How to Do Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader Makeup

Key Takeaways

• Charlotte Tilbury is the official 2025 makeup partner for the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders.
• She created a bespoke look for the team that captures their “classic, timeless Americana” beauty—and taught us exactly how to get it.

Though they’ve been stealing hearts since 1961, everyone fell even more in love with the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders last year when Netflix released their America’s Sweethearts documentary.

It’s not that there weren’t perks to the job before, but in the time since they filmed the first season (the second is out now!) the fame boost has done the athletes some good. They’re being paid more this year, for one thing. They also get to work with the one and only Charlotte Tilbury for their glam.

Great makeup and fair(-er) pay… what more could a girl want?

Looking to capture a style rooted in “classic, timeless Americana,” the iconic makeup artist dug through the team’s archives all the way back to their ’60s origins for inspiration. As she went, she realized that many of the visual cues reminded her of the all-American beauties she’s worked with throughout her own storied career.

Getty Images

With them in mind, she got to work crafting a signature look for the team.

“I am so proud to be the official beauty partner of the phenomenal Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, giving them the magic of confidence with their very own bespoke beauty look for the 2025-2026 season,” the legendary makeup artist tells Byrdie.

Ahead, Tilbury breaks it all down—those dazzling eyes, that Pillow Talk-forward lip—and teaches us how to copy the DCC look at home. We promise it’s easier than trying to learn “Thunderstruck.”

Charlotte Tilbury

The DCC Eye Look

To make the eyes “look bigger, brighter and beyond dazzling,” Tilbury chose her Luxury Palettes in Pillow Talk and Pillow Talk Dreams as a base. Then, she gave the lids a “gorgeous, gilded finish” with the Eyes to Mesmerise cream eyeshadow pots in Amber Gold and Champagne.

“Darling, you really cannot go wrong with beautifying, dreamy Pillow Talk eyes. It looks incredible on the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and will look just as incredible on you,” she says. “My Pillow Talk Luxury Palettes have an easy four-step system to prime, enhance, smoke and pop. Start by blending the Prime shade all over the eyelids using my Eye Blender Brush, applying the Enhance shade into the outer corner using my Eye Smudger Brush.”

Charlotte Tilbury

To add some depth and smokiness, you’ll use the same brush to blend the Smoke shade from the outer corner of your eye upward into the crease. Then, take it across the upper and lower lash line.

“For a golden, starlit glow, add a pop of my Eyes to Mesmerise on the centre of the eyelids,” she adds. And to make your eyes look bigger, thicker, and longer “in seconds,” finish things up with the Exagger-Eyes Volume Mascara.

The DCC Lip Look

“At the heart of the America’s Sweethearts look is Pillow Talk, my universally flattering nude-pink hue that mimics the tones we are naturally blessed with. Darling, Pillow Talk amplifies everyone’s natural beauty and is everyone’s perfect shade,” the artist says. “Using my iconic Pillow Talk Lip Cheat and Matte Revolution lipsticks, every member of the squad will have the perfect Pillow Talk pouts that flatter their individual skin tones. There is a Pillow Talk shade for every complexion: two deeper, sweeter berry-rose tones with Pillow Talk Medium and Pillow Talk Intense, and the cooler-toned, nuanced pink of Pillow Talk Fair.”

Charlotte Tilbury

To resize and reshape the look of your lips, Tilbury says to follow the natural lip line, overlining slightly at the Cupid’s bow and the center of the lower lip. Then, “finish with a swipe of Pillow Talk Matte Revolution for the perfect America’s Sweethearts pout.”

Charlotte Tilbury’s Approach to DCC Complexions

Tilbury describes the America’s Sweethearts complexion as flawless and visibly poreless. It starts with her “longwear but light-as-air” Airbrush Flawless Foundation, followed by the Beautiful Skin Radiant Concealer. Next, she sets the complexion with Airbrush Flawless Finish, applying the powder down the T-zone and underneath the eyes to smooth, blur, and mattify.

@charlottetilbury/Instagram

“To mimic the squad’s glowing, sculpted, snatched looking complexions, you need my Hollywood Contour Wands, Pillow Talk Matte Beauty Blush Wand, and Beauty Light Wands. For a quick and easy contour, simply apply two dots on the sides of your forehead, along your cheekbones and jawline, then down the sides of your nose, blending with my Hollywood Complexion Brush and Super Nudes Shapewear Brush,” she explains. “Anyone can do it, darling! To give your cheeks a fresh glow of rosy color, apply my Pillow Talk Matte Beauty Blush Wand onto the apples of your cheeks, blending up along the cheekbones towards the temples for a lift effect.”

@dccheerleaders/Instagram

And for that “unrivaled” Tilbury glow? “Apply one of my Beauty Light Wands on top of the cheekbones, under the brow bone, down the bridge and tip of your nose and above the Cupid’s bow to give the illusion of lifting your face, like strings of light pulling it gently upwards. It’s as easy as dot, dot, blend, and glow!”

How to Game-Proof Your Makeup

I’m not sure you’ve ever been on a football field, but those lights are hot. And the moves they’re doing, I’m sure you know, are intense athletic feats.

“The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are often performing extensive routines in hot and humid climates, so one of the most important things about their makeup look is that it is hard-working and long-lasting, without the need for constant touch-ups,” Tilbury says.

Charlotte Tilbury

Thus, she worked hard to create a cheer-proof look. Before anything else, every girl on the squad received a Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream moisturizer to prime their skin for makeup.

“You cannot have a beautiful painting without a beautiful canvas, which means that skin prep is key to ensuring your makeup looks flawless for longer,” she adds.

Then came her Airbrush collection, an essential due to the products’ long-lasting and high-performance abilities.

“My Airbrush Flawless Foundation gives the most incredible airbrushed effect, instantly vanishing the look of blemishes, redness, visible pores, fine lines, hyperpigmentation, uneven skin tone and dark circles—but the formula is light-as-air and hydrates like skincare!” Tilbury says. “Sweat-proof, waterproof and transfer-resistant, it truly is the squad’s ultimate complexion must-have as it is also infused with AirCool, which keeps the skin feeling fresh and comfortable all day.”

You can’t have a signature Charlotte Tilbury look without the brand’s Airbrush Flawless Finish Powder—that comes after the foundation. Then, comes the “crucial last step for lasting makeup magic:” the waterproof Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray.

Charlotte Tilbury

“It is like your very own cheerleader!” she notes. “It will keep the squad looking flawless as they go from locker room to field and from press day to party!”

How to Add Just a Touch of DDC Glam

If you don’t have time to do a full face, there are some workarounds.

Charlotte Tilbury

“To instantly light up your eyes, glide my Eyes to Mesmerise onto the eyelids using your fingers and finish with a coat of my Exagger-Eyes Volume Mascara for instant exaggerated fast volume and curl,” Tilbury says. “For a final touch, line your lips with my Pillow Talk Lip Cheat before swiping on my Pillow Talk Matte Revolution lipstick. Darling, this quick and easy look will give you the magic of confidence!”