Golden Girl! Beyoncé’s Makeup Artist Sir John Reveals How to Get Her Lion King Premiere Look

Sir John shares the exact products he used to create the Lion King star’s cat eye.

Even before The Lion King debuts on July 18, Beyoncé is making jaws drop. The mega-star has had two major outings to promote the movie, each equally fierce. And for her second red carpet, in which the star shined in a pleated marigold gown, her makeup artist Sir John spoke exclusively to PEOPLE about how he created her coordinating bronzy beauty look using products from his limited-edition The Lion King makeup collection made in partnership with Luminess.

With Queen Bey’s gown and hairstyle picked out, Sir John decided on a golden with a 3-D-like quality eye to complete the look.

“I love playing with textures,” explains the pro, who blended a matte shade from his palette on her lid and accented that with a shimmery one on the center of the lids.

“I really wanted to create a nice daytime smoky eye using browns, an antique, champagne gold color like Nala, and a warm gold like Simba,” he reveals. “It’s all about strategically placing these colors so that no matter where my client turns, their look is never too shimmery.”

He also gave the voice of Nala a feline flick with coffee brown eye liner. A winged look “just lifts the eye,” he says.

After tapping on foundation with a Beautyblender, Sir John used his sculpting palette “to give the face a subtle architectural structure.”

To avoid a costume-y look, he advises “slowly building up a shadow” in areas like “underneath the cheekbone, underneath the jawline, and temples.” He adds, “this isn’t blending stripes. It’s a little more editorial and polished.”

On her lips, he applied a brown lip liner, his Pounce lipstick and a cinnamon-tinted lip gloss.

The pro also used a touch of body makeup on Beyoncé collarbones.

For Sir John, seeing his longtime client on the carpet in his very own makeup was picture-perfect.

“I literally have never worked so hard on one project in my life. But it’s been a labor of love,” says the pro, who created an array of earthy shades that could be work to the office, or a night on the town.

“I really tried to look out for women, like my mom, who just doesn’t have time to put on eye shadow,” he says.

And so far, the pro hasn’t disappointed. “Beyoncé was happy, my mom is happy, and if my grandmother were still here, she’d be proud,” he says.

Still, his recent win has not set in. “I’m always next, next, next, because my goal is to keep it moving,” he admits. “But I’m never not grateful, my mama won’t let that happen! I am still just a guy from Harlem.”