In the age of the modern celebrity, the film Vox Lux [1] tells a tale as old as time: young aspiring singer catches a lucky break that catapults her to superstardom, only to watch things ricochet from good to bad at a blistering pace. What makes Celeste (played by Natalie Portman [2])'s story different, though, isn't in how it originates, or even the music — it's the movie's hair and makeup [3].
"Celeste is a powerful, strong, and dark individual, so it was necessary to express that through [her look]," the film's head of makeup Anouck Sullivan [4] told POPSUGAR. "As an unraveling pop star, she is quite literally hiding behind the makeup. The hair department head Esther Ahn and I wanted her to look otherworldly — and yes, we wanted there to be a lot of glitter [5]."
While she admits there wasn't one singular inspiration behind Portman's character, Sullivan said: "I kept in mind that today's pop stars have, throughout the decade, competed and tried to outdo one another on stage." And upstage she did. How, exactly, she did it just took. . . let's call it strategic fine-tuning.
Behind Natalie Portman's Transformation Into Celeste
When it came to sourcing the goods, Sullivan knew the makeup team had to stock up on sparkle [6]. "Shopping was a lot of fun to create all these distinctive looks," she said. "It entailed many trips to the garment district, art supply stores, and makeup shops. I bought strips of iron-on studs and rhinestones, glitter, and Swarovski crystals. We would cut them up and strip them apart to use on Natalie, the backup dancers, and Raffey Cassidy [young Celeste]. Our hair department had a stock of gems to add to the loot. We had so much to play and create with."
"I bought strips of iron-on studs and rhinestones, glitter, and Swarovski crystals. We had so much to play and create with."
As you might imagine, taking all those materials and bringing them to life took some time. "When Natalie transformed into Celeste, the makeup was just a piece of the puzzle that helped her get there," said Sullivan. "Natalie was super easy going and a pleasure to work with. She was very patient with us while in the chair, as it took almost four hours each day to get her ready for the performance look. We told jokes and laughed a lot throughout, which made it all the more fun."
On Creating Multiple Different Looks in 1 Day
"The second act of the film in which Natalie appears, it all takes place in one long day," Sullivan said. "Therefore, the looks help tell the story of a hectic day in a pop star's life. [The film's director] Brady [Corbet] was adamant about Natalie having three full hair, makeup, and wardrobe changes throughout this day. I took bits of young Celeste and tied them in to her other looks."
Why Natalie Portman Had a Silver Streak in the Film
"The hair designer, Esther Ahn, had spoken to Brady about Celeste's hair being silver to give her an androgynous, robotic look," Sullivan explained. "She used a silver gel from Manic Panic to sculpt Natalie's hair, which was fully silver on all sides during the performances."
A Note on Natalie Portman's Holographic Nails
A character's manicure is rarely something that takes front-and-centre in a film, but Portman's long, black-but-glittery stiletto nails are an exception. "Natalie really wanted her character to have super long nails, so I arranged for Rachel Shim [7], a nail artist, to come on set," Sullivan said. "As Natalie was on a tight schedule, we hadn't been able to do a camera tests before the start date. Needless to say day one was a challenge. Creating a character's hair and makeup look for the first time while getting a full set of gel nails was interesting, to say the least."
"Creating a character's hair and makeup look for the first time while getting a full set of gel nails was interesting, to say the least."
Luckily, everything turned out well in the long run: "Rachel was amazing and came well prepared. I had asked her to bring silver and gunmetal polishes and for a geometric, futuristic design. She had custom-made stamps that she used to layer silver varnishes on top of one another in a pattern. The final touch was, of course, some chunky holographic glitter. They really put Natalie right in to character — it such a great touch."
Natalie Portman in Vox Lux
