In a year dominated by girlhood, there’s been no bigger icon than Priscilla Presley. The combination of Sofia Coppola recreating Presley’s life story with her film adaptation Priscilla, Lana del Rey hitting the height of her mainstream popularity, and the hyper-femininity of the coquette ballet-core trend, have all created the perfect storm for Presley to emerge as poster girl of our times.
Presley’s look, particularly in those early years with Elvis, was full of fantasy and characterised by exaggeration: the hair was high, with beehives reaching up towards heaven, and the eyes were bold, with big lashes and dramatic black wings. It was a hyper-glamorous beauty that contributed to the dream (sometimes nightmare) life that Presley was living. “She really created her own look,” says make-up artist Aimée Twist. “Of course, it’s very 60s with the liner and the big lashes, but you immediately know it’s hers and that’s what I love about it so much.”
A huge fan of Elvis since she was young – her grandma had a house filled with memorabilia while she was growing up – Twist first discovered Presley when she found her book Elvis and Me at a car boot sale, and has been obsessed ever since. “I’ve read that book countless times and I just find her story so unique,” she says. To pay tribute to the glamour icon she has always been inspired by, Twist has put together a shoot that is a homage to both the iconic looks, and a contemporary reimagining.
Working with photographer Annie Reid, stylist Chloe Griffin, hairstylist Linus Johansson and nail artist Chiara Ballisai, Twist captures Presley’s evolving style. “Everything is so exaggerated [with her make-up], which makes it so fun to emulate,” says Twist.
We are already seeing the effects of Priscilla-mania in beauty with big blow-out hair bouncing into fashion and our TikTok feeds, while the sell-out success of Half Magic’s Priscilla Eye Set suggests that people are just as keen to recreate that dramatic 60s cat eye for themselves. Here Twist tells us more about how the shoot came together and shares her top make-up tips so you, too, can look like you’ve just stepped through the gates of Graceland.
What was the concept going into the shoot? What did you and the team want to capture with the images?
Aimée Twist: For me, the release of the Priscilla was like what Barbie was for a lot of people. So I wanted to go big. I wanted to create a shoot that captured Priscilla through the years she was with Elvis. I wanted it to feel a little bit like Graceland, with elements of Vegas, so with the help of Linus, we found this amazing 70s-themed bar. I really wanted Annie on board as her work is fresh but also has a vintage feel as she shoots a lot on film, and she had a lot of great ideas on how she wanted it shot. Chloe completely got the brief and had so many amazing looks prepped, she wanted to incorporate current designers but with vintage elements true to the period.
You shot three beauty looks – can you talk a bit about each look and the inspiration behind it?
Aimée Twist: I referenced Priscilla’s looks through this 10 year time period and how her looks evolved from the 60s to early 70s. Rather than copy a specific look, I wanted to take elements of everything and make it my own. The 60s is the jet black beehive hair, the eyeliner, and paler matte skin. I chose a lilac eye with a double wing and a pink glossy lip.
Towards the early 70s – ‘the Vegas years’ – she dresses her hair out more, she’s more bronzed, the liner isn’t winged out and her eyeshadow is more of a cut crease. I wanted to really bronze Aimee up, but keep that light under eye, as it’s one of my favourite things to reference from 70s make-up, a very light nude lip and a grey soft crease.
The last look is when she’s leaving Elvis, her hair is lighter and more curled, she’s more stripped back to signify her freedom. She’s more natural with make-up, definitely still bronzey as that’s the 70s look. I dialled everything back for this, soft browns on the eyes and a full-colour lip.
How did you update these looks from decades ago so that they felt fresh for today?
Aimée Twist: I wanted to keep the looks true to Priscilla so that it would be clear who Aimee was, but I felt that everyone involved should have the opportunity to add elements of themselves in the project. Chloe used current designers such as Self Portrait and Miu Miu; Linus, who is a wizard with wigs, went bold and over the top; I kept the make-up style true to myself by adding elements of colour, glossy lips and white eyeshadow.
Why do you think this look is inspiring people right now? Why are we feeling drawn to a more exaggerated beauty mood?
Aimée Twist: I think there’s been a huge renaissance in beauty since 2020 – people want to experiment more with beauty and get away from the restrictive trends that we saw 10 years ago. We’ve played into the 90s/00s aesthetic for a while now and I think we’re now looking further back for inspiration. I think we’re all loving bigger hair because the blowout has become so popular. I know I feel so much more confident with bigger hair and with TikTok, we’re able to learn these more complicated styles for ourselves.
For the people who want to experiment with this look, are there key elements that can be incorporated into make-up that would make it feel 60s/70s without it being too fancy dress? What are your top tips?
Aimée Twist: I think the most iconic feature we can incorporate is the double-winged liner. This is probably the most notable thing about Priscilla’s make-up but can be played down with softer lashes and lips to make it more wearable for today. It’s something I often wear myself and love it to add something fun to a look.
Focus on perfecting the eyeliner, use a pen liner for precision and don’t be afraid to go bold. Pair this with a soft crease colour and big lashes, a defined pinky lip and soft matte skin. I would search for Priscilla’s wedding make-up on Pinterest and use that as a guide, as it’s probably the most iconic of her beauty looks.
Photography Annie Reid, Styling Chloe Griffin @ The Only Agency, Make-up Aimee Twist @ The Only Agency using Byredo, make-up assistant Molly Whiteley, Hair Linus Johansson using wigs by Amber Jean Shop, Nails by Chiara Ballisai @ The Only Agency using The Gel Bottle, model Aimée Gillingwater