There is no red carpet that Lizzo doesn't dominate, and that includes the Video Music Awards. Lizzo's 2019 MTV VMA outfit was a retro throwback that channeled the red carpet of the '70s. The artist wore a sequined Moschino dress with the word "siren" stamped across it in a repeating pattern. Lizzo accented the look with a red feather boa, and a diamond choker.
While her outfit was stunning, Lizzo's beauty look was just as iconic. Lizzo had been in the glam seat since 10:30 in the morning, so it's no shocker that she looked flawless. But Lizzo's hair was the real star of the show. Celebrity stylist and Lizzo's long-time hairdresser, Shelby Swain, was the mastermind behind the style. The inspiration behind the beehive up-do was to balance out the artist's form-fitting look. "Her outfit that she's wearing is super sleek and form-fitting. It's super sexy. So we were like, why not try something different," Swain tells Bustle. The messy up-do was an intended contrast to her red carpet outfit.
Swain shares that she used Dove's new Care Between Washes line for the entire look, so you can easily recreate it at home. The Dove collection is specifically crafted to help women care for their hair on non-wash days.
Since Lizzo's hair had a lot of height and there was a lot of teasing involved, Swain went for volumizing products. Once Swain washed Lizzo's hair, she blow dried it and then used Care Between Washes Dry Shampoo to give the hair more fullness, and then blow dried it once again.
In order to create Lizzo's massive bangs, Swain curled her fringe. "I heat protected it, curled it, and then let the curl sit for 20 minutes," she says. "And that's when I created and folded her hair into the shape of the up-do."
Swain then finished off the look with Dove Style+Care Flexible Hold Hairspray. All in all, Lizzo's fabulous hair look came at a drugstore price, meaning you won't have to break the bank in order to recreate it. There was no $40 hairspray here. And that was exactly Swain's goal.
"At the end of the day the average person — it's not that they can't afford it — but why would they?" Swain says. "Why would they want to pay $40 when they can pay $5 for the same exact look?"
Lizzo was nominated for four awards, including Best New Artist and Best Power Anthem. Lizzo was also slated to perform at the VMAs, and will be part of the main show singing "Juice."
During Lizzo's performance at the VMAs, she donned a multi-color trench coat with slight Renaissance vibes. The coat had khaki and white panels, along with a pink sleeve and collar. The Renaissance touch came in the girdle ties on the sides.
Then Lizzo took off the trench to reveal a sunny yellow leotard underneath, along with yellow combat boots.
Lizzo's playful red carpet outfit is no surprise to fans, especially when you look back at her previous awards ceremony looks. At the 2019 BET Awards, Lizzo wore an '80s inspired outfit that mimicked hardwood flooring. The mini dress was asymmetrical and rode high up on one thigh. It was balanced with long sleeves, but the shoulders had dramatic Dynasty-era puffs. To complement her cropped gown, Swain created an up-do for Lizzo that was accented with a giant saucer fascinator — which was completely created by hair and crafted by Swain herself.
"That was completely made out of hair that I molded and hand painted myself wood-grain. I worked on that until two in the morning!" Swain says.
Then for Lizzo's 2019 MTV Movie & TV Awards outfit, her red carpet look was just as eye-catching. Lizzo wore a bright lime-green ruched dress created by 24-year-old black designer Christopher John Rogers. The dress was complemented with long sleeves, and the top was outlined with a feather boa neckline that Elle Woods would be proud of. Lizzo cinched the look with Gucci Flashtrek sneakers that had detachable crystal chains.
When makeup artist Alexx Mayo saw Lizzo's outfit, he knew he "wanted to play with a monochromatic feel and go bright and neon," according to E! News. Mayo used a combination of Huda Beauty's neon green pallet and Make Up For Ever mint green shadow on Lizzo's lids. But to give that pop of green color on the bottom, Mayo used Danessa Myricks Kandy Apple liner.
No matter what red carpet Lizzo walks on, she completely dominates.
