Kim Kardashian May Have Just Had a Birthday but Her Makeup Pro Gifted Us the Breakdown on Her Party Look (Exclusive)

Kim Kardashian is one radiant birthday girl.

The beauty mogul rang in her 44th birthday on Monday, Oct. 21, and to kick off her special day, she posted photos of her stunning “birthday suit.” 

For an early celebration, Kardashian wore Diesel’s D-Rooney dress, which retails for $1,650.

Days later, the star posted a carousel on Instagram sharing the celebration, plus a close-up of her gorgeous makeup. 

“HB2 ME,” she captioned the post, adding, “love when my lifers surprise me w a cute dinner to celebrate.”

For her glam, Kardashian stuck to her signature nude palette, “with a twist” says makeup artist Ash K Holm, who created the look. 

“I wanted to keep her bronzy but added wet, glossy elements to her cheekbones, eyelids and body,” Holm explains. “I [also] added a glittery champagne nude glow to the inner corners of her eyes to complement the wet nude elements of the dress.”

Kardashian and Holm met in 2017. Shares Holm, “She found me through word of mouth, which I love because I truly believe your reputation is everything!” 

While the star let Holm “do whatever I wanted,” she says her goal was to always make the mogul “look like her best self. “After our first glam session, she said she’ll have to steal me from [sister] Khloé as she smiled while I was about to leave,” Holm shares.

Fast-forward nearly seven years and the two have collaborated on multiple looks coast to coast, from her Calabasas, Calif., home to Boston, Mass., where Kardashian was a guest speaker at Harvard Business School. 

Holm has also created several of Kardashian’s past birthday looks. Still it was an honor to be asked to create this one. “My reaction is always, ‘Yes!’ because I love being part of these special moments with Kim.”

The pro says it’s not more pressure than creating any other look because her approach is to treat every glam session “like it’s my first time."

"I think it’s important, whether with her or anyone else, to never get comfortable and always stay on your A-game. That’s what sets you apart and keeps you inspired to keep creating,” she says.

For this look, Holm was inspired by the birthday girl’s “liquid nude” dress. “I didn’t know what she was wearing until I got there. When I saw the [the outfit], I decided to make her body look wet, with bronzy elements on her cheeks and eyelids to complement it perfectly.” The bronzy, wet effect, she says, radiated Kardashian’s natural beauty.

To start, Holm prepped Kardashian’s skin with SKKN BY KIM Face Cream and SKKN BY KIM Eye Cream. “I keep the skincare routine simple so the creams don’t weigh the skin down, giving a longer-lasting complexion,” the pro explains.

On her brows, Holm sculpted her brows with Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Definer in Medium Brown then locked them in with Brow Freeze “for all-day hold.”

Holm then created a softer eyeshadow look with this genius hack: she prepped Kardashian’s lids with foundation first. Using the SKKN BY KIM Classic Mattes Eyeshadow Palette, Holm contoured Kardashian’s eyes with bronzy matte tones, then used a cream highlighter on her eyelids and crease for a glossy sheen, and Dose of Colors’ shimmer stick to the inner corners of her eyes (blended with a pencil-shaped brush) for a champagne sparkle. Kiss Falscara Wispy Wipes gave her lashes a “doll-like effect.”

Lastly, the pro contoured her lips with SKKN BY KIM Lip Liner in Nude 08 and Nude 09 and applied SKKN BY KIM Soft Matte Lip Color in Nude 02 “for a ’90s supermodel look.”

Holm said that to make the look hold up all night, it’s about using the correct techniques. “I always apply makeup in light, thin layers, making sure to push the product into the skin so it doesn’t sit on top. Then I set her skin with One/Size On ‘Til Dawn Setting Spray for long-lasting hold.”

Holm has been doing makeup for 15 years, so she knows when a client is feeling a look. But of course, it’s the icing on the cake when a client tells you, and that’s exactly what Kardashian did before her celebration. “She also told me she loved her glam, which is the best confirmation,” Holm says.

The look is “definitely one of my favorites” of all the looks they’ve created, Holm says, “because it feels young, sexy and effortless!” But, she adds, “With Kim, you can never go wrong because she’s always a bombshell.”

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The pro can still remember being inspired by Kardashian’s other makeup artist, beauty guru Mario Dedivanovic, and the looks he created on her in the 2000s. “I knew I wanted to be part of the glam family one day.” 

Holm adds that Kardashian herself is an inspiration, too. “I’ve always said that Kim has elevated Middle Eastern women, and her presence has shined a light on them. I feel she made it cool to unapologetically be yourself. When I lived in Houston, Texas, I would tell myself that one day, I’d do her makeup — and with hard work, I made that a reality.”

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Now it’s the trust Kardashian has in Holm that keeps them creating knockout looks. 

“My favorite thing is the trust she has in me. That’s when the magic truly happens — when clients fully trust you to create and elevate their image. Kim is the sweetest and calmest person I’ve ever worked with, and she treats everyone with kindness and respect.”

Holm continues, “I also love her work ethic and commitment to nailing a look. Working with her has made me better at my craft, and I never take that for granted.”