There’s only one day left until Taylor Swift’s The Era’s Tour takes Denver by storm. After finding the perfect Taylor-inspired outfit, the next step is creating an equally iconic makeup look. Three Denver-based makeup artists—Kyle Hamilton, Jordyn Arielle, and Hakima Afiri—have carefully curated 10 Era’s Tour inspired makeup looks, for you to replicate on yourself at the show this weekend.
Read: Where To Find A Taylor Swift-Inspired Eras Tour Outfit In Denver
Prepping the Base
The first step to any makeup look is prepping a base that’s going to last through hours of dancing, sweating and laughing, brought to you by some of Denver’s best.
Every MUA suggest beginning with proper skin prep using moisturizers, face oil, setting sprays and primers. This allows the skin to glow from underneath the makeup, instead of artificially providing a healthy look from highlighters and heavy products. The products help to smooth the skin, flatten pores and give the skin a grip so that the foundation doesn’t crease.
Debut
Released in 2006, her self titled debut album was Swift’s first. She created her album when she was 16 years old and because of this her album symbolizes the innocence of someone who hasn’t experienced the world yet and didn’t know what her future would hold.
The album had a theme of butterflies and youth, which MUA Jordyn Arielle translated onto model Gabrielle Dalrymple. The look features glowing, youthful skin with graphic butterfly eyeliner.
Here’s how to re-create Debut’s makeup look:
To begin, Jordyn primed the skin using Charlotte Tilbury’s Collagen Superfusion Firming & Plumping Facial Oil and Magic Cream Moisturizer. She started with the eyes first. “This way if you experience lots of fallout, or even just mess up, the skin can still be easily cleaned,” she said. Jordyn began her work by outlining the eye with navy blue eyeliner, creating a line that started at the outer corner and ended just above the inner corner of the eye.
Jordyn noted that during this step, it is incredibly important to follow the natural anatomy of the eye. “Follow the natural curve of your crease—don’t try to give yourself more or less lid space,” she said. The eyeliner was then cleaned up by using moisturizer on a cotton swab.
Next, Jordyn used the Charlotte Tilbury Color Chameleon Black Diamond eye pencil and began filling in the outer edge of the eye with a black, sparkly eyeshadow that transitioned into a pearl shimmer towards the middle of the eyelid.
After the eyes were completed, Jordyn moved to the eyebrows. She started by brushing them upward using a clear brow gel, and defined the hairs with a brow pencil. This kept the face looking young, just as Swift was during this time. It also helped the open the eyes and not look too heavy and weigh downed on the face.
Next, was the skin. The MUA applied Charlotte Tilbury’s Airbrush Flawless Filter to the model’s skin. “This is a light coverage, radiant complexion booster that will keep the skin glowing all night,” Jordyn said. She then finished off the skin by applying a translucent finishing powder to the center of the face and a skin-toned finishing powder to the outside of the face.
After quickly applying mascaraand lashes, the makeup was sealed with a spritz of setting spray, and the look was ready to last through a night of singing and dancing.
Fearless
“Fearless” was Swift’s second album released in 2008 and later re-released in 2021. Swift was 18 years old and obsessed with writing about love, heartbreak and everything in between. Though this album still had a sense of youth in it, her music was bigger than ever before. During this era, Swift wore primarily golds, light pinks, bold eyeliner and of course a red lip.
Makeup artist Hakima Afiri of Sublime Glam created her “Fearless” inspired look onto model Sophie Jordan. Her look featured the iconic eyeliner, gold eyeshadow and glowing skin.
Here’s how to re-create this Era’s Tour makeup look:
Afiri began her look by prepping the skin, using Charlotte Tilbury’s Airbrush Flawless setting spray. She then coated the skin with full coverage, matte foundation and applied concealer to the under-eye area as well as the chin, forehead and jawline. Afiri then added dimension to the skin, adding contour under the cheekbones, along the forehead and under the jaw. She added more dimension by highlighting the nose and cheekbones, making sure the skin would shine under the stage lights.
The MUA then took a cool-toned brown eyeshadow and applied it evenly across the eyelid, and began working on the winged eyeliner. Using a simple black felt-tip liner, she lined the entirety of the eyelash line and flicked the liner away from the outer corner of the eye. She then lined the lower lash line and cleaned up any minor mistakes. The eye was finished with natural-looking false lashes and mascara.
Next, was the gold glitter really representing the “Fearless” era. Using loose gold glitter, the MUA sprayed her brush with setting spray and applied the glitter to the center of the eyelid. She then began adding the final touches to the look, using a finishing powder around the t-zone and corners of the nose and adding a pink-nude lip liner and gloss to the lips.
The look was finished with setting spray and ready to take on the night screaming, “You Belong With Me.”
Speak Now
Released in 2010 and re-released in 2023, “Speak Now” was Swift’s third album. During this time, Swift began dating and turning those occurrences into smash hits. It was about the highs and lows of Swift’s love life and beyond. Her purple themed album was filled with hints of pinks and lots of glitter.
Kyle Hamilton wanted to encapsulate this time in Swift’s life that was fun and flirty. To do this, Hamilton created an eccentric hot pink and purple eyeshadow look on model Mya Barron.
Here’s how to re-create this Era’s Tour makeup look:
Hamilton began by priming the eye to ensure the eyeshadow would pop and any fallout would be avoided. Then, he packed hot pink eyeshadow into the entire eyelid. This pink eyeshadow was then blended with a purple eyeshadow applied to the outer eye area.
Next, Hamilton went back in with the pink eyeshadow, blending it from the outer eyelid towards the temple of the eye. To create a better transition from the pink eyeshadow to the skin, Hamilton took a warmer blush and placed it over the eyeshadow, blending it into the rest of the face. “The blush will diffuse in the skin more than the eyeshadow, so it creates a smoother gradient look,” he said.
He then went back into the inner corner of the eye, using a purple Dazzleshadow from Mac to ensure the look reflects the colorful lights from the stage. “It also helps to add a lot of dimension,” Hamilton said.
The look was then finished with a pink-toned highlighter, mascara and a touch of lip gloss.
Red
“Red” was Taylor Swift’s fourth album, originally released in 2012 followed by “Taylor’s Version” in 2021. “Red” followed similar to themes to “Speak Now,” but told stories of serious relationships, growing older, accepting heartbreak and moving on. Though in her previous era she wore a red lip, during “Red,” it was more prevalent then ever before and would still be a Taylor Swift staple 10 years later.
Jordyn Arielle showed us how to recreate the Red album cover with a modern twist.
Here’s how to re-create this Era’s Tour makeup look:
Jordyn began by re-creating the base previously used in the debut makeup. Upon finishing the skin, Jordyn took a cool-toned brown contour shade and placed it evenly over the entire eye area. “By using a contour shade, the face will be more cohesive and the eye will be less abrasive against the bold lip,” she said. She then went in with a slightly darker brown and added dimension to the outer eye, blending through the crease. Jordyn moved back to the skin, adding more blush to ensure there was a sense of energy and blood flow under the makeup.
Next came the iconic red lip. Jordyn began by moisturizing the lips, then carefully covered them with Charlotte Tilbury’s Matte Revolution Red Carpet Red, a true-red lipstick, slightly over-lining the cupid’s bow.
Jordyn finished the look by adding a quick dusting of setting powder.
1989
Dedicated to the year that she was born, Swift’s next album was titled “1989.” It marked her transition from country to pop and was essentially a time in Swift’s life where she reinvented her herself. Her hair, style, humor and makeup took on a more vintage, airy look — a complete opposite to her bold, sparkly “Speak Now” and “Red” eras. As an adult, Swift mainted her classic cat eye and red lip but shifted to bolder 2014 looks.
Hakima Afiri of Sublime Glam displayed her take on Swift’s “1989” makeup look, creating a trendy, glamorous eye look on model Gabrian Strenge. One thing remained the same throughout this time — the red lip was just as apparent as ever.
Here’s how to re-create this Era’s Tour makeup look:
Afiri began by applying the base of the makeup the same way she did for the “Fearless” look. She then applied makeup to the eyebrows, using the Charlotte Tilbury Brow Fix gel.
She then began working on the eyes by coating the entire eyelid in a pink-nude eyeshadow color to achieve an even base. Then, Afiri used a cool-toned brown eyeshadow and began contouring the eyes, adding dimension along the crease and outer corner. She then placed a pearl-finish gold eyeshadow in the center of the eyelid and added a touch of eyeliner and mascara.
Next, the model’s lips were painted red using the Chanel “Daring Red” liquid lip color and lined with the matching lip liner.
The look was then set with a setting powder.
Reputation
“Reputation” was an era of both redemption and revenge for Taylor Swift. This era focused on Swift’s dislike for the media, paparazzi and expectations of the world. “Reputation” represented Swift’s decision that she didn’t care what the world thought of her anymore. It was a dark and heavy era for Swift and Kyle Hamilton embodied this era flawlessly on model Delanya Generi.
Here’s how to re-create this Era’s Tour makeup look:
Having finished the base of the makeup, Hamilton began by priming the eye with the Mac Painterly Paint Pot to give the eye an even base color, as well as a grip for the eyeshadow could stick to. Before moving on to the next step, he quickly covered this base with a setting powder to ensure it would not crease.
Then, Hamilton took a gel liner on a flat brush and began roughly sketching out a small wing, tracing along the lash line. “Nothing about this has to be precise, we will be blending it out later,” he said. He then took a small pencil brush and buffed out the wing, using small back and forth motions right along the line. Hamilton then repeated this process, this time using a black eyeshadow to help create a gradient between the harsh liner and the skin. This also helped to ensure that the eyeliner would not smudge or crease over time.
Next, to pay homage to the silver sequins Swift wore on her tour outfit, Hamilton took the Mac dazzleshadow liquid in the shade “Stars in My Eyes,” a metallic silver liquid eyeshadow, and placed this where the natural skin borders the black eyeliner, bringing it slightly upward to ensure it could be seen when the eyes were opened.
To complete the eye look, he then took a white gel liner on a small detail brush and created a small, thin wing underneath the black liner to add more dimension. After a touch of mascara and clear lip gloss, the look was finished.
Lover
The “Lover” era is the exact opposite of “Reputation “ and marked the first album owned by Swift. This era focused on falling in love and understanding those emotions. In this era, Swift was in a serious, long-term relationship that translated into her ever brilliant lyrics. “Lover” symbolized a celebration of finding that love, it was filled with pinks, sparkles and a returned sense of youth.
Arielle decided to focus on the glow that Swift experienced during this era.
Here’s how to re-create this Era’s Tour makeup look:
Using the same base makeup as seen during the debut era, Jordyn began by covering the eye with a cream nude eyeshadow to get rid of any discoloration on the eyelid. She then took a fluffy eyeshadow brush, dipped it in a cool-toned brown eyeshadow, and applied it along the crease of the eye. Next, she took the same fluffy brush and covered the entire eyelid with a light pink eyeshadow that was similar to the blush seen on the cheeks. Jordyn took a smaller, denser brush and took the same pink shade and packed it along the lower lash line of the eye. The eye look was completed by adding a pearl-finish gold eyeshadow in the center of the eye, eyeliner, and mascara.
Jordyn then finished the look by applying the Charlotte Tilbury Lip Lustre in the shade “Pillow Talk,” and followed suit with a mist of setting spray.
Folklore
“Folklore” was unlike any album Taylor Swift had released before and marked her change from Pop music to Folk. It focused on story telling whether it be about love which has been a common theme for Swift or hate and revenge — “Folklore” showed why Swift is one of the best lyricists of this generation. Folklore was released in July of 2020, a time where COVID-19 caused shutdowns across the world and everyone was stuck at home. This album explored feelings of depressing times but also held true to Swift’s roots as an artist.
Hakima Afiri of Sublime Glam took inspiration from the album cover and the almost lack of makeup look. This look featured glowing skin and a light pink and orange eye, a perfect way to make blue eyes pop.
Here’s how to re-create this Era’s Tour makeup look:
Afiri began by prepping the skin, using Charlotte Tilbury’s Magic Cream and then misting the face with the Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless setting spray. She then coated the skin in a light layer of complexion corrector, and added concealer to the under-eye area. Afiri set these products in place by using a finishing powder, ensuring they would not crease over time. She then added a very light layer of bronzer around the edges of the face and put a strong amount of blush just above the cheekbone and under the eyes. “We want the skin to still look like skin, just better. Because of this, we’re using more soft, glowy products,” she said.
Next, Afiri moved onto the eyes. She began by using a nude eyeshadow across the entire eyelid to cover any veins or discoloration on the eyelid. Then, she took a peachy-nude eyeshadow and began filling in the crease of the eye. She then took a dense brush and began packing a pink toned eyeshadow across the center of the lid, and blended it into the nude eyeshadow in the crease of the eye.
Following this, she took a smaller dense brush and began packing the pink eyeshadow along the lower lash line, making the eyes pop. Afiri then took a yellow-toned highlighter and placed it in the inner corner of the eye and along the inner upper lash line.
To finish off the look, the MUA highlighted the bridge of the nose, the cheekbones, and the brow bone. She lightly brushed through the eyebrows with a tinted brow gel and finished the look off with mascara and lip gloss.
Evermore
“Evermore,” released in December 2020 is the sister album of “Folklore.” It continues the stories of “Folklore” and provides new plotlines and hidden meanings. While “Folklore” undertones are darker and mystical, “Evermore” focuses on whimsical sounds and gallivanting in flower fields. It was meant to provide comfort and coziness in a time when the world was shut down.
The makeup look created by Hamilton was meant to display the escapism Swift created through her album.
Here’s how to re-create this Era’s Tour makeup look:
Hamilton began by taking the Danessa Myricks Color FX Cream Pigment in the shade “Whiteout” and began roughly sketching lines across the face. “You don’t need to be neat here,” he said. “You’re essentially drawing topography across the eye.” Hamilton continued drawing the lines, carefully ensuring that the lines were never grouped too closely to one another. He recommended that if you ever feel like you’re lines are no longer clean, dip back into the product. “Usually your work begins to look sloppy if there isn’t enough paint on the brush,” he said.
To finish the look, Hamilton applied a glitter highlight to the tops of the cheekbones. He used the Mac dazzleshadow liquid in the shade “diamond crumbles,” a liquid eyeshadow with hints of silver, white, purple and blue in it. By using a highlighter with multishades, the face would gains a significant amount of dimension, especially underneath the concert lights.
Midnights
“Midnights” is Taylor Swift’s most recent album, released in 2022. It explores what it’s like to know you’re losing your love for someone you have cared about for so long. “Midnights “discusses the highs of being single again and the lows of a serious relationship ending. This era is all about proving that you can still shine on your own.
Arielle took inspiration from the iconic “Bejeweled” music video and created a phenomenal gemstone-filled look on model Nathalie Dieme.
Here’s how to re-create this Era’s Tour makeup look:
Starting with the eyes, Jordyn applied a layer of a light nude eyeshadow across the entire eyelid to even out the base. Next, she used a fluffy brush and dusted black-blue eyeshadow across the outer corner of the eye and along the crease. She then used a pearl eyeshadow and placed it at the center of the eyelid, drawing attention back to the eye.
After a quick flick of eyeliner, it was time to apply the gems. Jordyn, with assistance from Afimi began gluing blue gems just above the eyelid, following the natural crease of the eye. She would pick up and place the gems using a pair of long tweezers for better precision and visibility. The process was then repeated, placing another layer under the previous line. Then, Jordyn finished the eye makeup by applying star gems on the upper outer corner of the eye.
Next, she moved on to eyebrows, filling them in with the Charlotte Tilbury Brow Cheat eyebrow pencil. The skin was then completed using the same process seen during the Red makeup look. Finally, the look was finished off with a layer of lip liner, lipstick and lip gloss.
If you’re interested in purchasing any Charlotte Tilbury products to create your Era’s Tour makeup, you can purchase them directly through Jordyn Arielle by messaging her on Instagram or visiting her at the Charlotte Tilbury counter at Nordstrom in Cherry Creek.
Book any of these makeup artists to do your Era’s Tour makeup by contacting them through their Instagram accounts.
All photos by Elyssa Gleeson