Anya Taylor-Joy Wears an Elegant Old Hollywood Updo to Cannes

anya taylor joy at the cannes film festival

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 15 May 2024

Anya Taylor-Joy has a fairly defined beauty look: pin-straight hair, complemented by a cat eye and blue-red lipstick. It’s a reliable formula, but the Cannes Film Festival is the time to experiment with a new beauty look—and that’s evidently what the actress plans to do. For the Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga red carpet, the Dior ambassador arrived with an intricate, extension-padded updo that's a stark contrast to her standard style.

It’s no secret that Taylor-Joy’s natural hair is long. On any given day, it sits at roughly hip length. Even so, I’d bet that the star’s hairstylist, Gregory Russell, had to use pounds on pounds of extensions and at least a whole pack of bobby pins to execute the sturdy, S-shaped chignon fastened to the crown of The Queen’s Gambit lead’s head.

Slicked straight back—and without a hair out of place—the updo twists tightly into three curves and is pinned down by the neck's nape. Such a heavy head of hair requires an abundance of hairspray—and just as much balance.

The rest of Taylor-Joy’s beauty look remains classic. Makeup artist Georgie Eisdell leaned into the actress’s go-to aesthetic. Lucky for us, she took to Instagram to share every makeup product that made it onto her client’s face.

The jet black wing is courtesy of Dior’s Diorshow Stylo eyeliner. The perfect red lip is thanks to Dior’s Dior Rouge in what appears to be shade Midnight 909. Her soft pink, smoky eye is the handy work of Diorshow 5 Couleurs Couture Eyeshadow Palette in the shade Nude Dress.

Taylor-Joy’s beauty look isn’t the only one worth mentioning. Naomi Campbell also made her way onto the red carpet, with what appears to be a slight red tint to her brushed-out curls. The model’s statement hair is balanced by softer makeup that plays in the pinky-brown family.

It might just be day two of the festival, but if today’s red carpet is any indication, there will be plenty of Cannes beauty looks worth breaking down. Stay tuned.

Samantha Holender is the Senior Beauty Editor at Marie Claire, where she reports on the best new launches, dives into the science behind skincare, and shares the breakdown on the latest and greatest trends in the beauty space. She's studied up on every ingredient you'll find on INCI list and is constantly in search of the world's glowiest makeup products. She's constantly tracking the biggest nail and hair trends to pop up in the beauty space, going backstage during fashion weeks, tracking celebrity looks, and constantly talking to celebrity hair stylists, nail artists, and makeup artists. Prior to joining the team, she worked as Us Weekly’s Beauty and Style Editor, where she stayed on the pulse of pop culture and broke down celebrity beauty routines, hair transformations, and red carpet looks. Her words have also appeared on Popsugar, Makeup.com, Skincare.com, Delish.com, and Philadelphia Wedding. Samantha also serves as a board member for the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME). She first joined the organization in 2018, when she worked as an editorial intern at Food Network Magazine and Pioneer Woman Magazine. Samantha has a degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from The George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs. While at GWU, she was a founding member of the school’s HerCampus chapter and served as its President for four years. When she’s not deep in the beauty closet or swatching eyeshadows, you can find her obsessing over Real Housewives and all things Bravo. Keep up with her on Instagram @samholender.

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