Kim Kardashian channels Elizabeth Taylor for online magazine Violet Grey. Photographed by Ben Hassett, Kim’s beauty shoot embraces Kim as Elizabeth as Cleopatra in ‘The Genius of Pat McGrath, celebrating the renowned makeup artist.

“I love Elizabeth,” says Kim. “Pat and I have had conversations about how iconic she is, and how iconic Cleopatra is…I would have done anything—I would have trusted Pat’s vision no matter what she wanted—but I was really excited that it was the Cleopatra vibe.”

About Pat McGrath from Violet Grey:

… she is the single most important force in the world of beauty today, its beloved and revered presiding genius. She has produced an astonishing body of work – there is perhaps no other artist who has such an extended influence over her field (to give an idea of her wide-ranging influence: last year Queen Elizabeth II granted Ms. McGrath membership in the Order of the British Empire for her contributions to the beauty and fashion industries). As creative design director of Procter & Gamble Beauty, she oversees the lines for CoverGirl, Max Factor, Dolce & Gabbana, and more; as the fashion world’s go-to first choice, she’s given us the faces from the runways and ad campaigns of Prada, Dior, Alexander McQueen, Gucci, and innumerable others. Her archive of magazine editorials is a primer of every major idea in beauty over the past 25 years. Even though she had never met Ms. McGrath, Grace Coddington hired her for a 1994 Vogue shoot with Helmut Newton: “All the models I was working with at the time, they all said there’s this amazing makeup artist—you’ve got to meet her, both personally and for her talent.” Ms. Coddington was smitten from that shoot onward, and works with Ms. McGrath whenever she can, “though not enough—it’s never enough. I just absolutely love her. When I get her on my team, I know it’s going to be brilliant. She has that confidence that’s not cocky and not annoying. You just let her do what she wants, and it’s always better than anything you could have imagined.”