Happy Valentine's: Skin Cupid's Favourite On-screen Couples

Valentine’s Day is here – and what would the holiday be without romantic movies? From star-crossed lovers, to friends turned partners, to a pair whose passion together turns destructive, here we’re paying tribute to four of the most iconic on-screen couples, according to the Skin Cupid team – and showing you how to get their makeup looks, courtesy of some of our favourite Korean beauty brands.  

J.D. and Veronica, Heathers

“Our love is God. Let’s go get a slushie”.

Without Heathers, there would be no Jawbreaker, no Mean Girls. This 1988 black comedy, the antithesis to John Hughes’ feel-good high-school-based movies, was intended as a satire of the hysteria surrounding teen suicide in the latter half of the ‘80s, though now it’s largely remembered for the Bonnie and Clyde-ish couple at its centre who go around killing the popular kids at their high school and staging them as suicides, in the hopes of creating a “fairer” social landscape. Winona Ryder plays Veronica, who’s on the in with the titular Heathers – a trio of girls who are on the top rung of the school’s social ladder – but dissatisfied with the vacuousness and meanness this involves; Christian Slater plays J.D., a cool-loner type doing a Jack Nicholson impression who catches Veronica’s attention and comes up with the plan to start dispatching their classmates. Sure, they’re not the healthiest couple around, but their chemistry and partners-in-crime dynamic is excellent – and what better encapsulation of a toxic relationship than the scene where Veronica, distraught over having killed one of their classmates, burns her palm with a cigarette, and JD leans over to light his own cigarette from the wound? 

To get Veronica’s look:

DASIQUE Shadow Palette in Sugar Brownie

The ‘80s wasn’t all blue eyeshadow and frosted lipstick (luckily). Try using the golden sugar and cocoa shades in this DASIQUE palette to blend out a glittery smokey eye that pays homage to Veronica’s own, which takes her from school to staging a crime scene.

ROM&ND Glasting Melting Balm in Buffy Coral

For a modern take on Veronica’s nude lip, we suggest ROM&ND’s Glasting Melting Balm in Buffy Coral. This cult-favourite lip balm offers just a hint of coral-nude colour, and is formulated with an optimised wax-oil blend to create a protective film over lips that locks in moisture – but if you want a more matte finish like our reluctant anti-heroine, try blotting after application to reduce the shine. 

DASIQUE Blending Mood Cheek in #09 Almond Vanilla

Finish up your look with a peachy blush courtesy of DASIQUE’s Blending Mood Cheek in Almond Vanilla. Packed with complementary shades of creamy beige, mousse-y pink, and milky brown, try applying it high on your cheekbones to mimic Veronica’s in-love-with-a-criminal flush. 

Howl and Sophie, Howl’s Moving Castle 

“Sophie. Your hair is like starlight. It’s beautiful.”

Studio Ghibli is most famous for its gorgeous visual world-building, but Miyazaki’s films also feature heaps of beautiful relationships, especially between young men and women experiencing the first flushes of love: Sheeta and Pazu in Laputa: Castle in the Sky, Shizuku and Seiji in Whisper of the Heart, San and Ashitaka in Princess Mononoke, to name just a few. Howl and Sophie are a more mature take on partnership – not least because Sophie, a young milliner who eschews going out and dating in favour of work, is cursed by a witch to look like an old lady at the beginning of the film. Leaving home in search of someone who can reverse the magic done to her, she wanders into the countryside and ends up in the castle of the title, which is presided over by Howl, a charming, beautiful, and correspondingly vain young wizard. Against the backdrop of war, which Howl is attempting to end through transformations into a bird-like creature which saps his energy and humanity, the pair come to love each other – Howl learning to look past external appearances, and Sophie demonstrating traits that we all could learn from: compassion, resilience during difficult times, and the ability to accept the things one cannot change with good grace.

To get Sophie’s look:

UNLEASHIA Pretty Easy Glitter Stick in Wee Hours and PERIPERA Sugar Twinkle Glitter in Glitter Wave

Getting your hair to look like starlight might be a tough ask, but you can at least bring some twinkle to your eye makeup with these two glittery eyeliners. We think Sophie would love UNLEASHIA’s vegan, cruelty-free glitter stick in Wee Hours, a purple-pink shade reminiscent of the first light of dawn, topped up with PERIPERA’s holographic glitter in a subtle pink hue for extra luminescence. 

ETUDE HOUSE Drawing Eye Brow in Grey

Sophie’s gorgeous hair is made only the more striking by her matching eyebrows. To replicate her strong brow, try ETUDE HOUSE’s double-sided eyebrow crayon, which features a sharply angled tip at one end, to add colour and fill out your arch, and a brush at the other, to fluff up brows and tame any stray hairs.  

ETUDE HOUSE Curl Fix Mascara in Black

Sophie spends a lot of time looking surprised – and after going from a humdrum existence working in a hat shop to facing off against powerful sorceresses and her country’s war machine, who can blame her? For a similar wide-eyed look, try ETUDE HOUSE’s iconic Curl Fix Mascara in Black, which features a slim, fine wand to curl even your outer- and innermost lashes, and a smudge-proof formula that won’t budge with rain, tears, or unexpected time travel. 

Jesse and Celine, Before Sunrise 

“I believe if there's any kind of God it wouldn't be in any of us, not you or me but just this little space in between. If there's any kind of magic in this world it must be in the attempt of understanding someone sharing something. I know it's almost impossible to succeed, but who cares, really? The answer must be in the attempt.”

Told in 3 instalments filmed over nearly 20 years, Before Sunrise is the first in Richard Linklater’s beautiful, dialogue-driven trilogy about one postmodern relationship. Jesse, a young American man, meets Celine, a French university student, on a train across Europe: Jesse to catch a flight back to the States from Vienna, and Celine to return to her studies in Paris after visiting her grandmother. They strike up a conversation, and when they reach Vienna, Jesse asks Celine to join him for the evening. They wander around the city, too broke to get a room for the night, and have long, meandering but meaningful conversations about life, death, and everything in between – and eventually share a kiss. When they part, they don’t take each other’s contact information, instead promising to reunite in Vienna in six months’ time. Though the following movies in the trilogy show them re-encountering each other nearly 10 years later, and, later still, married, the uncertainty with which this first film ends makes it a tribute to chance encounters, and how finding someone that you can really talk to is rare and beautiful, no matter how long it lasts, no matter where you find it. 

To get Celine’s look:

KUNDAL Caffeine Shampoo in White Musk

Despite spending the night in a park, Celine’s enviable mass of blonde curls never ends up looking disheveled or matted. We can’t promise the same will happen for you if you try something similar this Valentine’s, but you can still help your hair look its best with KUNDAL’s Caffeine Shampoo in White Musk. This deliciously fragranced shampoo is packed with 24 plant extracts, Panthenol, Niacinamide, and Salicylic Acid to combat hair loss, keep your scalp dandruff-free, and keep your locks looking full and healthy.

KUNDAL Volume & Fixing Curl Cream in Wedding Bouquet

Add extra volume and tame frizz with KUNDAL’s delicious curl cream, formulated with Argan Seed, Macadamia, and Avocado Oils to nourish your hair, protect against heat damage, and add definition to your curls. The delicious scent – a sweet but tangy blend of fruits and florals – makes the perfect accompaniment to unexpected romantic encounters. 

TIRTIR Waterism Glow Melting Balm in Salmon Syrup

To cap off your Celine-inspired look, leave your face bare, your hair loose, and add just a hint of colour with TIRTIR’s Waterism Glow Melting Balm in Salmon Syrup. This lip tint, in a creamy pale pink shade shot through with coral, contains a Shine Complex infused with Jojoba, Olive, and Grape Seed Oils to nourish chapped lips, and has a non-tacky, glossy finish that will take you from first kisses to heartfelt goodbyes.

Chow Mo-wan (Mr Chow) and Su Li-zhen (Mrs Chan), In the Mood for Love

“I didn't think you'd fall in love with me.”

“I didn't either. I was only curious to know how it started. Now I know. Feelings can creep up just like that. I thought I was in control.”

An instant classic following its release in 2000, In the Mood for Love is the second in a loose trilogy of films from Hong Kong auteur Wong Kar-wai. Set in 1960s Hong Kong in a Shanghainese enclave, Mr Chow, a journalist, and Mrs Chan, a secretary, both live in the same crowded boarding house with their spouses. After discovering that their spouses are having affairs with each other, the lonely expatriates start meeting up to act out various scenarios together – attempting to imagine the moment the affair started, rehearsing confrontations in which they elicit confessions from their respective partners – as well as collaborating on a martial arts serial that Chow has been writing. They come to develop feelings for each other, but insist that they won’t be “like them”, and their relationship, which oozes romantic tension despite their buttoned-up attitudes, remains unconsummated. Eventually, Chow, who has left his wife, decides to leave for a job opportunity in Singapore and invites Mrs Chan to join him, but she makes her decision to join him too late, and he departs without her. There are several frustrating missed encounters over the course of the next few years, but they never reunite, and the final scene shows Chow finally confessing his feelings by whispering them into the rocks at Angkor Wat, before walking away. Gorgeously realised and heartbreakingly nostalgic, Mr Chow and Mrs Chan’s unspoken love reminds us that we refuse happiness, even if it does not look quite as we would like, at our peril. 

To get Su Li-zhen’s look: 

ETUDE HOUSE Fixing Tint in Vintage Red or Cranberry Plum

Mrs Chan never looks anything less than immaculate – as her landlady observes incredulously, “she goes out to pick up noodles dressed like that?!” Her coiffed hair, beautiful qipaos, and heels are topped off with a matte red lip that apparently never needs touch-ups – perhaps she uses ETUDE HOUSE’s Fixing Tint? This velvety lip product delivers high-intensity colour in a smudge-proof formula that won’t dry out lips – perfect for looking put-together even in states of emotional turmoil.

TIRTIR Mask Fit Red Cushion SPF40 PA++

The best partner for a bold red lip is flawless skin. We think Mrs Chan would be a fan of TIRTIR’s iconic cushion foundation – not only does it provide all-over coverage with a unique air-layered formula that minimises facial oils and delivers a semi-matte finish, but the chic red compact would look perfectly at home in her ever-present handbag. 

ETUDE HOUSE Zero Sebum Drying Powder

Complete your homage to Mrs Chan’s impeccable look with ETUDE HOUSE’s Zero Sebum Drying Powder, a finely milled powder to absorb excess oils and prevent makeup from caking on the skin. Instantly removing shine and keeping sebum levels under control with Salix Alba and Silica, it is ideal for touch-ups throughout the day, or after a particularly gruelling re-enactment of your husband’s infidelity.