Beyoncé
Beyoncé's come a long way since her single lady days, but she'll always be an independent woman: from metallic Minx nails to pumped-up tresses, her beauty looks are glamorous and bold. "She has great taste, and is involved in every aspect of her image and branding," says her longtime hairstylist, Kim Kimble. Of the singer's memorable Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It) phase, Kimble says it was "all about female power—very Sasha Fierce. The hair had an androgynous quality to it and was a mix of feminine and masculine, long and straight in the back with a pompadour at the front."
Adele
The talented British songstress has it all, including a pretty fantastic cat-eye. "Adele has always loved liner and a lash," reveals Michael Ashton, her hair and makeup guru. "Eyeliner has been the focus of her makeup ever since we started working together five years ago—her beautiful almond-shaped eyes can carry any look, but I think a classic cat-eye is simple and striking." As for Adele's transition from bangs and low ponytails to va-va-voom volume, Ashton calls it an organic evolution: "Her latest hairstyle is a nod to the golden era of Hollywood, elegant and timeless."
Rihanna
"She's fearless, and that's an amazing quality," says Motions' Ursula Stephen, Rihanna's longtime hairstylist. She and the ELLE cover star first met in 2006, when Rihanna sought her help in overturning her girl-next-door image. The result: A jet-black asymmetrical bob. After that, the two have been inseparable—and hard at work, developing new colors, cuts, and styles at every turn. "Her hair has become her most expressive tool and inspires everything from her sense of style to her performances. She doesn't take herself too seriously so we get to have fun without any weird boundaries," says Stephen, who adds with a laugh, "Though sometimes I will ask, `Are you sure?'"
Debbie Harry
As the frontwoman of an all-male rock band, the Blondie star set the stage for future female rockers—and continues to mesmerize audiences with her bleach-blond shag and smoldering eye makeup. "She has an aura of coolness and amazing bone structure, which are perfect complements to her voice," says makeup artist Kabuki, who's worked with Harry. For cheekbones like Harry's, the Myface Cosmetics artistic director recommends using M.A.C powder sculpting blush to lift and enhance. As for her famous smoky eyes, he says to "contour above the lid, keeping the shadow light, but use lots of smoky liner around the upper and lower lash lines."
Gwen Stefani
Stefani's imaginative hairstyles and exquisite makeup are nearly as impressive as her musical chops. "We just look at creating looks as a way to spend more time together—we've known each other for so long that it's a lot of fun," says Danilo, Stefani's coiffeur. Though he says the two of them like to keep things fresh, he admits Stefani is partial to a pompadour: "I've done quite a few of them, but I've done them a million different ways. We're always playing and trying out new ideas." Stefani is also adventurous in her makeup choices but, as with her hairstyles, she plays favorites. Dramatically lined eyelids paired with either a red or nude lip is a standby: "I don't always do red but my husband [Gavin Rossdale] really likes it so I'll probably have to keep wearing that color if I want to keep the marriage going," she once joked.
Katy Perry
Musically, she's achieved top honors, becoming only the second artist in the 53-year history of the Billboard Hot 100 chart to have five number-one singles from the same album (Michael Jackson was the first). Beauty-wise, Perry also stands out from the rest, rocking what seems like a different hair color each month—and never using the same lipstick twice. "I don't think we've ever done a makeup look more than once and we probably never will, but she'll always love lashes, liquid liner, and a bright lip," says her longtime makeup artist, Jake Bailey. "In the beginning that was all we did, but she's started exploring more sophisticated palettes, pairing smoky eyes with nude lips. She's also gotten experimental, trying out multicolored glitters and liners."
Bianca Jagger
She was married to rock royalty and a regular at the legendary Studio 54—and her innate beauty and fashion sense were admired by the likes of Halston, Yves Saint Laurent, and Andy Warhol. "Bianca encapsulated the look of the '70s, when women were super-sexy yet understated in how they presented themselves; she's a strong, educated woman and has always known how to enhance her features in a way that's not overly made-up," says Ashton, her makeup artist. He says Jagger's eyes captivate him most: "Using a smudge of eye kohl and a little mascara teamed with soft, filled-in brows is my favorite way to accentuate them."
Jennifer Lopez
She's still Jenny from the block—and she's still exuding unbelievably glowing skin. Sure, she also favors a flawless smoky eye and perfectly highlighted tresses. But thanks to makeup maestro Scott Barnes, Lopez's golden complexion is a constant. "She has such a beautiful light about her and I just want the whole world to see what I see," says Barnes. "I use light to contour, which is the reverse of what most makeup artists do. Using lighter foundations with a lot of luminosity imparts glow to the skin."
Lady Gaga
Gaga is known for her flamboyant fashion creations, but her beauty choices are similarly inspired. Of course, she often wears face-obscuring sunglasses. But don't be fooled, says her makeup artist, Billy B: "We always do a dramatic eye and full set of lashes behind her shades—she believes that when you're creating a character, you don't cut corners. That's just how she's wired, and that's why she looks like she's walking down a runway when she's going through Heathrow airport. It's not that she's a vain person—she'd choose a great performance over glamour any day. But she tells me her fans deserve that image. Everything she does is for them."
Nicki Minaj
Combine her infectious hooks and rapid-fire raps with her affinity for cartoonish wigs and Day-Glo makeup, and Minaj has brightened the musical landscape in more ways than one. "I have an amazing hairdresser [Terrence Davidson]," she tells ELLE. "I could literally tell him to put a jukebox on my head, and he would figure it out." Besides customized wigs, Minaj says eye makeup is the most time-intensive part of her beauty routine (bright shadow, thick eyeliner, and false lashes are essential). Not surprisingly, however, the Pink Friday artist says pink lipstick is the one thing she can't go without. "If there was no more pink lipstick in the world, I'd be useless. Seriously," she says.
Cher
Cher wore glitzy costumes, dramatic eye makeup, and statement hair throughout the '70s and '80s. But it was her appearance in 1989's If I Could Turn Back Time that truly cemented her beauty icon status. To compensate for her famously revealing one-piece, Cher's longtime hair guru, Serena Radaelli, crafted a larger-than-life wig for the music video. "I figured if she wasn't going to wear much clothing she could wear more hair, so I styled a wig with lots of height and curl," she laughs. At MTV's 2010 Video Music Awards, Cher wore her itty-bitty getup again—this time to present Lady Gaga with a Video of the Year award. And she wore a wig that exceeded the size of the original. "Cher wanted the wig even bigger, and I said, `If you make it any bigger, Lady Gaga will disappear!'" recalls Radaelli. "I have so much fun with her, and over the years I've realized what an amazing woman she is. She's fearless."
