Emma Chamberlain Reveals the ‘Underrated’ Eye-Shadow Trick for Her Signature Makeup Look

By Jenny BergDirected by Gabrielle Reich

April 22, 2025

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Things have gotten a little spooky since Emma Chamberlain last shared her Beauty Secrets with Vogue. Now 23 years old, the Met Gala special-correspondent extraordinaire has found that she likes her makeup with a dash of dark side—and eerie red eye shadow is always a good place to start.

After completing her Biologique Recherche–heavy skin-care regime, the YouTube phenomenon primes her lids with Milk Makeup Hydro Grip Eye Primer—a product that has really stuck with her since she discovered what a little primer can do. “I’d been doing eye-shadow looks with no base, and it was kind of a problem,” Chamberlain says. “My eye-shadow looks weren’t sticking. [That’s when I realized] maybe I need to buy a primer! Maybe that’s why they sell primer.”

Primer intact, the California native dips her brush into a couple of smoky shades from her Makeup by Mario palette. “Underrated eye-shadow color—gray,” she declares. But that’s not the only hue Chamberlain will use on her eyes today. Reaching for Natasha Denona’s Mini Bronze Eyeshadow Palette, the newly shorn blonde declares: “I’m going to be using the red and the red [eye shadows]. I love red eye shadow [and red] eyeliner.”

Chamberlain first discovered her predilection for red-rimmed eyes as she was getting gussied up for an Acne Studios event. “I was talking to the makeup artist, and I was like, ‘Let’s do something kinda spooky vibes, and she was like, ‘Let’s do a little red,’ she says. “I was like, ‘Say no more! I’ve been waiting for this moment.’ I’ve been subtly integrating it into my own routine ever since.”

After working the ruby-tinged shadows into her creases and bottom lash lines, the forthcoming Forbidden Fruits actor polishes up the look with concealer, foundation, and a bit of contour—hold the blush, please. “Blush is so in right now, and it’s just not for me,” Chamberlain says. “It’s too sweet for me. I like to look a bit creepier, perhaps.” For Chamberlain, creepy equals nuanced, and that’s just the vibe she’s after.

“My perspective on beauty has shifted a lot,” she says. “I’m personally less concerned about looking conventionally attractive, and I’m far more interested in looking sort of interesting.”

Shop Emma Chamberlain’s routine below.