OnlyOnAOL: Cate (the great) Blanchett shuts down Armani at PFW

By: Donna Freydkin

We've met beauty maestro Linda Cantello before and let's face it: the lady is a genius. She's also the celebrity makeup whiz behind the Armani looks we just saw at Paris Fashion Week.

"An air of exclusive elegance, evocative of haute couture. Masculine patterns emphasised by size and colour. Grey turns silver, light blue takes on icy tones, pink evolves into tea rose hues. The essence of Armani." said Cantello is a statement.

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She's known for dewy skin and her eye finesse, so we wanted to get the scoop on how she did it. (See our interview with longtime Armani devotee, all-around style goddess and Si fragrance brand ambassador Cate Blanchett above).

Unlike other makeup artists, Cantello basically has an entire color lab at her disposal, allowing her to create custom looks backstage. So here's a breakdown of the key components of her catwalk brilliance, distilled into three areas.

Skin: Cantello prepped skin with ARMANI PRIMA MOISTURIZING BALM. It's magic in a bottle. Truly.

Face: Cantello applied ARMANI PRIMA Glow-On Moisturizing Balm, CREMA NUDA tinted cream and HIGH PRECISION RETOUCH in shades matching skin tone.

Eyes: If they're the windows to the soul, Cantello has a great view. She applied black SMOOTH SILK EYE PENCIL in shade 4 on the outer corner of the eye. Then, define and smudge close to the upper lash line and fill in the shape with the black matte eyeshadow of the upcoming Armani NIGHT LIGHT Collection palette (available in November). Smudge the bottom lash line to achieve a soft smokey effect. Use the white matte eyeshadow from the same NIGHT LIGHT palette in the center of the lid and blend. Then, she finished with the new extra-volume mascara ECCENTRICO in obsidian black on top lashes.

As an added bonus, a look at some of our favorite Blanchett ensembles.