Team WIMH loves awards season, and last night was the eagerly-anticipated red carpet event of the year. We laid in wait (quite literally – I mean, it was late!), for the stars to bring their A-game to Tinseltown’s most exclusive ball. Predictably, there were too many belles to show them all but we’ve picked our favourites from the most popular themes of the night.

The Classic

Nothing says Hollywood glamour like the classic red lip. Groomed hair and a subtle eye are a must, but these starlets worked their variations on The Classic with different textures, hair and attitude.

The nominees are…

Milla Jovovich, Angelina Jolie and Rooney Mara

• Milla paired her glossy crimson lip with a modern sheen and loose, glamourous waves. This is the second time this awards season that Angelina has eschewed the matte red lip – as if her lips weren’t juicy enough! – and this is a trend we’re on board with, if we can pull it off half as well as Angie.
• Angelina‘s version was by far the most inkeeping with old Hollywood beauty. Her whole look, comprising sculpted waves, powdered skin and a precise scarlet lip, evoked a 50s-siren glamour reminiscent of Ava Gardner.
• The Oscar goes to…
  We’d expect nothing less than edgy from Rooney and she delivered it in her signature ‘china doll’ style. Her severe fringe was softened by the pretty, almost-smokey eye she does so well (it’s all in the lashes), her matte skin had just the right amount of iridescence and her velvet red lip highlighted her adorable cupid’s bow to perfection. Note she’s achieved matte, flawless skin without looking ashy – to do full-coverage this well, it’s important to find a perfect colour-match so invest time and money in finding the right foundation for you.

Pretty in Pink

We love it when we see seasonal colour on the red carpet, and some of our favourite girls had a veritable Spring in their step in various shades of perky pink.

The nominees are…

Michelle Williams, Cameron Diaz and Emma Stone

• The barely-there foundation and glossy rose lip as seen on Michelle is the look for SS12 – little surprise it was courtesy of Chanel, who set the tone for this season’s fresh-faced beauty. Her pixie cut really dials up the cute, but this would look equally pretty with a roughed-up braid.
• Cameron must be the girliest tomboy there ever was, and we’re endlessly envious of her ability to look as good in a column gown and a shimmery pink lip as she does in a pair of cutoffs and a fedora. We love the subtle definition of brown eyeliner and her just-pinched cheeks.
• The Oscar goes to…
  Emma always brings a trademark twist to the red carpet, and we’re infatuated with her pink eye makeup in a sea of nude and smokey eyes. This can be a hard look to pull off so prettily, so take Emma’s lead and pair a pale pink shadow with a slick of eyeliner, and don’t overload the rest of the face with colour – Emma did it just right with very muted pinks on her lips and cheeks and a fresh, non-matte complexion. As well as the unexpected colour on Emma’s eyes, we’re also taken with that achingly-perfect feline flick that extends the shape of her already-wide eyes.

Going for Gold

It might seem like an obvious choice for an awards ceremony, but gold never gets old and is popular with good reason. As well as adding polish and an expensive glamour, gold’s flattering warmth suits everybody – but bear in mind, less is more.

The nominees are…

Jennifer Lopez, Gwyneth Paltrow and Stacy Keibler

• Few people do buffed gold skin better than Jennifer. Her key to making this look polished and pulled-together lies in perfect contouring and highlighting, a bold-but-soft brow, and a strong, well-defined eye. Jennifer loves a nude lip, and here it looks like she’s knocked the colour out with foundation or concealer and glossed for an expensive high-shine.
• In recent years, Gwyneth seems to have fully-embraced her California girl roots and her preferred golden beauty complements her light tan perfectly. The best part of her look is her cheeks – sculpted with bronzer blended outwards from the apples and highlighter applied to the tops of her cheekbones so the light catches it beautifully.
• The Oscar goes to…
  Stacy has been a surprise winner on this season’s red carpets. Evidently being a former pro-wrestler has done nothing to diminish her femininity, and she was our favourite Oscars golden girl. What we love most about Stacy’s look is that she hasn’t shied away from colour – rather than letting gold take centre stage, like Jennifer and Gwyneth did, she accessorised with it. With her dusty rose lips and cheeks (look out for this colour – big next season!), the gold on her face errs on just the right side of shimmer to complement her fluid Marchesa gown without leaving her looking like an ingot. Got to love a girl who makes George Clooney look like her arm candy rather than the other way around!

Honourable Mention

This awards season, we’ve become huge fans of the incredibly talented and beautiful Viola Davis as something of a red carpet icon. She always looks stunningly powerful-yet-feminine in jewel tones, glowing skin and perfectly styled hair, but at the Oscars she blew us away completely. Viola looked her fiercest yet in a killer emerald green gown with natural, close-cropped red hair, unbelievably radiant skin and green smokey eyes a la Jason Wu AW12. She may not have won an Oscar but as far as we’re concerned, she was one of the biggest winners of the night.