Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
Theyre sweating and throwing up that force-fed medicine onto their nightgowns.
Their eyes are cocooned in dehydrated despair.
Their skin isbeggingfor Creme de la Mer.
They are, simply, dead women walking, unless the spoonfuls of poison stops.
Theres nothing worse than watching a film or TV show and the makeup taking you out of it.
Thats what I strive for, and thats always the most challenging part of creating those looks.
Youre always trying to make the makeup look invisible.
Viewers may look at something like that and say,Oh, that looks like nothing.
I bet thats easy.In reality, its exactly the opposite.
What questions run through your mind while testing?Can we put a sheen on top of it?
Whats going to look like the most realistic sweat?
How many hours has a person been injecting the poison?
What bang out of poison is it?
Its all those things you take into consideration.
Ill talk to the script supervisor to get her expertise of how much time has gone by.
Whether its an hour, two hours, or a full day.
I have to cross-reference and double check and have my timeline in place before anything else gets done.
Then, we approach the makeup.
Essentially its like any other makeup app we prep the skin, we moisturize.
With Eliza we would do a few layers with silicone makeup to lighten her skin.
At her most poisoned, we lightened her skin by two levels.
We used sponges and brushes to blotch it onto her skin in different layers.
Wed go back in around her eyes with different cream colors and different shadows.
Wed add a little bit of sheen, too.
It was actually perfect for the Georgia weather the actors didnt get burned!
We ended up using it alotin the show with many characters.
In between scenes wed spray water on Elizas chest and face, too.
Wed up the level of intensity for what we needed.
Revlon Colorstay was good for Elizas body and chest to help pale her out.
Im one of those artists who thinks makeup is makeup.
I should probably take that back, but its all pigment and color.
Its all just in the app and placement of it.
There was one specific challenge forSharp Objects,too, with the lighting.
Jean-Marc Vallees shooting style is so unique he doesnt use traditional light.
He uses whatever source of light is there.
If theres just a hallway light on, thats it.
Its anywhere from 30 to 40 minutes of someone sitting in my chair.
Weve gotta keep it moving!
They need to get their hair done and get their costumes on!
With a poison makeup, Im more concerned about the entire body.
The legs, the arms, the back of the neck.
I have to confirm its one full, complete makeup.
Youre not just worrying about her face.
Are her nails starting to turn blue or yellow?
Should her feet be dirty?
I look at it as one makeup.
You know what somebody looks like when theyre tired.
You know what somebody looks like when theyre hungover.
You see it every day people with red noses and puffy eyes.
Its not a monster or alien, where your imagination can run wild.
This is something you see every day.
Theres no room for failure.
The audience is smarter than that.
