“The streets ain’t made for everyone, that’s why they made sidewalks,” Empire’s queen Cookie Lyon, played by Taraji P. Henson, expounded on the show’s second episode when it first aired in 2015. And just like that, the Hidden Figures actress, 46, had Us hooked on her inimitable sense of style (and as you’ll read, it is a far cry from her TV alter ego’s garish sensibility). Stylish takes a look back at the fashionista’s fiercest hair and makeup looks.
Beauty of the Day: 5 Secrets of Taraji P. Henson’s Style
“The streets ain’t made for everyone, that’s why they made sidewalks,” Empire’s queen Cookie Lyon, played by Taraji P. Henson, expounded on the show’s second episode when it first aired in 2015. And just like that, the Hidden Figures actress, 46, had Us hooked on her inimitable sense of style (and as you’ll read, it is a far cry from her TV alter ego’s garish sensibility). Stylish takes a look back at the fashionista's fiercest hair and makeup looks.
“The streets ain’t made for everyone, that’s why they made sidewalks,” Empire’s queen Cookie Lyon, played by Taraji P. Henson, expounded on the show’s second episode when it first aired in 2015. And just like that, the Hidden Figures actress, 46, had Us hooked on her inimitable sense of style (and as you’ll read, it is a far cry from her TV alter ego’s garish sensibility). Stylish takes a look back at the fashionista's fiercest hair and makeup looks.
With a textured chin-length crop and caramel swirls, Henson expertly mixes her edgy cut with sweet sophistication (just look at the ultra-feminine Giambattista Valli gown she wore to the Film Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica on February 25, 2017). Hairstylist Tymothe Wallace touched up her tousled waves with Dove haircare products, while makeup artist Mehae Kim affixed Lash Affair by J Paris extensions to the tips of eyelashes.
The mom of 22-year-old son Marcel doesn’t shy away from experimenting with hairstyles like the structured topknot she rocked at the NAACP Image Awards in Pasadena, California, on February 11, 2017. At home, she says she relies on “a tea tree cleansing shampoo and a good leave-in conditioner to protect it from heat,” and religiously wraps her hair every night before going to bed.
For the Screen Actor Guild Awards in L.A. on January 29, 2017, makeup artist Ashunta Sheriff complemented the star’s sheer Reem Acra dress with Anastasia Beverly Hills' Glow Kit, Damone Roberts' Minx Brow Pencil and Browgel, Maybelline's Creme Blush Stick, Cozzette eyeshadow and MAC's Mauve Lipliner and Lipglass. Jokes Henson: “I try to stay as far away from Cookie as possible when I’m on the red carpet. I like to be Taraji. I have enough of Cookie."
The day before her 46th birthday, she dressed up in Yves Saint Laurent for the Hidden Figures premiere at the Toronto Film Festival on September 10, 2016. Mane man Tymothe Wallace flat-ironed her newly blonde strands stick-straight and pro Ashunta Sheriff painted her pout purple.
Henson (in Alexander Wang at an event in West Hollywood November 15, 2015) says, “I have so much of his s—t in my closet it’s crazy.” And while she favors sexy silhouettes and bold color, don’t expect to see her swanning around in animal print anytime soon. “I don’t wear leopard anymore,” she has said. “Not since I got Cookie."
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