Sydney Sweeney's Metallic Makeup Elevated Her Euphoria Look
It’s giving Cassie Howard sans the self-destructive spiral.
It seems like only yesterday that Euphoria’s makeup lead Donni Davy served up glitter-bombed look after sparkle-spangled serve on the faces of your fave emotionally-wrecked teens for Season 2. Since the show ended, fans have pondered what to do about the *lewk*-shaped holes in their hearts once filled by the liner and lashes of Cassie, Maddy, and Jules on a weekly basis. At long last, the time for pondering has passed thanks to Sydney Sweeney’s metallic makeup at the 2022 GQ Men of the Year Awards. The double-winged metallic eyeliner featured in Sweeney’s makeup was an elevated take on her Euphoria look circa Cassie’s Nate-based downward spiral.
Not only is the homage nearly unmistakable — seriously, it’ll give you goosebumps — but there’s an additional layer of meaning to be found in this glam. After watching Cassie completely self-destruct, it’s more than a little cathartic to see Sweeney separate herself from Cassie in a powerful way, even if it’s just eyeliner. (It’s never just eyeliner, y’all.) Spoilers for Euphoria Season 2 are kind of ahead, but mostly it’s just glorious metallic makeup that’ll have you feeling nostalgic for East Highland High School and eager to grab an eyeliner brush to try out Sweeney’s updated Cassie look ASAP.
A major plot point in Euphoria Season 2 was the Cassie-Maddy-Nate (tainted) love triangle. During a weeks-long downward spiral, Cassie started dressing and doing her makeup similarly to her ex-bestie, and Nate’s ex, Maddy. Her makeup at this time replicated Maddy’s elongated winged liner looks in shades of silver and white, a nod to the purity she represented to Nate.
Was the glam a major slay? Absolutely, but it was also heartbreaking to watch a teenage girl break herself down and reshape herself to better meet her abusive boyfriend’s love object requirements.
Thankfully, at the GQ Men of the Year Awards held in London on Wednesday, Nov. 16, Sweeney’s makeup looked like a definite callback to Cassie’s silvery Season 2 glam, minus the trauma. In fact, the White Lotus actor’s entire vibe was empowered AF, from the poses she struck on the carpet to the literal armor she wore.
In addition to her silver winged eyeliner, Sweeney’s eyes were also rimmed in black, a color that you rarely caught on Cassie during Euphoria. The look, created by celebrity makeup artist Melissa Hernandez, elevated Cassie’s doomed glam to levels of elite warrior queen. One can only hope that Cassie’s future looks something like this exquisitely updated take on her silvery Season 2 makeup: powerful, sharp, and bossed up.
