Emulate Lana Del Rey

Lana Del Rey is often regarded by her fans as classy, beautiful, and talented. Her dramatic stage persona, vintage style, and creative sound have made her a much-discussed figure in fashion and music. If you enjoy Lana Del Rey’s style and artistic vision, you can emulate her by taking inspiration from her on-stage attitude, her retro outfits and makeup, and her dramatic singing and songwriting.

Steps

Cultivating Her Attitude

1. Check out some of her influences. Lana Del Rey is influenced both artistically and aesthetically by other artists. Read up on her influences to see where she draws her inspiration and to get some of your own.
   • Lana often calls herself “Gangsta Nancy Sinatra.” Take a look at photos of artists from the 50’s and 60’s to find inspiration for vintage hair, clothing, makeup, and music.
   • Lana has cited Cat Power, Eminem, Nirvana, Amy Winehouse, Elvis Presley, and many others as inspiration for her musical style. Check out a few of these artists to get a feel for how Lana shaped her style.
2. Speak your mind. Lana is known to not shy away from controversial topics and take on people who dislike her. Emulate Lana by expressing your own emotions.
   • Speak your own opinion, even if it is not popular. Lana took heat early in her career for her performances, but stuck to her artistic vision and made a successful career.
   • Respond to negative moments by looking at your accomplishments. Lana uses her successes to support the idea that she is doing well in her career. Use your own daily achievements as reminders of the good things in your life.
   • Express your emotions. Lana’s songs and art are deeply emotional. Let them inspire you to express your own emotions in creative ways.
3. Pretend to be lovestruck. Lovestruck is a recurring theme through Lana’s songs and videos. It makes her moody, pouty, and occasionally risqué.
   • Imitate her lovestruck attitude for a convincing impression by casting long glances and pretending to be wrapped up in your own emotions.
   • Smile softly, giggle very lightly, and gently look off into the distance.
   • Try picturing someone you like to give you inspiration.
4. Move slowly. Mimic her attitude on stage by using slow, graceful hand gestures. Lana rarely dances on stage.
   • Move slowly around the area or performance space.
   • Shift your weight back and forth from foot to foot to create a slight side to side motion. Lana often fidgets this way on stage.
   • If you are imitating her on an actual stage, make sure to walk around and have fun with whoever might be on stage with you. Lana is known to interact with her band and dancers and make use of the whole stage.
5. Act childlike. Lana is often smiling, friendly, and mimicking child-like behavior off-stage. Develop an amiable and innocent personality to match Lana’s.
   • When she speaks with interviewers, she tends to laugh a lot and smile. Watch how she laughs and smiles by watching interview clips on YouTube.
   • Try to make your giggle high-pitched and look away from people playfully when they ask you questions.
   • Speak slowly. Talk deliberately and smile when you talk. In interviews, Lana does not seem like she is in a hurry. She speaks slow and laughs often.
   • Talk without rushing yourself, and pause to make it seem like you’re thinking every once in awhile.
   • Remember that when you are emulating Lana, silence and breaks in the conversation are acceptable.
6. Primp yourself. Lana often plays with her hair, flutters her eyelashes, and preens on camera. Emulate her off-stage playing with your hair and eyelashes, and gently touching your face.
   • Use primping as an accent. Too much of it may cause your look to be disheveled or be distracting.
   • Alternate gently twirling your hair around your finger and pushing it back away from your face.
   • Run your fingers along the top of your eyebrows as if trying to straighten them.
   • Gently wipe along the edge of your eyelashes as if you are clearing something from the tips.
   • Remember to keep conversation going while you primp. This is supposed to look like a subconscious action.

Doing Makeup Like Lana

1. Learn about her look. She likes to regard herself as a “gangsta Nancy Sinatra” and “Lolita lost in the hood.” Aesthetically, this often means big eyes, a fair complexion, and a vintage look.
   • Check out pictures of Nancy Sinatra as well as Lana Del Rey that focus on their faces. Look at their make up and see what features make it unique.
2. Get a flawless base. Create flawless looking skin to get your face ready for other products. Use a complementing primer, foundation, concealer, and powder to build a smooth, pale base that imitates Lana.
   • Always start by moisturizing your face and dabbing on a primer with a blending sponge. This will help the makeup last longer.
   • Apply a light foundation using a foundation brush or blending sponge. Choose a shade lighter than your own skintone if you are not naturally pale. Do not try to change your skin tone all together, though. Simply opt for the palest version of your natural color.
   • Use concealer on dark circles and imperfections. Blend out into the foundation with a small concealer brush.
   • Use a fluffy brush to top your whole face with a translucent powder. Use a light hand and gently brush on a small amount of powder to set the look.
3. Fill in your eyebrows. Lana regularly sports straight, dark eyebrows with little arch. Use a brow powder to darken and redefine the shape of your brows.
   • Choose a color no more than a shade darker than your hair’s root color. Too dark of a brow color could overwhelm the rest of the look.
   • Use an eyebrow gel or powder and an angled brush. Start by defining the bottom line of your brow, keeping it straight at the arch.
   • Once you have a baseline for the shape of your brow, fill in the area above it. Use small flicks of the brush in the same direction as your brow hairs to imitate the natural hair.
   • Set with a clear brow gel to keep the natural hairs in place.
4. Get big, bright eyes. Lana is known for her big-eyed looks with simple shadows and large eyeliner wings. Create a softy, smokey eye look with bold black liner and oversized lashes.
   • Start with an eyeshadow that matches the color of your skin and apply all across your lids with a fluffy brush.Once your lids are neutral, take a cool gray or gray-brown shadow and buff it into your crease. Blend outward toward the tip of your brow, and concentrate the bulk of the shadow on the outer third of your crease.
   • Take the same color used on the crease and apply it lightly along the lower lashline using a flat brush.
   • Brighten your lids below the crease by patting on a pearl or satin-finish eyeshadow in a beige, peach, or nude shade. Use a flat brush, and concentrate most of the product on the center of your lid.
   • Use a liquid black eyeliner to make a bold wing. Start by lining your lid using short strokes and connecting the dots in between each stroke. Then, draw on the wing by making a line that runs along the outer corner of your eye toward the thin tip of your eyebrow. Stop about halfway up the lid to the eyebrow.
   • Connect the wing to the rest of your eyeliner by creating a triangle. Draw a straight line down from the tip of the wing down to the line you created on your eyelid. Then, fill in the triangle.
   • Apply generous coats of black mascara to boost up your lashes on top and on the bottom. Apply a pair of false lashes along your upper lash line to get Lana’s exaggerated volume.
5. Sculpt your features. Lana doesn't often use an extreme contour, but she does shape her features slightly. Use a light hand to define your cheekbones and highlight the high points on your face.
   • Contour your cheeks with a contour powder or bronzer. Pick a color that looks tan on you, but not like a different skin tone. Apply the powder to the hollows of your cheeks and brush up toward your temples and into your hairline.
   • Sculpt your forehead by bringing a slight amount of the contour color down from the sides of your head toward your ears.
   • Strengthen your jawline by brushing the contour powder along your chin and jaw up to your ears. Blend down toward your neck.
   • Highlight your cheekbones and nose bridge with a non-shimmering highlighter. Brush the highlight at the high points of your cheekbones and down your nose, as well as just under the brow bone. Use a cotton swab to place a very small amount of highlight just above your cupid’s bow.
   • Use a light peach blush on your cheeks between the highlight and the contour. Lana wears peach and nude blushes instead of pinks and reds, so opt for something that doesn’t pop too much.
6. Shape your lips. Pick a matte lipstick that best fits your look, and look at pictures for inspiration. Lana wears a variety of shades, including reds, soft pinks, nudes, and berries.
   • Line your lips with a neutral liner, or one that matches your lipstick color. Do not overdraw your lips. Instead, follow your natural lip line.
   • Fill in your lips with the liner to help your lipstick last longer.
   • Use your lipstick and a lip brush to apply color to your lips. Trace the edges of your lips with your lip brush before filling in the rest of your lip.
   • Use concealer on a small brush to trace around the edges of your lip and create a sharp, defined line.

Getting the Rest of Her Look

1. Dress the part. Lana sports vintage as well as hipster looks. She often changes her image, but usually relies heavily on mid-to-late century Americana.
   • One of the most iconic Lana styles is 60’s style vintage dresses. Shirtwaist and circle skirt dresses are a good place to start.
   • Try a modern Nancy Sinatra look with A-line skirts paired with a cardigan, knee-high socks and mary-janes, knee-high boots, flower accessories, and sundresses paired with cowboy boots.
   • Rock an 80’s inspired bad-girl look with t-shirts tied at the waist, high-waisted and acid-wash jeans, cutoff shorts, leather pants and skirts, big gold jewelry, and plenty of neon prints and accessories.
   • Visit a local thrift shop to look through vintage clothing and put together unique outfits. Consult some pictures of your favorite Lana Del Rey looks for inspiration as you shop.
2. Get big hair. Lana sports hair that ranges from retro beehives to teased-up 80’s curls but no matter what decade she’s pulling from, her hair is often done up big.
   • For a vintage vibe, pull your hair up into a beehive and accessorize it with a cute headband or ribbon.
   • For a more 80’s look, try a perm or tight curls teased up and out with a side part.
   • One of Lana’s more iconic hairstyles is big waves swept to one side. Achieve this by using a large diameter curling iron along a side part and brushing the curls out slightly.
   • Lana is also known to wear flower crowns to accessorize her wavy tresses. Pair the crown with the side-swept waves look for special occasions.
3. Get some fake tattoos. Lana has several tattoos on her body. Mimic her tattoos by drawing the letter “M” or the word “paradise” on your left hand with a body art marker.
   • Another option is to draw “trust no one” on your right hand.
   • The phrase “die young” is tattooed on her ring finger.

Making Her Type of Art

1. Write a song or poem. You don’t have to be a career musician, but try expressing your feelings through a song or poetry.
   • Lana often cites her music as a form of escapism and a chance to explore different fantasies. Try exploring a dream or story through your art.
2. Perform one of her songs. Lana is best known for being a singer. Emulate her art by actually trying out a few of her songs. Remember to keep your voice as low as sounds natural for you.
   • Lana used to sing in a higher voice, but chose a lower octave that people seemed to like more. Stick to the low end of your range to achieve her throaty sound.
3. Learn an instrument. Lana plays guitar and keyboard as well as singing. Try learning an instrument to help you compose if you have musical ambitions.
   • Lana has talked about writing songs with her guitar. Pick up some basic chords to see if you enjoy playing and writing music on the guitar.
   • While Lana knows how to compose on multiple instruments, she often works with a band to create her sound. Try collaborating with others to create a full composition.
4. Make a video clip. Lana loves making vintage film clips. Try joining your own videos together and place a song in there.
   • Achieve a vintage look by changing the style of the video to vintage or black and white.
   • Make sure that these film clips are beautiful to you. Lana often says that she just chooses film clips that she finds beautiful.
   • Think about applying Instagram filters to your videos.

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Tips

• Stay true to yourself, and just let Lana inspire you. You're trying to emulate her, not actually be her.
• Watch her music videos and interviews to get to know her public persona really well.

Sources and Citations

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