Nothing quite prepares you for the Cannes Film Festival. The paparazzi are stationed permanently outside hotel lobbies. Impromptu photoshoots are unfolding in every corner. Couture gowns squeezed into tiny lifts. After a few days, you almost become insouciant about bumping into an A-lister in the loos. Almost.
Every May, La Croisette is transformed into a showcase of cinematic glamour and sartorial splendour. While the fashion statements are undeniably iconic, it’s the beauty looks that insiders obsess over most. HELLO! jetted off to Nice — checking into the legendary five-star Hôtel Martinez, where everyone from Angelina Jolie, Bella Hadid, and most recently Demi Moore and Jane Fonda stay — to find out what the glam squads are using behind the scenes for the anticipated looks. Martinez suites are transformed into temporary glam studios filled with ring lights, garment rails and makeup kits the size of carry-ons, while teams work against the clock to prep stars for premieres, photo-calls and after-parties.
Behind the glamour machine
From the most-requested pre-event facial to the beauty tricks that make stars look effortlessly polished, these are the insider secrets the pros swear by.
The facial everyone’s booking
Behind the scenes at the legendary Hôtel Martinez, the spa treatment everyone is booking - we spotted Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu (Sylvie from Emily in Paris), in reception - is taking place beneath the hotel’s marble interiors at L’Oasis du Martinez by Carita. The Signature Or Rejuvenic Facial Treatment with 24k gold — a sculpting, radiance-boosting treatment designed to revive exhausted skin before it faces high-definition cameras and Riviera humidity. “Here, women wear diamonds, and at the Carita spa, we have 24K biotech gold infused in our treatments,” explains Mathilde Mat, Head of Communications, Carita Paris.
© WireImageThe treatment comes in two forms: a manual facial featuring choreographed lifting massage techniques designed to plump, smooth and tone the face instantly, or a radio-frequency version that works deeper to stimulate collagen production over time. The appeal, according to Mathilde, is less about transforming faces and more about restoring vitality.
Camera-proof beauty
“For women attending the Film Festival, most want to look the same but ‘reveal the light’ within them,” she says. As the Carita founders used to say, “There is no such thing as an ‘ugly’ woman, only a ‘drab’ or grey-looking one.” Mathilde adds, “ Make-up can bring the glamour, but skin can bring the ‘aura’, the glow.”
It’s perhaps unsurprising that radiance is the real Cannes beauty currency. After days of international travel, fittings, late-night events and very little sleep, skin is often the first thing to suffer. “What a woman needs, because they’re very tired, have jet lag, a lot of fittings, and after-parties, is performance,” Mathilde explains. “Their skin needs to keep up with their busy schedules, but the treatment also relaxes their body and mind, which is just as important as it reflects in the skin.”
That inside-out approach to beauty is something many celebrity facialists now prioritise before a red carpet appearance. “When they leave here, their skin is energised, and the vitality is restored,” she adds.
According to Mathilde, flawless makeup is impossible without properly prepared skin underneath it. “The skin is the first step to looking flawless,” she says. “Even make-up artists will massage the face before makeup application, to release tension and soften lines.” And while the gold facial may be the headline act, the real backstage hero is something much smaller. Tucked into makeup artists’ kits is Carita’s On-The-Go Energy Shot — a set of highly concentrated ampoules infused with 24-carat biotech gold and 12% vitamin C designed to give skin instant luminosity before makeup. In Cannes terms, think less skincare, more lighting trick in a vial.
© GC ImagesCurated complexions
“Everywhere you look, you see black cars picking up beautiful people to take them to their red carpets and events,” says makeup artist Graziella Lavella. Yet the atmosphere is often surprisingly calm, she says — or at least controlled chaos. “The hotels are buzzing, and you get photographers doing shoots with talent in the hotels or waiting for the stars to exit, so there is quite a buzz in the hotel corridors.”
That balance between glamour and exhaustion is exactly what makeup artists are working against during festival season. According to Jamie Coombes, Dior Beauty International Backstage Makeup Artist – UK, Cannes skin prep is less about piling on products and more about reviving tired complexions that have survived long-haul flights, late nights and relentless schedules. “HD cameras pick up every imperfection, such as dryness and uneven skin texture,” he explains. “Hydration is vital.”
Coombes says he approaches skin almost like a facialist would. “If the skin is more tired, I’ll start with a face mask, then apply lightweight layers of serums and creams that plump and revive the complexion rather than overload it.” Dior’s new Forever Skin Glow and Forever Skin Wear Foundations have become kit staples, notes Coombes, “as they combine flawless makeup with skincare benefits.”
Sometimes, Lavella admits, things become unexpectedly frantic. “I once had a star who was very late coming to the glam team, so everyone was working all at once as they then only had one hour in total to get everything done,” she recalls. “Whilst she ate a late lunch, had her PA read out emails to her and debated with the stylist whether the choice of dress that had been agreed was the right one.” Somehow, she says, “it all worked out beautifully in the end.”
© Getty ImagesMaking it last
Longevity, unsurprisingly, becomes the real technical challenge in Cannes conditions. “The trick is layering,” Coombes explains. “I focus on building thin, flexible layers rather than heavy coverage, as heavier makeup tends to break down under heat and flash photography.” Instead, he builds makeup almost invisibly, layering cream textures with “finely milled powders to set and refine” so skin still looks like skin under harsh lighting. Hydrating face mists also play a surprisingly important backstage role. “Hydrating mists infused with ingredients like hyaluronic acid are perfect for discreet touch-ups,” he says, particularly around “the nose, mouth and high points of the face,” where makeup tends to fade first under cameras and heat. Dior Backstage Airflash Mist, £35, offers 24-hour wear and hydration.
For both artists, though, the goal at Cannes is never to create a character. “It’s always about working with clients to define their individuality rather than trends,” Coombes says. “The goal is always for people to notice and recognise the person first, not just the makeup.”
That collaborative process often begins long before red carpet day itself. Lavella explains that beauty teams are usually working alongside stylists and hairstylists from the moment a gown is selected. “The bigger the star, the bigger the team,” she says. “There would be teams to look after styling, hair, make-up — by then the prep such as tans, facials and nails would already have been done.”
Still, even with weeks of preparation, Cannes remains famously unpredictable. “Sometimes you find everything out when you get there, and you have to be prepared for anything,” Lavella says. Which perhaps explains why the most valuable thing inside a Cannes makeup kit isn’t necessarily a hero lipstick or viral foundation, but adaptability — alongside very good lighting. “Natural bright light is the best, and there is plenty of that in Cannes,” says Coombes. “But if not, my TML light comes out, so I can check both with natural and backstage lighting — even checking with my iPhone 4K camera.”
Red carpet hair hacks
“Cannes often feels a bit more relaxed than Hollywood, with a focus on ‘quiet luxury’, more natural and sophisticated hair,” says hairdresser and Shark ambassador, Jay Birmingham. However, in reality, achieving that effortless finish takes military-level preparation.
“In Cannes particularly, prep work is everything,” explains celebrity hairstylist Abi Constanza, as Riviera humidity, sea air and relentless camera flashes can quickly unravel even the most expensive blow-dry. Birmingham says the work often begins weeks in advance. “Giving hair a rest before a big event is always key. In an ideal world, he likes to prep the hair in the weeks leading up, treating it with a nourishing mask to keep it in the best condition. Insiders rate the brilliant K18 HAIR Leave-in Molecular Repair Hair Mask, £70.
Humidity-proofing products have also become essential backstage staples during festival season. “For Cannes in particular, Dream Coat by Color Wow, £21.75 is a must,” Abi reveals. “It helps block against humidity and seals the hair for extra shine.” Birmingham takes a similarly preventative approach, explaining that even when creating updos, he starts with “a sleek, polished blow-dry to eliminate flyaways and frizz” before locking the style into place with products designed to withstand hours of photocalls and evening events.
The go-to style
© WireImageOne hairstyle that continues to dominate year after year is a slick-back chignon. “It’s always a classic request,” says Abi. “It remains one of the few styles that can genuinely last from afternoon press calls through to midnight premieres.” She uses the got2b Brows & Edges Gel wand, £5.75, to get any little flyaways and hairlines that are a bit a rebellious. “It’s such a great product to have in your handbag!”
Jay likes to lean more towards trends, noting that a key look for SS26 is super sleek hair. “We’ve seen it across the catwalks, and it will definitely carry through to Cannes.” The Shark SilkiPro Straight, £249.99 is his go-to tool, as it creates a glass-like finish.”
Behind the scenes, there’s also increasing focus on scalp health — the kind of beauty detail audiences never notice unless something goes wrong. “No one wants a flaky scalp on the red carpet,” Jay says, pointing to the rise of ‘skinification’ in haircare, with ingredients like niacinamide, panthenol and hyaluronic acid now appearing in backstage styling kits as often as hairspray. Kérastase Nutritive, Hydrating Scalp Serum, £49.50 is a prerequisite in most stylist’s kit bags.
Both experts are remaining diplomatically tight-lipped about exactly who will be sitting in their chairs this Cannes season, though Abi hints that there are familiar names in the mix. Having previously worked with the Spencer sisters (Lady Amelia and Lady Eliza) at the festival, whom she describes as “always looking like perfection on the red carpet”, she teases: “As for who I’m working on this year, you’ll have to wait and see.” Jay, who has previously styled Rochelle Humes at Cannes, is equally discreet: “Watch this space.”
