I’ve always had a bit of a thing for villains. After I finished reading Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, I couldn’t stop thinking about King Tiberius and Queen Elara. She’s a character who I am definitely afraid of, but I am sure has some wicked style. After all, she is the Queen.
I put together this look inspired by Queen Elara’s Queenstrial and Parting Ball looks where she wears the colors of the royal house.
Queen Elara is a force to be reckoned with, and for that she needs an eye-catching dress. Despite the royal colors being black, white, and silver, I don’t think that Elara would want to be accidentally mistaken for one of the servants, so I think she would opt for her red in a more subdued fashion in the form of rubies and lipstick.
Because of this, I chose a gorgeous AQUA Bead-Embellished Gown that is somewhat reminiscent of what an expert seamstress might make in town to start off the look and paired it with a pair of Christian Louboutin Yootish 100 Patent Degrade Heels in red/black.
Since Elara is queen I wanted her to have some really beautiful and expensive jewelry, especially since the divide between the Silver and the Reds is so pronounced in the book. So I gave her an Allurez Ruby & Diamond Halo Oval Pendant Necklace in 14k White Gold, a Lord & Taylor 14K White Gold Ruby and Diamond Ring, an 18k white gold diamond & ruby bracelet, and a pair of ruby and diamond fashion earrings. And since, we can’t forget that Elara is the queen, she also gets a crown inspired by Kate Middleton.
Makeup isn’t really addressed for the Silvers, but given that red blood is what gives human skin a rosy glow, I like to think that Silvers try to achieve the same effect, while at the same time keeping their Silver appearance up close. So I image Elara would use the Urban Decay Naked Shapeshifter Palette to define the contours of her face, and use some of the lighter shades in the NARSissist Dual-Intensity Blush Palette to try to give herself a faint glow, especially if she’s going to be on tv.
It never hurts to highlight, and to make sure the metallic tone comes through on her skin I think she would use MILK MAKEUP’s Holographic Stick to define some dimension. (Plus, it doesn’t hurt for her skin to catch light like diamonds.)
The rest of Elara’s makeup I image is purely to try to give her a bit of color and make her features stand out. She’s described as having ash blonde hair and blue eyes. For a natural look I choose Gucci’s Pink Flamingo Shadow Quad to give her a hint of dimension but still create a dramatic smokey eye. To compliment the shadow I chose two Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eyeliners for her in Heartless and Bourbon to make her eyes stand out.
For Elara’s fingernails and lips painted red, so I chose Essie Gel Couture Nail Polish in Rock the Runway for her nails, and Urban Decay’s VICE Lipstick in Bad Blood with a matching lip pencil.
Get the Look: Dress | Shoes | Necklace | Bracelet | Earrings | Ring | Crown | Eye Shadow | Eye Pencils | Lipstick | Lip Pencil | Blush Palette | Contour Palette | Nail Varnish | Holographic Stick | Explore the Whole Look On Polyvore
The Book That Inspired the Look
This is a world divided by blood – red or silver.
The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change.
That is, until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power.
Fearful of Mare’s potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. Despite knowing that one misstep would mean her death, Mare works silently to help the Red Guard, a militant resistance group, and bring down the Silver regime.
But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance – Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart.
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard is now available for sale. You can purchase a paperback copy at The Book Depository, Barnes & Noble, or your local independent bookseller.