Prince had style. He was an icon in the truest sense, an inimitable force of nature who influenced pop culture and fashion so dramatically that we’re still experiencing the ripple effect of his raw sex appeal 40 years after his debut. He transcended traditional gender categories, defied sexuality, and attracted men and women alike with his affinity for androgyny?there is the Kinsey scale, and then there is Prince.
And beyond his ruffled blouses, his perfectly tailored suits, his skintight pants, and long capes and jackets and commitment to all things purple, he also had a way with beauty.
Prince did change up his vibe (not to mention his name) from time to time, with pompadours and quiffs, natural curls and Afros, finger waves and frizz, glasses and turtlenecks, and facial hair and the best album-cover center part this world has ever seen. Amazon
But throughout his four decades of dizzying fame and epic performances, he cultivated an unmistakable signature look, oft imitated but never replicated. Here, in photos:
A subtle cat-eye
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
And sometimes not so subtle, too. This was Prince’s jam?a smudge of dark kohl extended slightly past his lash line for just a little bit of definition.
The beautiful unblemished skin of a baby angel
Michael Caulfield/WireImage/Getty Images
Clear, even-toned, and always “uncannily smooth.”
Well-groomed but not overdone brows
Barry King/WireImage/Getty Images
That arch!
Mole as accessory
Todd William...