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Vice Makeup and Hair Interview

The Weird Role K-Y Jelly and Latex Played in Transforming Christian Bale Into Dick Cheney

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Nasal plugs, surgical tape, K-Y Jelly, yellowing dental veneers — the key items scattered on set of the Academy Award-nominated film Vice sound more like what you'd find in a nursing home medicine cabinet than beauty products. And yet, these are just a few of many things the movie's makeup team used to transform a star-studded cast with the conventionally "good" looks Hollywood tends to favour into rising politicians.

More specifically Christian Bale looked nearly unrecognisable as former VP Dick Cheney, as did Amy Adams as his public image-minded wife Lynne, Sam Rockwell as George W. Bush, and Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld. "We needed to create over 75 'likeness' makeups of iconic characters across five decades within a 50-day shooting schedule — these products were indispensable," hair and makeup department lead Kate Biscoe told POPSUGAR.

"Throughout each decade, it was evident that Washington DC was dominated by very clean-cut men. No one stood out and you certainly didn't get ahead in DC by looking like an individual."

Creating that semblance of real people became a balancing act of fact versus fiction. "Throughout each decade, it was evident that Washington DC was dominated by very clean-cut men," she said. "No one stood out and you certainly didn't get ahead in DC by looking like an individual. I really wanted to juxtapose that 'cookie-cutter-ness' and the results of war in other parts of the world. So as clean and safe the DC look was, we went equally as dirty, sweaty, and bloody for all of the war scenes." Greg Cannom, the award-winning makeup designer behind Bale's transformation, added: "You can't get it exactly right, so at some point you just have to stop looking at the pictures and use your imagination to pull it off."

And pull it off, they did: the team's work in Vice was just nominated for an Oscar in the Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling category. Ahead, they're spilling all the behind-the-scenes beauty secrets, which — like most things kept behind closed doors in politics — are pretty damn juicy.

Image Source: Everett Collection

How the Hair and Makeup Team Researched the Looks for Vice

The film spanned a course of five decades — from the 1950s to early 2000s — which means there was a lot of research to be done on the characters when prepping the hair and makeup. The majority of this consisted of sifting through throusands of images on Getty and Reuter's, watching documentaries, and reading, but Biscoe also took an unconventional — and not to mention, surprising — approach to her research: "I went on Quora and asked what the shaving regulations for all the government agencies such as the FBI, the CIA, the NSA and the Secret Service were. I was fortunate enough to have people within these agencies reply."

Image Source: Everett Collection

The Surprising Means It Took To Transform Christian Bale into Dick Cheney

Christian Bale has been in head-to-toe latex before (and Batman won't let you forget it) but its role in his latest transformation into the former VP was completely different: it was used liberally to mold an ageing Cheney. "He gained some weight for the film, and also wore a fat suit a lot, but we still had to use appliances on him to make his face look wider," Cannom said. "It's a lot of big things and little things. We had neck, cheek, chin, nose, and teeth pieces, and then when he was older, [Bale] wanted those nose plugs — those little latex bulbous valve that you stick up your nose — to widen or push up the sides of his nose, so [the team] custom-made those."

Obviously, none of this process was quick: "It would take about three and a half to four hours. As you get down [in age], you use less and smaller pieces, which would take two to three hours," he said.

Image Source: Everett Collection

K-Y Jelly Water Based Lubricant

Apparently, K-Y Jelly Water Based Lubricant ($7) isn't just for the bedroom — you can also use it to create movie magic. "We used some K-Y Jelly over the makeup at the very end to bring up the shine in the face," Cannom said. "That's an old trick I've used for all the old age makeups I've done. It works great and is easy to touch-up on set. If you want someone to look really sweaty, you can use a that a lot heavier on a person's skin [because] it's just water-based and you can take it off easily if you want."

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That Time Amy Adams Had To Shave Her Eyebrows

"My theory is that Lynne was trying to appear as young as possible to constituents, since her husband kept having heart attacks. She worked hard to maintain that perfect image."

"Adam [McKay, the director], Greg [Cannom], and I agreed that since most Americans couldn't tell you what Lynne Cheney looked like, it was more important to successfully age Amy Adams over the span of 50 years than it was to create an exact likeness," Biscoe said. "I wanted to get across that Lynne Cheney was always very aware of her public persona as well as her family's. My theory is that Lynne was trying to appear as young as possible to constituents, since her husband kept having heart attacks. She worked hard to maintain that perfect image."

To create that youthful effect, she worked with the film's hair department lead Patricia Dehaney to hide elastic bands and surgical tape under her wig. "I used these to pull at Amy's eyebrows into the same place that Lynne Cheney's were at that age," Biscoe said. "In the early 1960's, fuller darker brows and pink lips were in style. As Lynne got older, her eyebrows became lighter, thinner and wider apart so I would bleach and shave Amy's. She was such a good sport."

Image Source: Everett Collection

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The 1 Product the Makeup Team Used the Most On Set

Hands down, according to Biscoe: the Stretch & Stipple Latex ($6), which was used around the characters' eyes and nasal labial folds to create a wrinkled effect. "While the material is still wet, you blow dry it, stretching the skin in the opposite direction of where you want wrinkles to be," she said. "When it's dry, you let go and you have wrinkles or saggy, crepy skin."

In Lynne Cheney's later years, Biscoe adds that Adams also wore yellowed dental veneers ("much like Invisalign," she said) to dull her teeth.

Image Source: Everett Collection
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How She Kept Amy Adams' Skin in Tip Top Shape

"I used mostly La Mer skin care on Amy to keep her skin in top condition," Biscoe said. "After cleaning her up from her old-age makeup, she would look in the mirror and say 'I look fantastic.'" A few of her favourites? La Mer's The Moisturising Soft Lotion ($270) and Eye Balm Intense ($215), and the Rodin Luxury Jasmine & Neroli Face Oil ($170).

Image Source: sephora.com
The Moisturising Soft Lotion
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Rodin Luxury Jasmine & Neroli Face Oil
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Make Up For Ever Aqua XL Eye Pencil Waterproof Eyeliner

"By the time [her character] was 58, Lynne's brows were even thinner and lighter and all her eye makeup was applied under the lower lash line. Amy would use the Make Up For Ever Aqua XL Eye Pencil Waterproof Eyeliner ($21) on the inside of her lower rim water line to make her eyes look like they were starting to droop."

Image Source: sephora.com
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MAC Lipstick in Russian Red

In the film, Lynne Cheney's lipstick colour also changed throughout each decade. In the 1950s, she swiped on the bright red MAC Lipstick ($18) before transitioning to the brand's pinkish shade, Speak Louder, in the 1960s. From there, the lip colour kept getting lighter and lighter, until finally ending with MAC Lipstick in Taupe.

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MAC Lip Pencil in Spice

"We used a matte lip pencil — MAC's Lip Pencil in Spice ($18) — to draw her lips smaller and thinner. Amy liked it when her lips looked dry and depleted of moisture."

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The Number of Wigs Used On Set Was Aplenty

"The team did our best to make all 150 cast members portray the characters they were playing," said Dehaney. "Many hair pieces were worn to portray the different decades."

How much is "many," you wonder? Anywhere from one to five, depending on the actor. "We used Christian's natural hair for [the character's younger years] and Dick Cheney had five wigs," she said. "Lynne also had five wigs to carry her through the decades. I used a wig wrap called a Fracture wrap instead of a wig cap, which gives a nice, even, tight wrap. It also allows you to pin it so that you can pull the skin up, or back a bit. Rumsfeld wore two different wigs. George Bush wore one wig that we altered the colour and style to reflect the change of decades."

Image Source: Everett Collection

Living Proof No Frizz Weightless Styling Spray

"The usual challenges on set are watching for flyaways and keeping the continuity," Dehaney said. "That's why starting with a good product that creates memory and hold is essential. We used Living Proof quite a bit, and they held throughout the shooting day. I liked the Living Proof No Frizz Weightless Styling Spray ($38), and for men, I love the Hans de Fuko line."

Image Source: sephora.com
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How the Hair Department Made Christian Bale Look Bald

Obviously, Christian Bale has a full head of hair, so Cannom and the team had to pull out all the stops to cover it up. "On his bald head we'd use PAX Paint from MEL FX — it's an opaque white acrylic adhesive that's mixed with very safe acrylic paints, and it covers really well," he said. "We used that to cover his head and any of the blue or black of his hair coming through. Then, at the very end, we would spray a Valdese plastic material they use for the skin of appliances and plastic ballcaps to build it up. That way, as his hair grew during the day, it wouldn't start showing through the makeup and gave a nice shine to the head."

Image Source: Everett Collection

Rubber Mask Grease - 20 Colour Palette Box

The one product Cannom swears by for all his films? The Rubber Mask Grease - 20 Colour Palette Box ($265) from William Tuttle. "It's very safe, and I used it in A Beautiful Mind on Russell Crowe when he was starting to get sick," he said. "It's beautiful makeup. For [Vice], we used different colours. There's one called autumn leaves, which is kind of a purplish brown colour, and I've used it on every age makeup I've ever done because it really looks real. You don't have this kind of a highlight right under the eye, which bugs me in eye bags. This is more realistic, and gives a little shine to the skin."

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