It’s been nearly two weeks since the 2023 MTV VMAs hit the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, and to be completely honest — we’re still talking about moments like Taylor Swift sweeping the biggest awards of the night and *NSYNC reuniting for the first time since 2013.
Dubbed music’s most iconic night, the VMAs are known to be a forum for celebrities, artists and special guests to take risks when choosing what they’ll grace the red carpet in. Home to Lil’ Kim‘s purple pasty jumpsuit in 1999 and Lady Gaga‘s meat dress in 2010 and Lil Nas X‘s flamboyant Harris Reed pants and headpiece in 2022, this year’s red carpet was filled with lots of daring and sexy looks that are singlehandedly setting the fashion trends for the upcoming season.
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The Celeb Secrets gals were lucky to score an invite to the red carpet and big show earlier this month, so as you can imagine, the bar was set extremely high to make sure that we looked our best while chatting it up with our fav celebs, performers, presenters and special guests. With a full two weeks to prepare for music’s biggest night, here’s a full breakdown on everything our on-air host Juliet Schroder did and wore to slay the 2023 MTV VMAs.
Keep scrolling to see it all and let us know if you wind up purchasing any of these items by tagging us in your posts on Instagram at @celebsecrets.
THE PREPARATION
About 14 days prior to the big show, Juliet paid Liana Sahakyan, RN, MSN of Lauréate Aesthetics in Sherman Oaks, CA a visit for some Botox and filler to make sure her skin was smooth and flawless for the big day. About a week before the show, Juliet visited SKINNEY Medspa in New York City for an Emsculpt NEO treatment. The treatment is equivalent to 30,000 sit-ups in a short span of 30 minutes with no downtime, so her abs were for sure going to be nice and tight for the bodycon, sheer look she was about to wear on show day.
The night before, Juliet took her Bondi Sands Technocolor Magenta 1 Hour Express Self Tanning Foam ($27) and added a layer onto her skin for a bronze-y look to make the white dress pop on the red carpet.
THE OUTFIT
For the outfit, Juliet chose the stunning floral and sheer Millie bodycon dress from it girl evening wear brand Nadine Merabi ($410), pairing it with Betsey Johnson‘s iconic Dani Heels in Ivory ($129).
THE SKIN
Everyone knows that a good beat starts with good skincare, so she took her routine to next levels when getting ready for the MTV VMAs.
First, she went ahead and cleaned her face from any residue using Tula’s The Cult Classic Purifying Face Cleanser ($34). For a hydrated, glowy base, she continued with Beekman 1802’s Milk Drops Ceramide Serum ($45), followed by Tula’s Pro-Glycolic® 10% Resurfacing Treatment Toner ($46) and DEZI Skin’s Claro Que C Vitamin C Glow Serum ($67). To set all of her products, she used Tula’s Hydrating Day & Night Cream ($58) all over her face. For blemishes, she calmed down any imperfections by using Rael’s Miracle Clear Soothing Spot Gel ($13.99).
THE GLAM
With temperatures climbing into the 90s that week, New York City still felt like summer. For this look, she wanted to do her own take on the latte makeup trend, and here’s how she flawlessly nailed it.
The Prep
After waiting for her skincare to settle onto her face, she kicked things off by prepping her eyes using Givenchy’s Prisme Libre Skin-Caring Corrector in Peach ($37) and Too Faced’s Shadow Insurance 24-Hour Eyeshadow Primer ($27). She continued the process by putting Dior’s Velvet Veil Matte Skin Primer ($50) on her face before blending Charlotte Tilbury’s Hollywood Flawless Filter in Medium 4.5 ($49) on the tip of her nose, brow bone, cheek bone and cupid’s bow with beautyblender’s Original Makeup Sponge ($20). She also added Bobbi Brown’s Vitamin Enriched Eye Base ($59) to her undereyes to hydrate and prime for the next steps.
The Eyes
To create the ultimate latte look, she started with NUDESTIX’s Magnetic Matte Eye Color in Moon ($27) on the lid to create a light base. She swears by these products, as they are easily buildable and blendable, leaving your eyes uncreased for the entire day. She set the creamy lid with Too Faced’s Born This Way The Natural Nudes Palette ($52), using the shade Swan.
For my crease, Juliet blended NARS’ Laguna Eyeshadow ($49) Laguna III shade with Nude from Too Faced’s Born This Way The Natural Nudes Palette. She then proceeded to smoke out her corners using a blend of Cocoa and Truffle using the same palette. She lined her lower lash line with Anastasia Beverly Hills’ Nirvana Chroma Stix in White ($18) before going back in with the Laguna III and Cocoa shades to round out the entire eye look.
For her lashes, she curled them using NARS’ Eyelash Curler ($20) before prepping them with Dior Show Maximizer 3D Triple Action Lash Primer Serum ($32). Juliet then used Too Faced’s Better Than Sex Volumizing Mascara in Black ($29) and made sure to let it dry before adding additional falsies.
For the additional lashes, Juliet used Salon Perfect’s Winged 691 Amplif-eye Lash ($6.99) and glued them using Ardell’s Duo Lash Adhesive Dark ($6.99)
The Face
To begin creating her flawless face, Juliet put a light layer of Givenchy’s Prism Libre Skin-Caring Corrector under her eyes before adding Giorgio Armani’s Luminous Silk Perfect Glow Flawless Foundation ($69) in 6.25 to her Dior Backstage No. 11 Brush ($38) for a complete glowy look. She set the foundation with a light layer of Estée Lauder’s Double Wear Powder Foundation in 4W1 Honey Bronze ($49).
For my concealer, Juliet used Tarte’s Shape Tape Concealer in 35N Medium ($31) and blended it with IT Brushes for Ulta Airbrush Dual-Ended Flawless Complexion Concealer & Foundation Brush #132 ($35). She set the concealer with Givenchy’s Prisme Libre Setting & Finishing Loose Powder in 04 Mousseline Acidulée ($59) on her under eyes, T-zone and chin.
For contour, Juliet used Charlotte Tilbury’s Hollywood Contour Wand in Medium/Deep ($42) on the top of her hairline and below her cheek bones, and Anastasia Beverly Hills’ Mink Contour Stick ($25) for her nose and jawline. She blended all of the product using Dior Backstage Contour Brush No. 15 ($45).
For blush, Juliet knew she wanted a perfect sunkissed look, so she turned to the elite blushes and bronzers of them all… NUDESTIX’s Nudies Blush and Bronze sticks. Using a blend of Hot Fire ($35) — a more red-hued tone — and Sunkissed ($35) — a coral-y, bronze color — she was able to give her cheeks a natural looking tan without laying in the sun. It was absolutely marvelous.
To keep the blush in place, Juliet set it with Dior Backstage Rosy Glow in Rosewood ($40) using IT Brushes for ULTA Airbrush Soft Focus Blush Brush #113 ($26).
For brows, Juliet gave herself her own lamination by brushing her hairs in an upward motion using Anastasia Beverly Hills’ Brow Freeze Dual-Ended Applicator ($17). She filled in any empty spaces using Benefit Cosmetics’ Brow Microfilling Pen in Deep Brown ($26) before giving her brow the ultimate lift by setting them with Anastasia Beverly Hills’ Brow Freeze ($23) using small, upward strokes.
For highlight, Juliet put NUDESTIX’s Nudies Glow Highlighter Stick in Hey Honey ($35) on her cheekbones, brow bone and tip of her nose, adding the ultimate golden shimmer to her bronze-infused latte look. She then set the entire look using Charlotte Tilbury’s Airbrush Flawless Finish in 2 Medium ($48) and Setting Spray ($38).
For long-lasting lips, Juliet began lining her nude-colored pout with Kylie Cosmetics’ Matt Lip Kit, using the Lip Liner in the shade Kylie ($35) before adding About-Face’s Paint-It Matte Lip Color in Dilemma ($16) to my lips. She sealed them off with STILA Cosmetics’ Heaven’s Dew Gel Lip Oil in Stardust ($24).
THE HAIR
Juliet’s outfit and glam were really the focal point of my look, so she opted for sleek, straight hair. Washing with Alo’s Shine Shampoo and Conditioner Set ($48), she prepped her hair by using Living Proof’s No Frizz Smooth Styling Cream ($42) before flat ironing it with T3’s SinglePass Compact Flat Iron ($89). She gave my hair the volume boost it needed using Living Proof’s Full Dry Volume & Texture Spray ($36).
For more coverage from the 2023 MTV VMAs, click here.
