Flying In Fashion: How To Steal The Emirates Cabin Crew's Signature Makeup Look

You might expect certain jobs to come with inherent allure. For instance, workers in fashion, beauty, and luxury spaces often reflect the aesthetic of their company. But these aren't the only sectors that can harbor a keen sense of style — even corporate drones are serving with the rise of trends like the office siren aesthetic. And when it comes to traversing our friendly skies, fasten your seatbelt for serious style: The cabin crew at Emirates leads the pack with their chic and recognizable look.

Walking through an airport, you probably know Emirates flight attendants when you see them — the sharp khaki uniform, their unique hat with its long white veil, and that soft glam makeup accented with a bright red lip. However, what you might not know is how those flight attendants achieve the makeup that completes their ensemble. Fortunately, a few Emirates veterans have shared their versions of the routine online. This includes experienced (and now former) crew member and YouTuber @auraintheclouds, whose 2020 video walks viewers through a simple, beginner-friendly take on the iconic Emirates beauty look.

Want Emirates-style glamour? Former flight attendant Aura lists the cabin crew's makeup essentials: foundation, eyeliner and/or eyeshadow, mascara, blush, and "the most important, signature Emirates red lipstick." If you also want highlighter or contouring, "that's totally up to you." But Aura starts by cleansing, toning, and moisturizing — particularly emphasizing the importance of moisturizing for air travel, since the plane's recycled air can be oh-so-drying.

She then preps with Givenchy Prisme Mattifying Primer, saying it's crucial for makeup longevity, particularly around the eyes. "Even after 21 hours, your makeup will last," Aura promises, noting that the cabin crew doesn't get to reapply during flights. She opts for Nude by Nature Sheer Glow BB Cream as foundation on good skin days, or instead reaches for Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Foundation for more coverage. This is topped with Bobbi Brown powder — it looks like Skin Weightless Powder Foundation — and the brand's discontinued Tinted Eye Brightener as concealer.

Aura uses a black eyeliner pencil to darken her waterlines and eyeshadow in a neutral shimmer to meet Emirates' preference for natural-looking eye makeup. (Her shadows come from hard-to-find Sephora and Smashbox palettes — use similar hues from your collection.) She adds the lightest shade along her brow bone and inner corner with a rosier shade across the lid. Aura finishes her eyes with liquid eyeliner along her upper lashes, L'Oréal mascara — Emirates apparently discourages falsies — and brow touch-ups with an unnamed brow pencil. Next, Aura applies Wet n Wild MegaGlo Halo Liquid Highlighter along her cheekbones and rosy Sephora blush on the apples of her cheeks. Then she uses Lucas' Papaw Ointment as a lip moisturizer — apparently, a holy grail among Emirates cabin crew. Finally, she completes the look with a glossy, true-red lipstick from Sephora.

The Emirates cabin crew puts forth a refined image, but some of the funniest and most charming parts of Aura's makeup walkthrough are her repeated insistences that she isn't a makeup girl and doesn't know what she's doing. Not only is this encouraging for the cosmetically challenged — anyone can get the Emirates look! — but it highlights the importance of Emirates' new perk-cum-training, the Emirates Beauty Hub.

Launched in 2024, Emirates calls their Beauty Hub "an immersive beauty experience" providing cabin crew with free consultations and masterclasses in everything from makeup, skincare, and haircare to fitness and nutrition. A visit might even include guidance from professional makeup artists and access to premium brands like Dior as the cabin crew learns about booming beauty trends, complexion matching, and perfecting a travel skincare routine. While the cabin crew doesn't necessarily have to adopt products from these collaborating brands — we'll just leave a list of the best Dior blush dupes here — experiencing them at the Beauty Hub provides a risk-free opportunity for Emirates' flight attendants to explore high-quality products and decide whether to make the investment.

The Hub is located in Emirates' home base of Dubai and is available five days a week to the 21,000+ cabin crew members in the area. So while the existing Emirates beauty look is already iconic, it seems like this stylish workforce may be poised to become even more chic as time (and training) goes by.