Kim Cattrall’s Makeup Artist Shares 3 Tricks to Nailing the “Samantha Jones” Look

For any Sex and the City fans, the HBO reboot, And Just Like That… is a long-awaited treat filled with nostalgia, laughs and tears. But, for many viewers, myself included, the absence of Kim Catrall in her role as Samantha Jones has been hard to overlook. Thankfully, in recent episodes, Cattrall finally made a cameo as her beloved Samantha, and the star’s makeup artist just revealed the three things she spent the most time on when recreating the iconic Samantha Jones look.

Nailing the Samantha Jones look then and now

Though it may feel like just yesterday for many of us, quite some time has passed since the original release of Sex and the City. But, 25 years later, Catrall’s makeup artist, Kyra Panchenko is still focussing on the same three key components for creating Samantha Jones’ chic, effortless beauty look. “For Kim, it’s always about making her skin look fresh and amazing,” Panchenko reveals, “I spend the most time on skin prep, foundation and contour.”

Panchenko on skin prep

A solid skin-prep routine is key to creating a look that lasts, and Panchenko starts prepping Cattrall for the cameras with the NuFACE Trinity Starter Kit ($350) to help tone and firm the skin before going in with the 111Skin Celestial Black Diamond Lifting and Firming Face Mask ($35), Gee Beauty Prime Skin Beauty Oil ($50) and the Joanna Vargas Twilight Face Mask ($75) all of which act to “tone and firm” the skin as well as “hydrate the skin before [starting] makeup application.”

Panchenko on foundation and contour

For creating a flawless base, Panchenko goes in with her “go-to” foundation and primer, the Gee Beauty Prime Skin ($58) and Soft Blur Radiance Priming Balm ($40), before adding dimension with the Westman Atelier Beauty Butter Powder Bronzer ($75) and the Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Lip & Cheek Glow ($40). “I’m a stickler for making sure the foundation is sheer so the skin looks fresh and dewy, not heavy,” Panchenko begins, “I also recommend a cream blush over a powder, because it gives a more translucent look.”