'In my mind I don’t think I’m famous!' gushes a humble Emilia Jones down the phone to ELLE UK. We caught up with the British actor to talk through her beauty look for this year's BAFTA Awards for which the singer, songwriter and actor was a pretty key part considering her Best Actress nomination. Having strolled down red carpets decked out in every fashion house from Louis Vuitton to Givenchy, with a dash of Chanel thrown in for good luck, to promote her starring role in the critically acclaimed CODA, and a lead part in the internet's most anticipated movie adaptation, Cat Person, slated for 2022, it's safe to say, Emilia Jones is most definitely famous. 'I’m just super excited that real life events are back and I finally get a chance to dress up and try different things. I love fashion, hair and make-up so much - I’m just happy I get the chance to play around now.'
For those who haven't been lucky enough to catch the 20-year-old on the silver screen, you might recognise her surname, or perhaps you'll have heard her sing with a familiar Welsh lilt. With Aled Jones for a father it's no surprise that the once child star has been acting and singing since she was just 10 years old. Take a closer look at Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and you'll spy a mini Emilia. Safe to say, Jones' star hasn't stopped rising since then.
As the multi-hyphenate prepped for her biggest awards moment yet, we chatted to Emilia about the dangers of Instagram filters, embracing adult acne on set, and why she's a little bit in love with Elle Fanning...
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What role does make-up play in your day-to-day life?
'Make-up and beauty have been parts of my life for a long time - I’ve been acting since a very young age but also my grandma and my mum always wore make-up so I grew up looking at them and finding out what lipstick or eyeshadow they were wearing. Then, when I got into film, I was able to try more 'beauty' make-up, but also the gorier kind with prosthetics as well.
'I think make-up is such a good way to express your personality, especially on the red carpet. It’s so fun thinking about what outfit I’m wearing and what my hair is doing, and working out what make-up to wear with that. It’s a nice contrast to when I was shooting CODA and I had fish guts on my face!'
Who do you look to as a beauty icon?
'I love how adventurous Elle Fanning is. She has such an amazing warm personality and she expresses that through her clothes and make-up and hair. I met her at the SAG Awards and we talked about fashion for a long time. I like that she’s brave and always tries different things - her look is never the same. Although, when you find a look that works, you just want to do that every single time, and that works too! Sometimes make-up wise I’m quite boring, I love a gold smokey eye every time.
'I love Zoë Kravitz as well - I've watched the video of her skincare routine so many times. I just think she’s the most gorgeous woman and has the most amazing skin. She’s very, very beautiful, but there’s so many people who are. I remember being at the SAG Awards on the red carpet and seeing everyone and thinking “Everyone here is very, very good looking.”'
What's the best beauty advice you've received?
'While I was filming CODA I was under quite a lot of pressure so I was a bit stressed and I had this acne break out. I was so worried about it but the make-up artist just said, “You know what? We should enhance it. You’re playing a teenager.” She told me not to be shy about it and it made me more confident. It made me not want to cover it up or wear make-up on it everyday and I love that.
'When you’re young it’s hard not to get caught up in wanting to look perfect and have flawless skin, but that’s not always reality. It taught me that the things that aren’t perfect, aren’t necessarily flaws. You should embrace your features whether they’re considered good or bad.'
What do you think Gen Z have got right when it comes to beauty?
'For better or worse, Gen Z’s approach to beauty is so dictated by social media - it’s so present. I think it’s not a good thing that teenagers are looking on Instagram and seeing all these filtered and airbrushed images that aren’t real. But, at the same time, for beauty it’s a great way to discover new products or routines. I’ve found some great beauty products from watching videos online and Instagram can be good too. When you find someone who’s posted about a product saying “Listen this isn’t an ad or anything, I’ve been using this product and it’s really helped me”, that can actually be really useful.'
Talk us through your BAFTA beauty look...
'My dress is custom made Versace. I’m such a big Versace fan so I feel so lucky. They sent over sketches of the dress and they did the most phenomenal job. It sounds so cliché but the first time I tried it on I felt like a princess. I want the dress to do the talking so for make-up I’m gonna go for a nude lip, kind of the colour of my lips naturally, and then my favourite gold smokey eye. I’m just so excited, I’ve never been to the BAFTAs in person so I’m so excited to be a part of it. I can’t believe it.'
What's your favourite part of getting ready for a red carpet?
'I love the getting ready process. I’m quite easy going so I’m fine sitting in the make-up chair for however long we need. I think having prosthetics applied for hours on set has trained me well! I’ll just do some Instagram scrolling and put on some music. I always have music playing no matter what I’m doing. At the moment I’m getting back into The 1975 and I love songwriters like Holly Humberstone and Gracie Abrams - their lyrics are so great. I love lyrics when they’re not too on the nose.'
What's your one red carpet beauty essential?
'I have quite a big beauty stash. Make-up wise I have the products that I really like to use and I just don’t change them. I’ve got a gold eyeshadow stick that I love and I also like using one product for loads of things, so I'll use a pink lipstick as a blusher as well. I would say my "ride or die" product is blotting sheets. I always have them in my bag on the red carpet. They’re a game changer for sure.'
Get Emilia's Smokey Gold Beauty Look
'I wanted to create a look that really complemented the gorgeous gold Versace dress without overpowering it, which is why I left her skin radiant, dewy and glowy so her eyes would pop,' make-up artist Misha Shahzada told ELLE UK.
'I wanted to give Emilia a sultry smoky eye with a hint of gold to complement the dress, so I decided to go with a brown and black smokey eye combination with gold in the centre of the lid.'
Read on for Misha's top tips and beauty essentials for achieving Emilia's molten BAFTA beauty look...
Shop Emilia's BAFTA Beauty Look
Lancôme Drama Liquid Pencil Eyeliner Waterproof in 02 French Chocolate
'I started with the Lancôme Drama Liquid Pencil Eyeliner Waterproof in #02 French Chocolate which I lined all over her eyelid and buffed it out to create an eyeshadow effect.'
'Then I used the Lancôme Hypnôse Eyeshadow Palette in #17 Bronze Absolu. I used the centre colour (the really beautiful bronzy gold shade) on her eyelid and then blended all the colours together.'
'For her lower lash line I used the Lancôme Drama Liquid Pencil Eyeliner Waterproof in #04 Leading Lights which was not too dark but not too light and I rimmed her water line as well as her lash line before finishing her lashes with Lancôme Hypnôse Drama Mascara.'
'For her lips I used the Lancôme Absolue Lip Balm and the Lancôme Le Lip Liner in #224 Ideal which I used as a lipstick to fill in her entire lip.'
Lancôme are the Official Beauty Partner of BAFTA
Photography: Iona Wolff | Make-Up: Misha Shahzada | Hair: Carlos Ferraz | Dress: Versace | Stylist: Ryan Hastings
George Driver was the former Senior Beauty Editor - Digital at ELLE UK.
