Jennifer Lopez gets a full body scrub to get glowing skin for the red carpet. Photo / Getty
Jennifer Lopez gets a full body scrub to get glowing skin for the red carpet. Photo / Getty
It's the biggest night in the Hollywood calendar, so it stands to reason that stars want to look their very best on the Oscars red carpet.
But appearing like the most attractive human beings on the planet isn't easy. It takes months of preparation, pain and self-discipline.
Celebrity make-up artists, cosmetic surgeons, stylists and hairdressers reveal to news.com.au the weird and wacky things stars are doing to get ready.
"They razor their faces"
Celebrity make-up artist Melanie Mills (who has worked on seven seasons of the US series of Dancing with the Stars), says when it comes to getting radiant on the red carpet, actresses razor their faces to give themselves the ultimate glow.
"It's not the type of thing you can get done at home. I've heard JLo and Jennifer Garner have been seen at the Beverly Hills hot springs. They give you the best results and your skin looks wonderful."
JLo at the 2016 Academy Awards. Photo / Getty
With many of the stars already on macrobiotic, vegan or even juice-only diets, they aren't too worried about being naked.
When it comes to eyes, dyeing eyebrows and eyelashes is the hot thing to do for the red carpet.
"You will not see these overdone eyebrows which is a social media trend. It will be very natural," Mills said.
"Body shimmer is also important. It helps to show off the gorgeous gowns and highlight key points like the collarbone and shoulders.
"Typically actresses wear less make-up, but they still want their boobs to look big and gorgeous and their skin to look fantastic."
"The biggest snafu is bad spray tan. It's the thing we are usually trying to correct at the last minute."
They put a last-minute needle in it
Dr Robert Cohen has a whole host of clients walking the red carpet today.
He says some celebrities who visit him will plan six months ahead to look good for their big moment: "I try and get them ready a month beforehand so we are not doing anything invasive in case there is bruising.
"Especially if they are nominated, a month before is the time when they are taking pictures and doing interviews, so they have to be ready even before that."
They involve stimulating the skin by using platelet-rich plasma and injecting blood back into the face to help it rejuvenate: "I am pretty invasive with that. I recommend up to three treatments, if someone is very much sun-damaged or acne-scarred," Dr Cohen says.
The vampire facial lift uses filler in the process, and results are instant.
He has even adapted the procedure for the chest, the vampire breast lift, and he says he is able to augment and sculpt the breasts with a syringe.
A last-minute fix he provides is opening the eyes wider. Dr Cohen uses a neurotoxin such as Botox or Dysport: "Some patients rush in on a Friday and say 'my eyes look kind of closed', so we use the faster acting neurotoxin so they will pop by the time they go up there on stage and they are in front of the camera."
Dr Tahl Humes also sees a number of celebrity clients so they can be red carpet ready. She says: "Most of them are in great shape because they go to the gym, but if they have stubborn pockets of fat they will do something like cool sculpting or other body contouring treatments.
"As they get closer to the weekend of the Oscars they can do lasers with no downtime, like laser genesis; a long, pulsed laser which stimulates collagen and gives the skin a glow and gets rid of redness.
"On the day of they can get a treatment and their make-up goes on more smoothly and they have a radiant glow. It has no downtime."
They tighten things up
Harley Pasternak has a host of famous faces on his client list including Megan Fox, Teresa Palmer, Jennifer Hudson and Halle Berry.
Halle Berry at the 2013 Academy Awards. Photo / Getty
He says embracing a smoothie-based diet and upping the "step quota" helps celebrities look good for their big moment.
His body reset diet involves a five-day regimen that incorporates three smoothies a day with two crunchy snacks in different variations.
He gets his clients to go on the plan two weeks before the Oscars if "they need to tighten things a little bit".
Harley also incorporates the use of Fitbits and sets step goals ranging from 10,000 15,000 a day, increasing the amount in the run up to the awards.
The main area women like to focus on is their arms, shoulder and upper back because they show a lot of it in what they wear.
Harley says: "We focus on those body parts that draw the body back and make us look a little more regal in formal attire."
The one area that can usually be made to look amazing without exercise, Harley says, is the backside: "It is a lot easier to hide a backside or modify it.
"I think it is impossible to fake the upper part, the shoulders and upper back.
"I think as far the awards shows go there is a lot of faking the butt situation."
Aly Scott is a stylist and founder of StylechicLA, and has worked with Scarlett Johansson and Jane Seymour.
Scarlet Johansson at the 2015 Academy Awards. Photo / Getty
She says to expect bright colours, yellow, metallic and embellishments, at this year's ceremony: "Something that will pop. I don't think we will see much black. People are now going for that wow factor."
She says she discusses inspirations, icons and what makes a star feel "incredible" when she is working on an outfit.
While actresses may have done everything to look their personal best, when all else fails, just like the rest of us, they fake it.
Scott says a variety of padding and constricting undergarments are used to perfect their look.
All sorts of tape and cushioning helps to stop sore feet and mishaps.
"Push up chicken cutlets, petal nipple covers, cushions for the shoes for their heels. I also advise to take an Advil [a strong US painkiller] for swelling, and Hollywood tape, to keep everything in place, that is a must-have.
"Everything has to be sitting perfect. And Spanx. It's not always what you see, [with the dress] there is a lot going on under there."
She reveals with that amount of upholstery, the Oscars is not the ideal place to meet a man: "People even wear butt cutlets to make their butts look rounder.
"You don't want a man to touch you because it's like: 'Those boobs and butt might not be what you think'."
"It's like, 'if I meet him right now I am the best I have ever looked but this isn't my real body'."
Scott says she gives her clients a needle and thread, extra tape, and Band-Aids for emergencies.
She has seen and heard of a few just before the big moment: "The dress ripped right when they put it on, or [the star] was a little tipsy and ripped it when they were in it. Or they had to be literally sewn into the dress and they are told they cannot go to the bathroom or have anything to drink."
Months are spent planning hairdos
Ted Gibson is a celebrity hair stylist whose clients include Angelina Jolie, Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong'o and Anne Hathaway.
Angelina Jolie at the 2014 Academy Awards. Photo / Getty
He says expect a mixture of avant garde and classic looks: "Longer hair is something we will definitely see, simple side parts, buns, then women with extra long hair. Women like J-Lo have influence in beauty and hair plays a big part."
Gibson spends a few months preparing a look and works closely with the stylist. He never gets a dry run, it's "sink or swim" when he arrives to style the celebrity.
It usually takes up to an hour and 45 minutes to create a style.
The hair guru says the simplest thing can ruin a look: "If there is a bobby pin showing, or a hair out of place, a hair on the shoulder, there are so many variables."
With rain expected today it's going to make it tough for stylist: "Rain and humidity are the worse things imaginable. You cannot have blown-out, straight hair, you will have a lot of frizz."
