There are few things in fashion quite as anticipated as a September issue of Vogue. It's the glossy, grown-up equivalent of a first-day-of-school outfit. But it also serves as one of the biggest beauty moments of any given year. So when British Vogue put Nicole Kidman on its September 2026 cover, photographed by Venetia Scott, the shoot did not disappoint—particularly if you enjoy a beauty look that makes you do a little bit of a double-take.

Kidman's brows are there, technically. But they're playing a rather refined game of hide-and-seek.

Normally, the actor's brows are noticeably deeper than her famously strawberry blonde hair (which has been more blonde than strawberry in recent years). Here, however, they appear to have been matched almost exactly to her hair color. The result is so monochromatic that the brows practically dissolve into her skin.

Photo: British Vogue/Venetia Scott

The barely-there brows are paired with voluminous hair, allowing hairstylist Adir Abergel and makeup artist Fulvia Farolfi to work together on a vision that provided much of the cover's visual drama. In fact, the hair and makeup get even more intense in many of the shoot's other photos.

Photo: British Vogue/Venetia Scott

Kidman has never seemed particularly precious about experimenting with hair and makeup. In fact, she credits a formative experience with teaching her just how impactful beauty can be. “I've said it before, but I used to go to trans clubs. That's where I learnt to do my hair and make-up. I would sit down as a little freckled-faced red-headed girl, and they would make me beautiful,” she says in the interview with executive editor Giles Hattersley. “They would do my lashes and straighten my hair and put hairpieces on me and makeup. I would walk out of there, and I would feel pretty. I would feel like I was transformed.”

Photo: British Vogue/Venetia Scott

Kidman clearly understands that hair and makeup can be transformative without having to be permanent—and this particular transformation is less “I bleached my brows!” and more “What if we made them disappear just for the afternoon? As a treat.”

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