Zendaya’s ‘No-Makeup’ Makeup at The Odyssey New York Premiere

Zendaya arrived at the New York premiere of The Odyssey with a face that did almost too good a job of looking like it wasn’t wearing any makeup at all – which, of course, was exactly the point.

The look was created by celebrity makeup artist Ernesto Casillas, who has been behind Zendaya’s beauty looks throughout The Odyssey press tour, using products from Prada Beauty.

The brief was simple on paper and much harder to execute in practice: fresh, luminous, sun-kissed skin, with everything else stripped back. Rather than building colour and contour in the traditional sense, Casillas focused on skin quality first, then placed warmth only where the sun would naturally hit—across the cheeks, the bridge of the nose and the tops of the cheekbones—so the glow reads as lived-in rather than applied.

It’s a continuation of the skin-first approach Casillas has favoured throughout this tour, and a reminder that a “no-makeup” look is often the most technically demanding to create.

Here’s exactly what went into it.

That radiant finish began with Prada Beauty’s skincare ritual. Casillas prepped Zendaya’s complexion using Augmented Skin Essence, Augmented Skin Cream and Augmented Skin Eye Cream, creating a hydrated canvas before applying makeup.

To enhance rather than mask her complexion, he used Reveal Skin Optimizing Foundation in NW45, followed by Blurring + Micro Correcting Concealer in LC3 only where needed, allowing her natural skin to remain visible.

Warmth came from layering Touch Cream to Powder Blush in Caffè and Cherry, softly mimicking the flush created by time spent in the sun. The look was completed with Prada Balm in Astral Pink, while Prada Balm in Universal added subtle radiance to the high points of the face.

The formula here is worth noting: a hydrating, skin-first prep stage, a foundation designed to optimise rather than mask, and a concealer that corrects while softly blurring before colour is even introduced. The blush and lip balm are the only true makeup moments in the entire look, and both lean towards warmth rather than strong pigment, which is why the finished effect reads more like naturally beautiful skin than a full face of makeup.

For anyone trying to recreate it at home, the lesson isn’t really about the products – it’s about the order of application. Skin prep does the heavy lifting; colour simply finishes the job.

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