Why The Makeup In ‘Promising Young Woman’ Is So Important

The head make-up artist reveals all.Apr 12, 2021 3:59amBy ELLE TeamIf you missed Promising Young Woman within the cinemas, you have most likely realised it is now out there to stream. I watched the movie, which stars Carey Mulligan as Cassie, a lady hell-bent on avenging her finest buddy’s loss of life, final evening – and one factor I observed is that the make-up artistry could be very completely different to most movies.There’s a purpose for that – because the Makeup Head on the movie, Angie Wells, instructed Variety earlier this yr. Instead of going for the standard polished make-up search for Promising Young Woman, Wells wished to make Cassie’s make-up appear to be she’d completed it herself.”This is somebody who watched Instagram and YouTube movies and practiced within the mirror,” she stated of Mulligan’s make-up, including that nailed the DIY vibes by purposely not mixing in contour powders, getting Mulligan to close her eyes with recent mascara on so it will smudge barely, and over-outlining her lips. “When she’s within the bar with a mini gown and her hair is pulled up right into a ponytail, that is the ‘Homemade Kardashian’ look,” she says, including “I wished to make it sexual and alluring, however make it appear to be she did it herself.”Obviously, it is the final scene – by which Mulligan as Cassie attire up in a horny physician outfit for a buck’s social gathering – that is still embedded in our brains lengthy after the movie is over. For that scene, Wells says she wished to go for a blow-up doll look.She known as the ultimate look “edgy and scary”, one thing she inspired by utilizing a darkish, blue-red lip to reinforce Mulligan’s mouth. “Blow-up dolls have a wide-eye and a giant mouth look, so I performed to that.”Essentially Wells wished to veer away from “tender and fairly” when Cassie is out getting revenge, juxtaposing these appears to be like together with her day-to-day minimal make-up look. It’s a extremely distinctive methodology of portraying character modifications, and really a lot works within the movie.