Handmaid's Tale Makeup Artist Interview
The 1 Thing Everyone Is Wearing in The Handmaid's Tale That You've Never Noticed
As POPSUGAR editors, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. If you buy a product we have recommended, we may receive affiliate commission, which in turn supports our work.
Anyone who watched (or, sorry, bit off all your nails while watching) the last episode of The Handmaid's Tale knows that season three is going to be a little . . . different — and that extends to the hair and makeup.
To recap, Offred (played by Elisabeth Moss) stayed behind in Gilead to save her daughter Hannah, which means one thing for upcoming episodes: "She's in fight mode now," said Burton LeBlanc, the show's makeup department head. "We wanted to establish more of a Sarah Connor-from-Terminator look. That's a loose reference, but I just mean we have made her face more angular, using makeup to create shadows underneath the apples of her cheekbones and under her jawline — like a tougher look, but without making it obvious that she's wearing makeup."
So yes, that's one piece of the chaotic puzzle you can expect in season three. But because this is The Handmaid's Tale we're talking about, you know that sometimes the best things come in unexpected moments. LeBlanc is breaking down those surprising behind-the-scenes beauty moments ahead — and the fruit is, indeed, blessed.
The 1 Beauty Staple the Handmaids Wear That You Never Noticed
It only makes sense that, when you're rundown from the men (and, in most cases, their wives) of Gilead impeding your basic human rights, you can see it on your face. That's the exact effect LeBlanc tried to create with the Handmaids: "One of the main things you see when you're tired is that darkness under the eyes," he said. "So we used any kind of variation of dark, taupe eye shadows to create that worn out under eye look. For some of [the Handmaids], depending on if they look too fresh coming in or too well-rested, we'll smudge a little bit of red lip liner in the waterline to make them look like they have been crying or haven't slept."
How Elisabeth Moss Keeps Offred's and June's Tears in Check
While the women on the show wear "very minimal makeup," LeBlanc said, Moss's character makes a few exceptions. "Elisabeth wears waterproof mascara. She has really blond eyelashes and a half curl, so just a little Maybelline Volum' Express the Colossal Waterproof Mascara (£7) really helps. It's a staple, and it really works — it stays on there for the whole day and doesn't move. Except when we do the super tight shots on her eyes, which we call the 'Lizzie Lens.' In those cases, I have to go in and take all her mascara off."
The Surprising Product The Handmaid's Tale Makeup Team Used on Set
In a word: individual eyebrows. "A lot of these girls come in with overly tweezed eyebrows, both the Marthas and the Handmaids," LeBlanc said. "We wanted to create a fuller look because, in the story line, they wouldn't have access to tweezers. So every day we put individual hairs from JB Brows onto the eyebrows with adhesive. The whole process takes maybe 15 minutes — sometimes you only needs two or three in the centre, or a few on the edges of the brow — and it really does the trick on camera."
The Secret to Offred's "Glowing" Skin
Nope, it's not sweat or tears (but good guess). Instead, the secret to Offred's glow is the Elizabeth Arden Online-Only Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant (£27). "I apply that all over Elisabeth's face, because a lot of times, the lighting is really dark or dimly lit, so it just gives her face a nice sheen when the light hits it," he said. "That way she has more dimension to her face and it's not so flat looking."
What Went Into the Emmy-Nominated Look From the Colonies
To create the worn-down effect from the Colonies (and especially on Alexis Bledel's character, Emily) the team used a silicone-based FX product that comes out of a syringe. "When you put it on somebody's skin, it looks like tiny pieces of skin that gives you a broken-down texture," he said. "We'll do that on top of some colouring around her cheeks, nose, and forehead with the Skin Illustrator On-Set Flesh Tone Palette (£45). Then also, some pinky sunburnt-toned looks to her forehead, ears, and neck to make it look like she's been out working in the elements, sun exposure, wind."
The look was so good and so believable, it was nominated for an Emmy last year.
What Happened to Offred's Cut Off Ear in The Handmaid's Tale?
Speaking of prosthetics, remember when Offred lobbed off her ear in the first episode of season two? How could you forget — and that's why the makeup team had to recreate it over and over again. "That was obviously a fake ear that the prosthetics team put together," LeBlanc said. "It just shows a little cut and texture if the camera ever caught her ear, so if it was ever going to be a tight shot of the face, we had to put that piece on. There was a lot of keeping track of what scenes are coming up."
The Biggest Difference in June and Offred's Beauty Looks
Of course, being held prisoner as a Handmaid can't do good things for your skin, which is why LeBlanc uses a paler shade of foundation when Moss is playing Offred versus June. "Lizzie has been wearing the Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser in Porcelain (£35) since day one of her Offred character," he said. "When she goes to her flashback, June, she's wearing the Laura Mercier shade Natural. We change it up. It's a darker shade that's closer to her skin tone, so it looks more natural."
The Inspiration Behind Those Colonies Scenes
"Concentration camps were a huge part" in coming up with the inspiration for the Colonies in The Handmaid's Tale, said LeBlanc. "Looking at photos of anybody that's working outside and being forced to work out in the elements. Concentration camps were a big one. We were looking for different variations of people living there for a few weeks. Some girls are fresh off the bus coming in. Some of them have been there for a few months. Maybe some have no makeup, and then other ones are pretty distressed or broken down looking." Unfortunately (but also, in a way, fortunately for the series) we have a feeling this is only half of how grim it will get in season three.
