On a typical day the makeup artists come in and set up first. Then the actors arrive, and we would cleanse, tone, moisturise and perform any other prep we need to do. Depending on the plan for hair and wardrobe, it’s usually a good idea to let the skin sit for a bit before applying the makeup. Once we apply the makeup it’s pretty much hanging on set and jumping in when needed to do touch ups or fix up any hair or make up, particularly after an action scene.
Byron Bay was quite hot so keeping the actors looking cool and fabulous was a challenging feat on Nine Perfect Strangers. We needed the characters who worked at the health spa, Tranquillum House, to have that beautiful glow so we kept their skin deeply moisturised.
For the character Jessica Chandler, we had to make her character look like quite fake and over the top. This included heavy makeup, hair extensions, and fake nails. I even created fake veneers so that it looked like she had had her teeth done. This also worked to make her lips look fuller. It was a challenge because we had to keep her looking quite done up and then over the series the character slowly becomes more natural looking as she goes through her self-discovery journey.
Keeping the boys looking really natural and to look like they don’t have makeup on is also a challenge. The key is having a really good skin care base to act as a primer.