star Is Born director and costar Bradley Cooper requested the actress remove every stitch of makeup during the audition process so he could see her “completely open” with “no artifice.”
“It put me right in the place I needed to be, because when my character talks about how ugly she feels — that was real,” Gaga told the Los Angeles Times of the experience. “I’m so insecure. I like to preach, but I don’t always practice what I preach.”
And rather than rely on her team to craft no-makeup makeup looks for her in the film that could conceal any imperfections, Mother Monster apparently dove headfirst into Ally’s world and rocked a bare face on screen.
Her longtime esthetician, Joomee Song of Faceworks Inc., told Refinery29 that the Oscar-winner “had no makeup on” and instead relied on Song’s facial massage and skincare techniques to keep her complexion camera-ready.
“If she was going to have close-ups, I would do a scrub with hyaluronic acid or something that would help reduce redness, because she would have to go on camera immediately after [I saw her],” she shared. “Instead of acids or granules, I use a piece of gauze as a physical exfoliant and hydrating emollient products to get her glow. Your skin already has the ability to shed its dead skin cells and my goal is to support what your skin can do. So, I massage in a brightening serum and then literally scrape it off with the gauze.”
Additionally, she used her Kaika massage method that “stimulates blood flow, releases tension and reduces water retention.” It involves a combination of her fingers and a Japanese microcurrent machine to de-puff, reduce dark circles and contour for a “tighter and brighter” effect.
Song said she began working with Gaga in the lead-up to her appearance at the 2014 Oscars, and she’s been a part of her glam squad (which also includes mane man Frederic Aspiras and makeup artist Sarah Tanno) ever since. “I worked on her skin for her Sound of Music performance at the 2015 Oscars, American Horror Story, A Star is Born and more,” she explained.
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While the musician and actress has certainly been known for her avant-garde beauty looks over the years, fans have long admired her #flawless skin. And while Song said she has a less is more approach to skincare, there are a few products she’s turned Gaga on to.
“I don’t use a lot of product at all on her. In general, I do love using May Lindstrom products,” she told Refinery29. “Before a red carpet, I like to use Cosmetics 27’s Plasma 27 Mask. It’s formulated with plant stem cells … for calming inflammation and brightening skin.”
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