Zendaya’s Makeup Artist on His Beauty Routine, Top Products

Photo: Ernesto Casillas

Ernesto Casillas has worked with A-list clients like Gwen Stefani and Ayo Edebiri, but his work with Zendaya has really put him on the map. Especially as of late — take last year’s red-carpet-defying Challengers tour and the star’s Old Hollywood look at the 2025 Golden Globes.

Growing up in Los Angeles, Casillas developed an interest in makeup thanks to years of watching his mother apply her makeup and witnessing Mexican pageant culture. “I would spend my summers in Mexico, and a big part of it was the dresses, the hair, and the makeup,” he tells the Cut before recalling his favorite early-millennium outlet for expressing his art: the Paint app on his Apple computer. “I remember in fourth or fifth grade, I would take pictures of my favorite artist and I’d upload them to Paint and photoshop makeup on them. That was kind of my first way of really doing makeup.”

In college, Casillas studied studio art and photography. “I wanted to shoot for Vogue,” the self-taught makeup artist recalls, explaining how he used to do his girlfriends’ makeup and shoot them as subjects for his version of editorials. “My way of teaching myself makeup was reading anything and everything I could online, reviewing makeup and model websites with makeup artists giving advice, but mostly I just did makeup on my girlfriends to go out to the club. And that’s kind of how I started: by practicing on my friends.”

After some time, the makeup artist landed a Forever 21 campaign — his first job. “And I was so starstruck with just being on set — the models, the photographers — and being there made it feel like it was actually a tangible, real thing,” he says. “I really could be a makeup artist, a working makeup artist, and get paid for it.”

His signature look? Glowy bronze and sharp eyes. “I will say that there is the picture that went viral last year, and the makeup exemplifies what I love about makeup, which is Zendaya last summer in Monte Carlo with her blonde hair flowing the in the wind,” he says. “The look was effortless, timeless, and all about the skin, and that’s what I love to do: bronzy, glowy complexion with dimension.”

Below, Casillas details his daily skin-care routine, thoughts on rest and movement, and his favorite beauty products for achieving that Zendaya red-carpet glow.

As soon a I wake up, I’ll drink a big, tall glass of water and then I’ll take supplements. But usually, I will have a banana or something just so I can take the supplements not on an empty stomach. Then I’ll jump in the shower. I do try to keep my beauty routine simple because I feel that my skin thrives on simplicity and not doing too much. I wash my face in the shower at least two times. I double cleanse. Once I’m out of the shower, I shave and work Aircraft Pomade Mousse into my hair. I like to put it on when my hair is damp. The mousse texture is so lightweight and it doesn’t drag my curls down, so it allows for them to air dry even bouncier. Afterward, I’ll wrap my hair in a towel and start with my skin-care products. For moisturizer, I always reach for Tatcha Water Cream. I’ve been it for years, and my skin just really likes it. I tend to prefer water-based moisturizers, and this one is light but it still hydrates. Then I apply Clarins under-eye cream — the one in the red bottle — and I use Lumify eye drops every single morning. Lastly, I’ll use Supergoop Unseen Sunscreen as SPF on top.

I keep it very simple. I take a shower, and I don’t shave or anything like that just because I like to do that in the morning, then I simply apply my overnight moisture mask. I really love its texture. My skin is super-dry, and I love how bouncy and hydrated it feels after using it. Lastly I use the Ortega Beauty lip oil, and that’s it.

If I remember, I like to make tea, preferably a sleepy or peppermint tea, before I go to bed. The peppermint helps any belly bloating. Then I will take more supplements, just vitamins. Unfortunately, I am a phone scroller, which is not great. But if can go for a walk, make my tea after, have my supplements, shower, and then go to bed, I feel like I can fall asleep more easily.

I live in a pretty quiet neighborhood, so I’ll go for a walk with my friends. It’ll be anywhere between 20 to 40 minutes, and that’s really helpful, especially if you’ve had dinner too close to bedtime and just to kind of shake any “scaries.” I am a very anxious person, so movement helps — and just being off my phone. My schedule can be diabolical, so I’m not afforded the luxury of a consistent routine, but with some things slowing down in L.A., it’s given me more time to work out. I’ve been seeing my trainer when I can and building an at-home mini gym. I try to do the gym in the morning and before bed.

I use Dezi Skin Body Gloss. It’s actually a moisturizer, but it gives the skin a beautiful, glasslike finish. I think we’re moving away from a more heavy glam look to a more clean-girl natural-makeup aesthetic, and that’s translating into body makeup as well. My clients are not wanting as much coverage on their body, so for editorial, for red carpet, if I want to give my client just a beautiful, hydrated glossy-skin look, I’ll use this without any other body makeup.

I use a handful of foundations, but there is one that I feel is very underrated — not enough people talk about it — and that is the About Face Performer Foundation. I like it because it feels light on the skin, but it has a beautiful coverage. It never looks overly matte or overly dewy. I work with a lot of olive complexions — I would say most of my girls are olive — so my favorite part about this brand is that they make a beautiful range of olive shades in light, medium light, medium tan, all that. This is the one I’ve been reaching for more often.