Lady Gaga’s Makeup Artist Shares Her Best Over-40 Makeup Tips

When we hopped on Zoom with Sarah Tanno, Lady Gaga’s makeup artist and global artistry director of makeup brand Haus Labs by Lady Gaga, we felt just as starstruck as we would if Gaga herself was on the other side of the screen. While Gaga is known for rocking her iconic makeup looks, Tanno is known as the brain behind them, designing all of the star’s famous glam moments, from her star-studded Super Bowl eyes in 2017 to her inch-long lashes at the 2019 Met Gala.

But that’s not all: Tanno also happens to be the powerhouse behind Haus Labs, collaborating with Gaga herself to produce some of the best formulas in makeup history. Today, she shares some of her most coveted beauty secrets and gives us an inside look at the brand’s newest launch: Love For Sale Eyeshadow Palette ($48).

Boasting 18 Italian-made, high-performance shades, the brand’s limited-edition launch features every color needed to create a timeless look. While there are a few darker, more daunting colors in the pan—think: sparkly magenta and midnight black—Tanno told us that the palette is easy for any makeup lover to use. “Even Gaga herself feels like she can achieve a look with this at home, and she doesn’t usually like applying eyeshadow,” she says.

The inspiration behind the palette was Gaga’s upcoming album release, also called Love For Sale, featuring Tony Bennett, and offers a musical take on the Cole Porter Songbook. All the shades inside the palette were influenced by jazz musicians and Cole Porter songs as covered on the new album, with names like “Billie,” “Dream Dancing,” “I Get a Kick Out of You” and hero shade “Love For Sale.” Additionally, $1 from every palette sold will be donated to Tony Bennett and Susan Benedetto’s Exploring The Arts Foundation. “The palette merges music with makeup and takes all the iconic looks from 30s and 60s and making it modern so it feels super Gaga,” explains Tanno.

While we fell in love with the look Tanno created with the palette on Zoom, we can’t say we share her same talents, so she offered some tips on re-creating her look at home with an easy twist: “Try using matte shades that are a touch on the peach or warmer side to brighten and lift the crease,” she tell us. “Using shades like ‘It’s De-Lovely,’ ‘Etta,’ or ‘Dinah,’ depending on your skin depth, offer the perfect amount of warmth to achieve this. I like to use shimmer products only on the center of the eyelids—shades like ‘Love For Sale,’ ‘Dream Dancing,’ ‘Just One of Those Things,’ or ‘Nina’ would be perfect depending on your taste.”

Tanno also offers some general makeup tips, specifically for those over 40. “I like to go with a less-is-more approach. When it relates to the skin, I would recommend using a larger synthetic brush instead of a beautyblender to apply foundation. Often a beautyblender can pick up too much product. You can always use the damp beautyblender after to push the remaining product into the skin for a skin-like finish. I would also recommend looking for products that have a satin finish. For blush, it’s nice to use pops of shades on the apples of the cheeks to brighten and lift. I also usually do less contouring on the skin.”