How did you come to work on Don’t Worry Darling?
When we were wrapping Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Arianne Phillips the costume designer, mentioned she was going to call me for an upcoming project with Olivia Wilde. I loved Booksmart and got really excited about this new film. When it was finally in production in 2020, I was booked on another film and was so disappointed. Then everything shut down for Covid and the stars aligned. Seana Chavez was my co-department head and went ahead and prepped for me until I came in a few days before shooting started.
What inspired Florence Pugh’s look as Alice?
Alice was more ‘60s inspired than the other wives. I just followed Olivia and Arianne’s inspiration which was more the beautiful but far from perfect, Brigitte Bardot. Her character is questioning her world and it made sense that she is a little different. Less perfect. More realistic.
What was the process for covering Harry Style’s tattoos?
We airbrushed him and I believe he was under an hour for a waist-up full tattoo cover. Now don’t get too excited¾-it was not because he is naked throughout the film. Because his tattoos show through his white shirts, he had to have them covered and cleaned up at the end of the day. It definitely was a process.
Once reality begins to crack for Alice, how does her makeup change?
In the beginning, she has a matte put-together look, and as she gets deeper in, I started doing less makeup and made her skin dewy. I started by taking lips away and mixed oil into her foundation to look dewy. We went from full lashes to individual to no lashes, until she was just wearing sunscreen! I want you to relate to her and feel how she feels, so we had her really raw and showed her vulnerability by stripping away her makeup.
Tell me about the makeup design of the dancers that look very Marilyn Monroe-esque and then very twisted and dark.
These two looks were very important for Olivia from our first meeting. She wanted them the polar opposite of the Monroe looks—dark eyes, white cracked skin. Cracked skin! I had done The Suicide Squad and I had to do cracked skin on Harley Quinn in that, and we tested and tested until we came up with the right formula, and voila! On Don’t Worry Darling, we were able to save time, not needing to test to get that cracked skin, but just a day to see exactly how much eye makeup and what else we were building around it. Those two looks were a pre-shoot and shot in one day. We had all the dancers start in the Monroe look, and then had to change them over in a minimum amount of time! Crazy day but creative and so much fun!
You have collaborated with both Arianne Phillips (costume) and Jamie Leigh (hair) on past projects. What was the design process like for this film?
It was such an effortless collaboration. There had been a tremendous amount of research between Olivia, Arianne, and production designer Katie Byron that Jaime Leigh and I benefitted from. Let’s just start with the legend Arianne is! I think Don’t Worry Darling is the film where her background in fashion and film really merged. Every outfit tells a story and is literally sculpted to each actor but so spot on and could have been in Vogue! She showed us the costumes and her inspiration for each character, and she let Jaime Leigh and I do our thing after that. We discussed and tested hair up and hair down, red lips versus light lips, and compared notes. Both Jaime Leigh and Arianne are beautiful artists and so detailed, and I love collaborating with them. Jaime Leigh is a wizard! She makes everything seem effortless and beautiful.
What were your key products on set for the film?
Our go-to’s were Armani Luminous Silk foundations and concealers along with Charlotte Tilbury Flawless foundations. When we wanted a dewy look, but still coverage, my team, Seana Chavez, Alex French and Alex Storm, mixed a few drops of oil such as Iconolab or Saint Jane’s Luxury Beauty Serum into the foundation. When we wanted Alice’s no makeup look, Kosas foundations were a perfect choice. Tower28 Cream Blushes give the perfect subtle pop of color that looks beautiful on camera. Black Swan of Denmark makes the most beautiful lashes, band for a stronger look/clusters and individual for a natural look. Lots of Dior eyeliners and Hourglass eyebrow pencils. I used Hourglass Immaculate Foundation for Alice’s “morning look” when she had to look a little matte. MAC Stubborn brown eyeliner for definition for a natural look, and for shading in the crease for a formal look. Masks and red lips were a nightmare until we discovered Stila All Day Lipsticks! The lips get very dry using long-wear lipsticks and we went through a lot of Lip Luffas to exfoliate followed by Monastery Attar balm to keep the lips moist throughout the day.
Before and after makeup, we prepped the skin with Arcona Triad Pads followed by moisturizers such as Peptide Moisturizing Complex or Kat Burki Vitamin C moisturizer followed by Arcona Reozone Sunscreen. Everyone practically bathed in Epicuren Body Moisturizer. We went through a lot of Kai and Glossier Body Spray for the pool scenes.
Do you have a favorite makeup from Don’t Worry Darling?
This film was so creative and highly stylized with lots of fun makeup looks but my favorite design is one I cannot talk about yet!
Words Shannon Levy
Photos Warner Bros. Pictures
