Meet The Makeup Artist Behind Dakota Johnson’s Sexiest On-Screen Beauty Looks
TSS Creative
Emma Strachman
Beauty
TSS Creative
Emma Strachman
From “The Materialists” to “Verity,” Emma Strachman has transformed Dakota Johnson into some of her most memorable on-screen characters. Learn the MUA’s favorite products and, beauty secrets, honed on her many celebrity clients.
Admirers of Dakota Johnson’s sultry glam may be surprised to learn that her go-to on-set makeup artist, Emma Strachman, didn’t grow up dreaming of a career in beauty—or even particularly interested in makeup. Strachman’s path to Hollywood instead grew out of a passion for traditional studio art. In college, Strachman studied cinema and photography while exploring disciplines like painting and sculpture that would ultimately shape her approach to makeup years later. “Makeup artistry is understanding sculpture and painting and how it moves through the world,” Strachman says, comparing the face to a 3D canvas. As the makeup artist gears up for the release of her latest collaboration with Johnson, an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s pulpy thriller “Verity,” she sat down with The Set Set to share the secrets behind creating Johnson’s sexy on-screen looks.
Strachman met Johnson through a friend's recommendation and describes their relationship as one built upon “great collaboration and trust and play and freedom and expression.” The duo has collaborated on projects like “Daddio,” “The Materialists,” “Madame Web,” and Johnson’s latest film “Verity.” Strachman enjoys the challenge of shifting Johnson into many different roles. “It's like I'm working on a painting that's never finished,” Strachman says. “I've gotten better at diverting, changing plan, fixing it,” Strachman says, likening the process of putting on makeup to catching a wave. “You really have to be ready when the wave comes from all your preparation and just let go once you hit it. That is the performance of it all.”
Emma Strachman in front of her mood boards for Dakota Johnson.
Tomas Talamantes.
While Strachman has worked with Johnson long enough to know what works for her, when faced with a new client she encourages them to pick a focal point. “Find what your favorite feature is and highlight it… I mean, not literally,” Strachman laughs. “But whatever you love, show it.” For Johnson, that feature is her eyes. Strachman believes in using makeup as a tool to “feel like yourself,” rather than hide under the illusion of someone else. “There's no rules, it's whatever makes you feel the most confident because then you go out in the world and you have your best foot forward. That is beauty.”
Strachman’s Guide to Skin that Looks like Skin
Dakota Johnson in "Materialists"
Atsushi Nishijima/A24
“A lot of people ask me about foundation and skin; I think that's why people hire me,” Strachman says. “But I think that [foundation] is the most important thing to makeup because once your skin is set, you can decide what you want to focus on after that.” Rather than apply a full face of foundation, Strachman uses lighter products like concealer and color correctors where she deems fit and prefers to let the skin show more through. One of her trade secrets is the NARS Light Reflecting Eye Brightener. “It also adds a little luminosity and then has a light coverage. So not only does it help bounce light and color correct, but it acts as like a primer,” Strachman shares. The product also functions as an alternative to heavy concealer.
Shop Strachman’s Skin Regime
Armani Beauty Luminous Silk Natural Glow Blurring Liquid Foundation with 24 Hour Wear
Sephora
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For such a light and natural final look, Strachman’s approach to face makeup is both product and technique intensive. Rather than applying concealer and foundation in a single pass, she revisits the skin throughout her makeup process, layering and refining coverage where needed. “I'm not going to finish doing your skin until I've gone back three more times because I work in light layers, like watercoloring and building,” Strachman says. “it's really important for me to find harmony in what I'm doing and make sure that all of the pieces feel balanced. I can't do that when I'm just doing a ton of makeup on an eye and moving on. It has to pinball around.”
What Brands are in Strachman’s Kit?
While Strachman is a proponent of contemporary lines like Kosas and Westmen Atelier—a line she reveres for its color selection, performance, and duality—staple brands like MAC Cosmetics and Urban Decay always have a home in her kit. The makeup artist likes to go to different brands for different things. “MAC has great lip pencils and eyeshadow formulas, whereas Kosas makes a powder that is “lauded as the tinted moisturizer of powders,” Strachman shares. “Never got more compliments on my skin. It is doing exactly what it should be doing and nothing more.”
While product colors and formulas are important, Strachman emphasizes the importance of knowing how to use and “manipulate” them to suit personal needs. She rarely uses a product straight away without working it with her hands and body heat. “I love to kind of warm it up on my hand,” she says. She often veers away from applying pencils directly onto the face, drawing the product on her hand and then going in with a brush. When she elects to use a brush, she sees it as an extension of her hand. Of course, in a pinch, Strachman is more than happy to go in with her fingers. “There's a lot of ways to do the art.”
