‘Yellowjackets’: Everything you need to know about the makeup looks

The show follows a girls’ high-school football team who are travelling to a national tournament when their plane crashes, leaving those who survive stranded in the Ontario wilderness. Over the course of the nineteen months they spend in the woods, each character goes through a dramatic evolution — which continues for their older, traumatised counterparts.

Their makeup, of course, had to reflect the fact that these girls went to hell and back, and boy did it deliver on the hyper-realism front. Charting them from the ’90s to the present day, and from their initial days in the wilderness to their descent into savagery — we see Shauna (Sophie Nélisse / Melanie Lynskey), Natalie (Sophie Thatcher / Juliette Lewis), Taissa (Jasmin Savoy Brown / Tawny Cypress), and Misty (Samantha Hanratty / Christina Ricci) go from fresh-faced teenagers to sunburnt, gaunt survivors.

HUNGER spoke to Yellowjackets‘ Makeup Department Head, Patricia Murray, about the characters’ beauty evolutions — as well as Sophie Thatcher’s perfect smoky eyeliner…

The makeup in Yellowjackets seems so well-thought-out — did you have clear ideas for each of the characters going in?

Yes. The concepts behind the makeup looks were created with the actors and show creators when we were filming the pilot. The pilot’s makeup department head, Ellen Vieira started each character’s look, and then my creative input began in Episode 2.

I had many meetings with the creatives about how the makeup would support each character, and how we could also use VFX, costumes and hair to showcase each character’s wounds and healing journey. With the adult timeline, each actress was very clear and fully engaged with how the makeup department could support the translation of all their characters’ journeys. From product choice to application decisions — each actor began to visually become their character.

In particular, what do Natalie, Jackie, Shauna, Taissa, and Misty’s makeup looks say about them?

Natalie is a complex and layered character. She has a tough exterior that she hides behind, and she’s always on the edge because she wants the truth — and what’s real. So, she’s passionate, and that shows up in her wardrobe and her choice of makeup, like those dark, smouldering eyes. 

Shauna is also very layered, and she’s always discovering herself, so her makeup is clean and often understated. Sometimes, she puts on a little more for special occasions. There’s always another layer to Shauna to surprise us! 

Misty’s makeup looks as an adult and as a teen are quite natural, and not noticeable. She’s someone who can blend into any environment. During both of her timelines, audiences will be asking who she is. Is she a threat? Is she innocent? 

Taissa’s makeup in the adult timeline reflects that she is a strong and confident woman who is in control of her life. Young Taissa is also determined, although her makeup is natural to also reflect her vulnerability. 

Jackie is the team captain. When the show begins, we see her in control as she has her entire life planned out. But as the season progresses, Jackie’s makeup becomes more natural as she gets impacted by the environment — freckles, sunburn, a rash…

I’m a big fan of young Natalie’s makeup. That dark, smokey eye is gorgeous! What products did you use to achieve that look?

Before the crash, Natalie wore a thick, winged liner that we carried through with us post-crash. She held onto that liner like she was holding on to her identity. Although it didn’t stay as dramatic as the season unfolded, we did keep a smudgy wing throughout all of the wilderness scenes. We created it by using a kohl black eyeliner pencil (Makeup Forever’s 100 ‘Whatever Black’). We mapped out the wing, kept it crisp, and when the timeline called for it, we removed the liner with makeup remover to create a smudgy look. It was important to keep the wing illusion shape, though.

For the penultimate episode, ‘Doom Coming’, I mixed up black pigment, a base and some coconut oil to create a liner that looked as if Natalie had made it herself. It’s important as an artist to incorporate organic stages of makeup, so we shifted products and techniques to allow the characters’ looks to move with the storyline. 

How did you carry forward that look for adult Natalie? 

I can’t say enough about the pleasure of working with talented actors. The whole Yellowjackets experience was amazing. Creating the look of adult Natalie was very much about Juliette’s process of embodying her character. Her liner choices were smudged and layered, and the bleeding of the liner was invented during scenes where adult Natalie was really going through something. We used Charlotte Tilbury liners on Juliette, they glide on, layer nicely, they’re rich and deep, and they’re cruelty-free! We used the ‘Rock & Roll’ liners: ‘Bedroom Black’, ‘Barbarella Brown’, ‘Velvet Violet’, and for the interior water line, Essence’s ‘Extreme Lasting Eye Pencil’ in ‘Blacklove 01’, which we smudged with a wet q tip. 

You really see the girls’ makeup change when they crash. At first, they all still wear makeup until they presumably start running out and can’t be bothered anymore. How did you use makeup to reflect that and how long they’ve been in the wilderness? 

This was very planned out, and had to do with which character brought makeup and what they found in the luggage. We had extensive meetings so we could ensure that the viewers could begin to feel what the characters were facing in the wilderness. In the place of foundation, we would create freckles, suntan lines, sunburns, and we would only cover blemishes very minimally. We added darkness under the eyes to hollow out the face structure to reflect that they were each going through various and different breakdowns. 

Jackie’s a really interesting one as she’s the last girl to stop wearing makeup — do you think that was an important move for the character and her trajectory? 

Ella Purnell fully embraced Jackie’s season one character journey. Her character was facing so much, the way she used to see herself and the people around her was just gone. Ella worked with us in the makeup department and the show creators so that Jackie’s story was told from a very real and raw place. We worked with Ella to create freckles, to really hollow out the eyes, and to give her sun damage to visually create her time and struggles in the wilderness. 

The show is based in the 90’s and then (presumably) post-2015 — how did you showcase the differing makeup trends of both eras? 

The 90’s makeup depended on each character — their economics, background, and what they would have available to them. Some of the characters didn’t wear makeup, others wore the colours and styles of the era, and some just wore lip balm or mascara. To show what era it was we worked with the props and set decoration team so that every time the camera caught their vanities, their bags, or them doing their makeup it all matched up. 

What was your favourite makeup look to work on and why? 

Good question. I fully enjoyed all the adult looks. It was a constant creative and artistic surprise to work with these talented women. Each character is so different, yet they’re all such powerhouses. I love how they represent the layered complexity of being a woman, mother, and friend with all their shared history. Oh, I’m unable to choose just one! That’s the joy of having such a big cast, and having each actor, crew member, and creative dive in so deep!