There is a particular second in Venice when the lagoon turns metallic and every face looks freshly lit from within, a citywide reflector that makes makeup artists run lighter on base and heavier on eyes. At the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, Bhavitha Mandava arrived with a CHANEL Beauty look that plays directly into that phenomenon, skin finished to catch flash the way water catches the last of the day, then anchored with smoky definition and a rose lip that stays put.
The CHANEL Beauty look that held its own under festival lights
Red carpet beauty in Venice has a specific job. It has to survive humidity, boat rides, late dinners, and the brutal honesty of cinema grade cameras. Mandava’s look is built around CHANEL’s Les Beiges complexion system, then sharpened with a classic CHANEL eye and a longwear lip duos that does not need constant checking.
The caption from CHANEL Beauty names every step, which is the dream for anyone who actually wants to recreate a red carpet finish at home. The base begins with LES BEIGES WATER-FRESH COMPLEXION TOUCH in B60, paired with LES BEIGES SERUM CONCEALER in B60, then perfected with ULTRA LE TEINT FLUIDE in B80. For the eye, LES 9 OMBRES in 587 The New Smoky and INIMITABLE WATERPROOF MASCARA in Black handle the real work. The mouth is the detail that makes it feel contemporary rather than nostalgic, LE ROUGE DUO ULTRA TENUE in 48 Soft Rose, a two step format designed to deliver colour, then lock it in with a gloss topcoat.
Get the look, shade by shade
If you want this CHANEL Beauty look to read as it does in the photos, the most practical takeaway is that it is a layered complexion rather than a single miracle product. The shades listed also suggest a deliberate shift from pinpoint concealing to a slightly deeper all over base for warmth, which matters under evening light.
- LES BEIGES WATER-FRESH COMPLEXION TOUCH in B60
- LES BEIGES SERUM CONCEALER in B60
- ULTRA LE TEINT FLUIDE in B80
- LE ROUGE DUO ULTRA TENUE in 48 Soft Rose
- INIMITABLE WATERPROOF MASCARA in Black
- LES 9 OMBRES PALETTE in 587 The New Smoky
How to place it like a red carpet artist
Think of the base as three textures, not three layers. Water Fresh for luminosity across the centre of the face, Serum Concealer only where the camera would find shadow under the eyes and around the nose, then Ultra Le Teint to even the remaining perimeter, especially the jaw and temples where daylight disappears first. Keep powder minimal so the finish stays skinlike when the flash hits.
On eyes, The New Smoky palette is built for gradient work, start with the mid tone through the socket, deepen the outer corner, then smudge the darkest shade at the lash line so the mascara can look like an extension of shadow rather than a separate step. That is where a waterproof formula earns its place, it keeps definition crisp deep into the night.
Why Soft Rose works in Venice
Venice styling is often a study in opposites, ornate settings, modern tailoring, historic venues filled with photographers carrying the newest equipment. A lip like Soft Rose sits in that tension. It has enough colour to register in wide shots, yet it does not fight a smoky eye. The duo format also makes sense for an event schedule with little downtime, apply the colour, let it set, then add the gloss topcoat before stepping out.
For readers tracking the broader conversation around film festival beauty, Mandava’s CHANEL Beauty look is a reminder that the most convincing red carpet faces are engineered, not improvised. It is less about a single hero product than about shade choices that anticipate lighting.
For product specifications and the brand’s official descriptions, CHANEL lists LE ROUGE DUO ULTRA TENUE and the rest of the range on its site, including LES BEIGES WATER-FRESH COMPLEXION TOUCH.
Photo Credits
Images courtesy of their respective owners.
