Selma Blair: Makeup Is My Gorgeous War Paint

Selma Blair opened up about that transformative power of makeup, walking the red carpet with a cane and her MS diagnosis — details

Whether she was channeling the smart and studious Vivian Kensington in Legally Blonde or a young Cecile Caldwell in Cruel Intentions, Selma Blair admits that the transformative power of makeup has always amazed her.

“I’ve been made up by some of the most famous makeup artists since I started acting, and I’ve felt so transformed by their makeup that I really did become a different person,” she told Town & Country in an interview on April 19.

The 48-year-old actress, who has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, continues: “It was a superpower to me, and I mean this. Makeup is not trivial to me. If anything moves the needle for me in my life — even before my diagnosis or challenges — it is my gorgeous war paint.”

And when it comes to stocking her makeup bag with “gorgeous war paint,” rest assured Blair is picking the good stuff.

“I don’t mind if my muscles get caught at the intersection of a slow brain signal. I just want those words to come from lips covered in Chanel gloss,” she shares with the outlet.

The star has carried that same fashion-loving fervor over to the red carpet. At the Vanity Fair Oscar party in 2019, Blair not only stunned in a colorful Ralph & Russo gown — she also carried a monogrammed (and blinged out!) cane.

“I hadn’t been on a red carpet for so long, and now I was coming. I knew, since my diagnosis, people might be watching. I didn’t know if I would be forgotten about and be the last one on the red carpet,” she recalled to Town & Country.

Months earlier, Blair shared her MS diagnosis with the world via Instagram in October 2018. “I have #multiplesclerosis. I am in an exacerbation … I am disabled. I fall sometimes. I drop things. My memory is foggy. And my left side is asking for directions from a broken GPS. But we are doing it. And I laugh and I don’t know exactly I will do precisely but I will do my best.”

She continues: “I have MS and I am ok. But if you see me, dropping crap all over the street, feel free to help me pick it up … I have had symptoms for years but was never taken seriously until I fell down in front of him [doctor] trying to sort out what Thought was a pinched nerve. Have probably had this incurable disease for 15 years at least. I am relieved to at least know.”

Blair knew something was truly wrong when when she was walking in the Christian Siriano show for New York Fashion Week. “It was on that runway, with the thrill of walking in the show, that I suddenly lost feeling in my left leg,” she tells Town & Country. “But I was on a runway and thinking, ‘What do I do?’”