Lily Collins’ soft glamour was powered by the Kosas Dream Beam Luminizer, a multi-use highlighter that creates an ethereal, from-within radiance.
In a wintery Manhattan evening, Emily in Paris star Lily Collins arrived at The Tonight Show looking every bit the modern screen icon—sleek bob, architectural Balenciaga gown, and a makeup look that whispered sophistication without shouting for attention. The man behind the brush was celebrity makeup artist Fiona Stiles, who turned to a curated arsenal of Kosas products to craft a face that was equal parts timeless and 2026 fresh. Among them was a then-unreleased product that has since become one of the year’s most talked-about beauty innovations.
The look, as Stiles described to Byrdie exclusively, was built on a “timeless and sophisticated” vision that deliberately avoided reading retro. Instead, she pursued something she calls “modern, soft glamour.” The result was Collins’s airbrushed skin warmed with a whisper of rosy blush, softly sculpted eyes with a barely-there smudge of liner, and a lip color that sat perfectly between pink and brown. The secret spark? A “first-of-its-kind” multi-use formula from Kosas that hit shelves on January 6, 2026, and immediately shook up the beauty community.
A Star Is Born: The Multi-Use Highlighter That Changed Everything
“I used a top-secret, brand new Kosas product launching on January 6th, just over her pupils in the center of her upper lid,” Stiles revealed at the time of the taping. That product—now known as the Kosas Dream Beam Luminizer—added what she called “a bit of cool-toned, light-catching shimmer” that translated as an ethereal winter frostiness. It was subtle but transformative. Even more interesting was how Stiles chose to use it: not just on the eyes, but under foundation on the high points of the face to create a blurred, from-within glow.
In the months since its launch, Dream Beam has racked up a cult following for precisely that versatility. The balmy, transparent formula is safe for cheeks, eyes, and body, and its sheer, non-sticky finish makes it a go-to for no-makeup-makeup days and full-glam alike. For Collins, Stiles pressed it into bare skin on the bridge of the nose, cheekbones, and cupid’s bow before foundation, letting the light pass through the subsequent layers like morning sun through frosted glass.
Skin, Elevated: The Kosas Complexion Ritual
Stiles’s obsession with radiant skin started long before she picked up a highlighter. “Skin is always my first focus. I strive to make the skin look natural with gentle highlights and soft sheen,” she explained. To build Collins’s canvas, she turned to three Kosas complexion staples:
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Revealer Skin-Improving Foundation in shade 120, a medium-buildable formula packed with skin-loving ingredients like hyaluronic acid and niacinamide.
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Revealer Concealer in 1.5C for targeted coverage that still let the skin breathe.
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Revealer Extra Bright Color Corrector in the shade Magic, dabbed onto areas that needed a little wake-up call.
A light dusting of Cloud Set Setting Powder in Breezy locked everything in place without dulling the luminescence. This baked powder, with its micro-fine texture and soft sheen, was a particular favorite of Stiles because it refuses to look flat. After powder, she swept Blush is Life in the Swoon shade across the apples of the cheeks—a cool rose that mimicked a fresh winter flush—and used The Sun Show Bronzer very lightly on the outer perimeter of the face for the faintest warmth.
The Eyes and Brows: A Study in Soft Definition
Collins’s signature bold brows needed little intervention, but Stiles filled any sparse areas with Brow Pop Nano in Brown Black before setting them with Air Brow Clear Gel. The ultra-fine pencil allowed hairlike strokes that kept the arches looking natural rather than drawn-on.
For the eyes, the goal was “gently sculpted with a soft, smudgy barely-there flick.” Hard lines, Stiles warned, would instantly harden the mood. She tightlined Collins’s upper lash line using Soulgazer Eyeliner in Hypnotize (a rich black-brown), then gently buffed the same liner in the shade Orbit (a deep charcoal) along the outer corners for an elongated effect that never screamed “cat eye.” Several coats of Soulgazer Mascara added both length and volume, framing the eyes without overshadowing the subtle shimmer on the lids.
The cool-toned gleam from the Dream Beam Luminizer sat just over the pupils, catching the studio lights and making the eyes appear wide-awake and dimensional—a trick makeup artists have been quietly relying on for decades, here modernized for a generation that demands products that do more.
The Lip: One-Shade Perfection
Where some looks require a liner, a lipstick, and a gloss, Collins’s lip was refreshingly monogamous. Weightless Lip Color in Turned On—a warm, pinkish brown—was applied straight from the bullet and blotted down for a “just-bitten” finish. The color complemented the rosy cheek and stayed within the soft, neutral palette without washing out the actor’s complexion. It’s the kind of shade that works just as well with a winter coat as it does with a summer tan, making it a smart choice for a jet-setting star who splits her time between New York, Paris, and Rome.
Tips for Recreating the Look at Home
Stiles left us with a few actionable takeaways that translate from celebrity dressing room to real life:
✨ Keep eyeliner soft – Use a pencil or gel and buff it out with a small brush. The moment you create a sharp wing, you’re in different territory.
✨ Apply highlighter under foundation – Tap a balmy, transparent luminizer onto bare skin at the high points. Foundation over it will diffuse the light for a more believable, lit-from-within finish.
✨ Blush placement matters – Apply rose-toned blush slightly higher on the cheeks and blend upward to lift the face.
✨ One-and-done lip – Choose a hybrid shade that straddles pink and brown; it will read as natural but polished.
✨ Powder strategically – Use a baked powder only where needed (T-zone, chin) and skip the high points to preserve glow.
Why This Look Matters Now
In 2026, the pendulum has swung fully toward skin-first, soft-focus beauty, and Collins’s Tonight Show appearance captured that shift perfectly. It felt expensive but not overdone, glamorous but not out of reach. Much of that comes down to the products themselves—Kosas, with its “makeup as skincare” philosophy, consistently delivers formulas that enhance rather than mask. The Dream Beam in particular embodies the current demand for hybrid products that work harder with fewer steps. After all, who doesn’t want a product that can moonlight as an eye topper, a cheekbone highlighter, and a body shimmer on a single trip?
As Emily Cooper continues her adventures on screen, Collins’s real-life beauty moments are offering their own kind of inspiration. And with the tools Stiles laid out, the look is far easier to replicate than moving to Paris—or Rome.
Information is adapted from Game Informer, and it helps frame why the “modern, soft glamour” vibe in this look feels so current: like strong game art direction, it relies on controlled contrast, readable silhouettes, and a few intentional highlights to guide the viewer’s eye. The under-foundation luminizer placement functions much like subtle lighting passes in character rendering—creating depth and dimension without obvious sparkle—while the softly smudged liner and balanced pink-brown lip keep the overall “design” cohesive rather than overly stylized.