What was your design process like on Everything Everywhere All at Once?
Designing the looks was a highly collaborative process. It started with pulling mood boards for the multiverses in conjunction with seeing the fitting photos from our amazing costume designer, Shirley Kurata. From there, hair department head Anissa Salazar and I would decide what we were thinking of doing, and work off of each other’s ideas to create a cohesive look. A lot of the looks were created on the day, as we had very limited time to test anything because of our extremely tight shooting schedule.
The film takes place in different multiverses creating a very different version of each character. How was this process managed on your end?
There were so many multiverses! I had a great key, Erin Rosenmann, who really helped keep track of continuity. We made a huge continuity chart that was taped to our wall so we could always refer to it. The Daniels were also great because they had it all in their heads, even if sometimes their response was not to worry about continuity!
Michelle Yeoh as Evelyn Wang has the most diverse looks depending on what multiverse she is in. Were there any challenges in the process because of that?
We shot the whole movie in eight weeks, so we had to try to create looks that were high-impact, but quick changes. I started my career working on low-budget indie films, so I’m used to working quickly. I think our schedule was the biggest challenge in all of this. Her normal look was pared down. We aged her a tiny bit and tried to make her look haggard and worn like life had beaten her down. So every other look was a little easier, building up from that look, or even wiping off what we did. Michelle is a naturally beautiful person, so it was a challenge to try to make her look like the worst version of herself.
Jamie Lee Curtis as Deirdre Beaubeirdre was one of the most fun transformations in the film. Can you tell us about her makeup design?
What a great transformation! My key, Erin, handled Jamie’s makeup and did a great job making her look like a real, believable hilarious character. Jamie Lee Curtis had a stock photo of a woman that our costume designer had found that she wanted to look like. But she also had ideas about her character’s makeup. She wanted her makeup to look like she’d done it the same way for years, and didn’t know how to do it well. Her concealer was intentionally too light and smeared under her eyes as if she swiped it with her fingers. Her brows were a little too dark, and not done great. But her nails were impeccable. She had this great story that her character thought her manicurist was her friend, so she would go get her nails done constantly. They were this beautiful red color. A funny side note, when she had the hot dog hands, made by the amazing Jason Hamer, we used the same nail polish to give her hot dog fingers red nails as well.
When Stephanie Hsu’s character Joy Wang becomes Jobu Tupaki her makeup design becomes super creative. What was your inspiration for those looks?
I pulled so much inspiration for Jobu Tupaki because she had so many looks, and I wanted to make sure each look was different. I pulled runway makeup and editorial looks as inspiration, makeups I’ve seen from TikTok and Instagram, as well as from the art world — paintings by Picasso and cubist painters, National Geographic photos of warriors, clown makeup, pretty much anywhere I could find inspiration. I keep photos and screenshots of stuff I love or that inspires me, so I can always pull from my stock of images to come up with some great ideas. A lot of the looks had some kind of emotion painted on her face, such as teardrops, hearts, and a runny nose, like her character’s emotions were coming out through the makeup on her face.
Are there products you couldn’t have worked on this film without?
MAC acrylic paints were amazing for Jobu Tupaki’s jumbled look. They last all day with no touchups, and through fighting and sweating. MAC is so supportive of film and TV artists, which I appreciate. For everyone’s natural looks, we concentrated on good skin over makeup—Weleda Skin Food and IS Clinical are favorites. We’re big fans of makeup, so there are many brands we love. Sunnies Face was great for lip colors in nice textures; Armani Luminous Silk is always a staple in my kit; Tower 28 makes amazing cheek and lip balms and is Asian owned, which is nice to support. Ilia is a great clean brand I love that we used a lot as well; their mascara is great. Anastasia’s brow products are also always on hand.
What was the best part of working on Everything Everywhere All At Once?
I loved working on this project, there were so many good things about it. The cast and crew were amazing, and they made it feel like a family. We had morning warmups together, and weekly awards for crew members. The Daniels created a warm environment, and trust their crew to do their job. I love that I got to stretch my creative makeup skills. We don’t get to do crazy makeup that often, so it was fun to break out some crazy colors and textures and flex my makeup skills a little.
Words Shannon Levy
Photos Courtesy of Allyson Riggs/A24