And just like that, Samantha Jones — and her signature beauty look — is back.
Kim Cattrall finally made her highly anticipated cameo on Thursday’s Season 2 finale of “And Just Like That,” with her character calling Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) from a taxi.
But the comeback started with a different special phone call — to Cattrall’s longtime makeup artist, Kyra Panchenko, who served as her glam go-to for the original “Sex and the City.”
“It’s a funny story, because I was in LA working on another project and my phone started blowing up,” Panchenko tells Page Six Style, recalling Cattrall texting to see if she could “do her makeup for something in New York.”
At the same time, a producer friend asked Panchenko to “hold for a hush-hush gig.”
While she initially flew into “full panic mode” about potentially double-booking herself, she soon learned the “super secret” projects were one and the same — and that she’d have the opportunity to bring back Samantha’s signature “soft and chic” makeup look for the first time in years. (Original “Sex and the City” costume designer Patricia Field returned to dress Cattrall, too.)
“For Kim, it’s always about making her skin look fresh and amazing,” the makeup artist, also a favorite of Nicole Kidman, tells us of Cattrall’s look for the secretive shoot. “I spend the most time on skin prep, foundation and contour.”
Before cameras rolled, Cattrall got ready for her close-up with the NuFace Trinity Microcurrent Facial Device ($330) to “tone and firm” her skin, followed by the celeb-loved 111SKIN Celestial Black Diamond Eye Mask ($35), Gee Beauty Prime Skin Beauty Oil ($50) and Joanna Vargas Twilight Face Mask ($75) “to hydrate the skin before [starting] makeup application.”
NuFace Trinity Microcurrent Facial Device (from $330)
111SKIN Celestial Black Diamond Eye Mask ($35)
Panchenko then applied her “go-to foundation” — Gee Beauty Prime Skin Foundation ($58) — along with the brand’s Blur Radiance Priming Balm ($40). Gucci Westman Bronzer ($75) and Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Lip & Cheek Glow ($40) provided pops of color.
“I’m a stickler for making sure the foundation is sheer so the skin looks fresh and dewy, not heavy.” says Panchenko, who also recommends “a cream blush over a powder, because it gives a more translucent look.”
She created Cattrall’s eye look with products including Charlotte Tilbury Legendary Lashes Mascara ($32) — a red carpet favorite — along with Lash Lash false lashes, Kosas’ Brow Pop pencil ($24) and Victoria Beckham Satin Kajal Liner ($30). Next, she applied Lisa Eldridge Gloss Embrace Lip Gloss ($26) and the matching Lip Pencil ($27) to perfect the star’s pout.
Gee Beauty Prime Skin Foundation ($58)
Charlotte Tilbury Legendary Lashes Mascara ($32)
And while Panchenko was only tasked with making Cattrall’s face look picture perfect this time around, some of her most memorable moments with the actress involved more than makeup.
“I had at attach a merkin for the episode ‘Bozo the Bush,'” she tells us, recalling a Season 6 plotline where Samantha accidentally dyed her pubic hair orange. “[And] I probably had 10 different sets of jeweled nails made specifically for Samantha on the [second ‘SATC’ movie].”
Added Panchenko of Cattrall’s blinged-out digits in the 2010 flick, “They kept popping off during scenes and we would have to cut and find them. It was quite comical, with the whole crew looking for the nail that popped off.”
While time will tell whether Sam Jones returns to the franchise again in the future, one thing’s for sure: Panchenko always nails it with the character’s glam.