Keke Palmer Is Bringing Back Blue Eyeshadow—Big Time

The dramatic look, plus who styled it.

Keke Palmer
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Keke Palmer has never been a stranger to the spotlight, but this has especially been the case this month. Just two weeks ago, the actress won the 2024 Creative Arts Emmy award for Best Game Show host, and was the first Black woman to have won or been nominated in the category in the awards’ history. At the event, she pulled out all the stops, turning everyone’s heads in an all-maroon ensemble with a complementary lip color and a wavy blonde balayage. She’s quickly proven herself to be a celebrity to watch in terms of both accomplishment and beauty, and she just drove that point home yet again by posting a show-stopping photo of her new glam on Instagram.

The photo, which garnered over 100,000 likes and counting, showed Palmer wearing bright blue eye makeup, pink blush, and a nude but glossy lip. The eye makeup, of course, took center stage, with an ombré style that darkened at the edges of her eyes but grew lighter as it climbed up towards her brow bone. In addition to her top lids, her under eyes were lined subtly with the same silvery blue tint, and both her upper and lower waterlines were traced with black eyeliner. The look contrasted beautifully with her rosy blush and with her nude lip, which was lined with a slightly darker liner that tapped into the ‘90s-esque lip liner trend sweeping celebrity beauty these days. The overall look came thanks to celebrity makeup artist Kenya Alexis, who has worked with Palmer previously along with the likes of Victoria Monet, Saweetie, and Lizzo.

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Another aspect of Palmer’s look that I loved? Her hair, which she wore loose with a deep side part and flowing waves that channeled Old Hollywood glamor. Palmer has worn her hair in a number of shades recently, from cherry red to platinum blonde, but opted this time for medium brown, courtesy of hairstylist Lace Assassin, with whom she’s worked ahead of several events.

The caption to Palmer’s photo, a tongue-in-cheek reference to Shakespeare’s Othello, warns readers of jealous enemies lurking in plain sight. And with beauty prowess as great as Palmer’s, who can blame her for fearing such a thing?

Gabrielle Ulubay
Beauty Writer

Gabrielle Ulubay is a Beauty Writer at Marie Claire. She has also written about sexual wellness, fashion, culture, and politics both at Marie Claire and for publications like The New York Times, Bustle, and HuffPost Personal. She has worked extensively in the e-commerce and sales spaces since 2020, including two years at Drizly, where she developed an expertise in finding the best, highest quality goods and experiences money can buy. As a film school graduate, she loves all things media and can be found making art when she's not busy writing.