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Tag: Beauty Interview

  • The Unspoken Consequence of Calling Beauty Products a “Necessity” – POPSUGAR Australia

    The Unspoken Consequence of Calling Beauty Products a “Necessity” – POPSUGAR Australia

    Image Source: Getty/Klaus Vedfelt

    There is a trend going around on TikTok aptly named “underconsumption-core.” In these videos, influencers discuss how they either plan to or are actively cutting back on their spending, particularly as it pertains to fashion and beauty. For the latter category, people are going as far as starting “project pans,” where they set aside a particular number of products every month, in hopes of using them enough that they start to see the bottom of the makeup’s container.

    “I don’t think there’s anyone who has a ton of makeup that’s happy with the amount of product that they have,” TikToker Elysia Berman, who is on a no-buy, where she doesn’t purchase any beauty or fashion items for the entire year of 2024, says in one of her videos on the topic. “They all collectively agree that there was something else at play that caused them to buy that many products.”

    For many people who grew up in the heyday of YouTube, beauty haul culture has become somewhat normalized. Still, beauty products in particular feel like one of the easiest ways to satisfy the urge to shop, and as such it’s become customary to see people with makeup collections that span multiple Ikea Alex Drawers and even dedicated beauty rooms. But at what point does all this overconsumption lead to hoarding? And are the products that we buy, especially as it pertains to our beauty routines really as necessary as they’re made out to be?

    Keep reading to see how the beauty industry may be sneakily encouraging shopping addictions.

    Experts Featured in This Article

    Carolyn Mair is a chartered psychologist, fashion business consultant, and author of The Psychology of Fashion.

    Why Do People Hoard Beauty Products?

    There are a few reasons why the beauty industry makes the perfect entryway into a shopping addiction, and many brands play right into those feelings as marketing tactics. “One reason is the emotional gratification and sense of security that beauty products can provide,” psychologist Carolyn Mair, tells PS. “They often symbolize self-care, luxury, and aspiration, and if our reference groups have them, we might feel a sense of FOMO if we don’t get our hands on those items as well.” Have you ever looked at your favorite influencer rave about a product (or five) and suddenly feel an intense urge to get said item? What about a beauty campaign that seems to touch on every single feeling you’re experiencing at a certain point in time – so much so that it feels like a company is speaking directly to you to buy their product?

    “Marketing strategies are designed to create desire for consumers,” Mair says. “The need to satisfy this desire is exacerbated when products are promoted as exclusive or with limited-time availability.” When people claim that something will “sell out” or if an item does eventually become unavailable before you can purchase it, you may feel this strong feeling to get your hands on it even more. That fear of missing out, is a feeling that many brands try to create organically to drive up sales of a product, and therefore, earn more profit for its business. As a result of this FOMO, people may not only want to get their hands on a specific product, but also buy multiples in case they ever run out of their favorite item and can never get a hold of it again.

    Luxury Beauty As a Signifier of Wealth

    Another reason why it’s so much easier to hoard beauty products is because you can get a similar luxury experience that you would when buying a high-end fashion item but for a fraction of the cost. “Luxury beauty products are more accessible and therefore easier to collect for a broader range of consumers, compared to high-end fashion,” Dr. Mair says. “Buying these items can satisfy the desire for prestige and self-indulgence which give a quick emotional boost and can lead to repeat purchasing. This is more about the feel-good factor than the practical need for the product.”

    Remember when Dior blushes and subsequently lip oils were all the rage? One of the main reasons why people were buying these items was because they got to add a bit of luxury to their daily routines. This rhetoric is the same one that is used when beauty enthusiasts and collectors buy $50 Chanel compact mirrors or a $30 Aesop hand cream. The product “helps” to elevate the everyday, and otherwise mundane, experience, making the user appear to be more put together than most. These items also act as a signifier of wealth.

    “High-end/luxury beauty brands typically convey exclusivity and prestige which are associated with wealth and status, through their price points, packaging and marketing,” Dr, Mair says. “Celebrity endorsements reinforce this by showcasing these items as part of the glamorous lifestyles of the rich and famous.” This is why it’s such a big deal when celebrities sign on to become the face of heritage brands because it’s essentially two standalone brands merging – creating a broader base of potential customers that will buy the product that they are selling.

    The Difference Between Collecting and Hoarding

    So how do you know if you just have a larger than-normal makeup collection or if you are actually hoarding products? The difference, according to Mair, is the effect that each behavior has on you. “Collecting and hoarding are distinct behaviors,” Dr. Mair says. “Collecting is driven by an appreciation for aesthetics, brand value, and the joy of ownership. It’s like a hobby or status symbol. Whereas, hoarding stems from anxiety, fear of scarcity, or emotional attachment.”

    Collecting items is controlled and purposeful – it’s seen as a mark of prestige and considered to generally be a more positive thing. “Hoarding is compulsive and considered negative due to its association with mental health issues and its detrimental impact on living conditions. The transition from collecting to hoarding happens when the behavior negatively impacts daily life,” Dr. Mair says.

    Do you have trouble getting rid of beauty products or feel like you have to have a new item? Has your makeup collection started taking up much more space than anticipated? If so, you may fall within the hoarder category and your compulsion to buy makeup products may be stemming from a deeper issue. To that end, if you suspect that you may have symptoms of hoarding, you can seek help from a mental health or healthcare provider who specializes in treating the disorder.

    If you struggle with a shopping addiction, you’re not alone. There’s an estimated 5 percent of the global adult population that considers themselves compulsive buyers. On the plus side, there are ways to get help depending on the severity of the situation like tracking your spending, setting budgets, and more.

    “Peer pressure and social media drive us to compare ourselves with others and align with certain beauty trends,” Dr. Mair says. “Buying these products can satisfy the need for instant gratification and boost a feeling of active “self-care,” making shopping for beauty products a popular form of retail therapy.”

    Most people want to look their best, and beauty brands have the unique ability to speak directly to physical insecurities. Still, it’s important to note that you need to be able to use the products that you buy. If you have too many, it can become challenging to finish these items before the expiration dates, causing the problem to spiral. So when you’re shopping, it’s important to be mindful of how you plan to consume the beauty products that you’re buying.

    Ariel Baker is the associate editor for PS Beauty. Her areas of expertise include celebrity news, beauty trends, and product reviews. She has additional bylines with Essence and Forbes Vetted.

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  • The $12,324 Cost of Treating Eczema – POPSUGAR Australia

    The $12,324 Cost of Treating Eczema – POPSUGAR Australia

    Image Source: Getty and Photo Illustration by Becky Jiras

    Welcome to Show the Receipts, a new series where we ask interesting people to share exactly how much it costs to get shit done. No matter the task, we’re tracking every last dollar from start to finish. Up next: treating eczema.

    Eczema is one of the most common skin conditions in the world. In fact, more than 31 million people in the United States alone experience the genetic skin disease, according to the National Eczema Association. For Nelita Villezon, it all started with a spider bite.

    “I call it my Spider-Man story,” she tells PS. Villezon was traveling overseas when the bite happened, which was followed by a small itching sensation that turned into something more. “My skin started to dry out to the point where I would get lacerations and blisters on my hands,” she says. After a few visits to an internal medicine doctor, she was diagnosed with Pompholyx eczema, a form of atopic dermatitis that typically affects the hands and feet and presents in the form of blisters.

    After being prescribed a steroid cream she says only “masked” her symptoms, Villezon started on a journey to explore Eastern medicinal approaches to healing her eczema and her body. “I wasn’t able to use the cream on a consistent basis because of potential side effects like steroid withdrawal,” Villezon says. She still paid monthly visits to a dermatologist and internal medicine doctor for prescription treatments, which were at least partially covered by insurance, but switched her diet to whole foods only and began taking supplements, which was the bigger expense.

    Here’s the full cost breakdown.

    Task: treating eczema
    Occupation: martial artist, herbalist, and content creator
    Location: Los Angeles, California
    Timeline: 1 year

    The Receipts:

    Dermatologist appointments: $60 copay with insurance per month, or $720 per year
    Supplements: $400 per month, or $4800 a year
    Prescription treatments: $80 per month, or $960 a year
    Over-the-counter skin-care products: $67 per month, or $804 a year
    Special diet: $400 per month, or $4800 a year
    Gloves: $20 per month, or $240 a year
    Total Cost: $12,324

    How I Did It

    Villezon’s approach to treating her eczema starts from the inside. “When I got formally diagnosed I started wondering what I could do internally to take care of myself,” she says. “For me, it really came down to addressing a lot of the things that I was putting into my body.” Here, she’s sharing some of the big takeaways worth noting.

    PS: What was the most surprising expense of this process?
    Nelita Villezon: Revamping my diet and supplement routine was the most expensive part of this entire process for me. Yes, going to the doctor is expensive and we always tell people to be healthy but there is a flip side to that. It’s really expensive to start eating solely fruits and vegetables. Then when you factor in the supplements and vitamins, these things can cost hundreds of dollars per month.

    PS: What were you surprised that insurance would or wouldn’t cover?
    NV: When I was first diagnosed, I was living in Dubai. So when I’d go to the doctor I could access all the products I needed pretty easily without prescriptions. Here, it’s the complete opposite. I’d have lacerations on my hands and have to go through a whole process to see a doctor (and therefore have to pay money) to get a prescription. It was crazy to me that there were so many hoops to jump through for something that so severely impacted my way of life and livelihood.

    PS: Where did you cut costs to accommodate your treatments and medications?
    NV: The places where I cut costs the most was honestly just my everyday social life. I knew that eating good foods was an important to me and that I need to eat at home more. So I couldn’t necessarily go and hang out with friends if all we were doing was eating out. I had to make a decision of what I valued more: a good time or good health? Even my beauty maintenance was impacted – I got extremely minimal and would often either skip out on products I used for my hair, makeup, and nails or get a generic brand version.

    PS: What were some of the more unexpected lifestyle expenses you faced with eczema?
    NV: This is going to sound weird, but gloves. My boyfriend makes fun of me because of how many I buy, but I really do need them – I can’t touch everything, my hands will dry up and crack. I also had to get allergy testing because sometimes my eczema would flare up due to me being allergic to something, but unless you get the test you wouldn’t know what those triggers are. I learned that I was allergic to certain metals so I had to swap out a good amount of my pots and pans to higher quality ones, which in turn, was more expensive. I also only use hypoallergenic detergent now.

    Final Thoughts

    Villezon recognizes that her wholistic approach to eczema is a bit more expensive than most routines. If you’re interested in exploring a similar route, she also advises to not overwhelm yourself. “I swear by Vaseline ($4) and the Eczema Relief Cream ($12) from Goldbond,” Villezon says. “The process of healing your eczema will take a lot of trial and error, but it will be so worth it in the end.”

    Related: The Hidden Cost of Skin Conditions Needs to be Addressed

    Ariel Baker is the associate editor for PS Beauty. Her areas of expertise include celebrity news, beauty trends, and product reviews. She has additional bylines with Essence and Forbes Vetted.

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  • Dr. Amaka Wants to Demystify Myths About Plastic Surgery and Patients of Color – POPSUGAR Australia

    Dr. Amaka Wants to Demystify Myths About Plastic Surgery and Patients of Color – POPSUGAR Australia



    Nneamaka Nwubah (Dr. Amaka)

    There are so many aspects of health that disproportionately affect the Black community, and yet less than six percent of US doctors are Black – a deficit that only further harms public health. Many of the Black folks who work in healthcare have dedicated their careers to combatting inequities. That’s why, this Black History Month, PS is crowning our Black Health Heroes: physicians, sexologists, doulas, and more who are advocating for the Black community in their respective fields. Meet them all here.

    It’s not uncommon for doctors to know from a very young age that they’re destined for medicine. That was certainly the case of Nneamaka Nwubah, MD, better known as Dr. Amaka. After experiencing hospitals and loss at a young age, the board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon knew she wanted to help people. She just didn’t know how, exactly, until her third year of medical school. The moment of clarity came after observing a mastectomy for breast cancer, followed by two plastic surgeons completing reconstructive surgery.

    “I was like, ‘How is this even possible?’” Dr. Amaka tells POPSUGAR. “At that moment, I was like, this is what I’m doing. It was that crystal clear.”

    At first, she was told it would be too hard and too competitive, and that it would be impossible to ever have a family while working in the field, but thankfully, she stayed the course. “I had to just silence all that noise and focus on the vision in my heart for it,” she says. She ended up matching in plastic surgery, just as she had dreamed, and the rest fell into place. Now she owns a private practice in Nashville and has become known as the person to go to for “mommy restoration,” which is her preferred name for “mommy makeovers,” or customizable procedures that address physical changes that can occur during pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding. Not to mention, she has more than 231,000 followers on TikTok, where she regularly shares informative videos demystifying the world of aesthetics.

    We spoke to Dr. Amaka about her career evolution, how “mommy restoration” surgeries accidentally became her signature, and the importance of representation in the industry – not just on the professional side, but on the patient side as well.

    POPSUGAR: Tell us how you started in the plastic surgery and aesthetics field.

    Dr. Amaka: After residency, I realized I liked aesthetics and cosmetics. So I did a one-year fellowship focusing on the aesthetic aspect of plastic surgery, the refinement; all of the cosmetic aspects of it. We get a ton of reconstructive stuff in residency, but we don’t get a ton of aesthetics, and I just knew I wanted to start out at the top of my game. I didn’t want to learn on the go – I wanted to start off with excellence.

    PS: What made you want to start your own practice?

    Dr. Amaka: After my fellowship, I joined a practice and enjoyed it. But then the goosebumps came again, and it was like, “You’ve got to start your own practice.” I never thought I wanted to do this – I was OK being an employee, clocking in and clocking out. But my heart was set on it, and I couldn’t shake it. So I went ahead and did that in March of 2023. We opened up the practice, and that’s where I am now.

    PS: How did mommy restoration surgeries become your signature?

    Dr. Amaka: It just came naturally. That is the population I relate heavily to. When you walk into a room and it’s another mother, you automatically have a bond. And I felt like I was really good at it. Along the way, I was meeting and talking with moms, and I was like, “This makeover stuff we’re talking about just makes people nervous and makes it sound vain.” So then I just thought, “Why don’t we call it restoration?” So that’s how that whole thing came about. Mothers go through a lot . . . it’s this mindset that I’m supposed to always take care of people; I shouldn’t be doing this for me; this is selfish.

    PS: What does mommy restoration surgery entail?

    Dr. Amaka: Seeing the transformation with everything we do is powerful, but mommy restoration surgery is the most powerful because it’s very functional. You’re walking around and you still look pregnant even though your youngest child is 10, and it impacts you every day. And it’s not just the physical, but everything does look great. The breasts are lifted; the tummy’s nice; they have nice waistlines; but it’s an internal change that you see as well.

    PS: In the plastic surgery field, Black people are underrepresented on both the patient and the surgeon side. How does that impact and influence your mission?

    “A lot of people seek me out from all over the country because of the fact that I am a Black woman and my work is good. They feel like they can trust that I’m going to give them results that they desire.”

    Dr. Amaka: It’s even fewer females, too. I think the surgery fields, in general, tend to dissuade females. When I was trying to come into the field, a lot of people told me, “You really shouldn’t do it. You’re just going to be the only one.” So it was really important to have a presence that people could see. I just always say: “I’m a Black woman with an Afro. There’s no question of what I am, and I’m doing this, and that means you can do it, too. And not only can you do it as a surgeon and be very successful, but also as a patient.”

    It helps justify the patient aspect of it. A stigma, in general, in the Black community is, “Oh, plastic surgery is not for us.” But a lot of times, just being there, being present, makes people feel heard. A lot of people seek me out from all over the country because of the fact that I am a Black woman and my work is good. They feel like they can trust that I’m going to give them results that they desire, but also that I’m going to keep them safe just from that common shared experience.

    PS: In what ways do you think the industry needs to catch up to encourage more Black women to seek out plastic surgery and surgery?

    Dr. Amaka: A way to start is just showing more women of color having surgery. Some surgeons will show a good range, but some of them are just one race. If you don’t see yourself in the before-and-afters, then you think this is just not for me. There are some myths out there. I’ll see women who were told that they’re just going to scar badly because they’re Black, and that’s just not true. So I think another part of it is just demystifying all these myths around women of color and plastic surgery. Even when it comes down to nonsurgical procedures and injectables – showing more women of color getting these treatments or talking about it demystifies it. It makes it seem like it’s for everyone because it is. When plastic surgery first came out, it was very much this elitist thing, but I think people are seeing that it’s doable for everybody and that no one needs to be excluded.

    PS: What inspired you to start creating content on TikTok?

    Dr. Amaka: I actually started doing it as education. Getting new patients wasn’t my initial goal, although it happened naturally. During my first year in practice, I saw a lady in the emergency room who went out of state for plastic surgery, had a really bad outcome, and couldn’t get in touch with anybody. I was like, “What happened?” and she was like, “I just didn’t know.” I felt like she was taken advantage of because of her lack of knowledge, which happens, and that was the pendulum shift where I started talking more and educating. That’s how the platform grew, and then it just kind of evolved into what it is now.

    PS: What’s one specific memory in your job that has really stuck with you?

    Dr. Amaka: That’s tough when there’ve been so many. I’ll say, there was a breast reconstruction situation where it was a patient who had been to multiple different places and just kept having problems and complications. The interesting thing was she had been with some very experienced surgeons. I was new – this was my first year of practice. And you have this thing to overcome whenever you start anything – and even if you’re established in something, too – where you question, am I good enough? Do I belong here? I think a lot of people go through that, and I think people of color probably go through that a little bit more. It’s just reality. So I was like: “Gosh, why me? How am I going to help this lady? She’s already had so many experienced hands on her.”

    So I remember that it was a big surgery, like 10 to 12 hours, and it required a lot of technical expertise, and it was very nerve-racking. But going through that process, getting her healed and to a point where she was doing really well and happy was a big milestone. I still see her yearly just because she feels like she needs to see someone in medicine that she can trust.

    That one stuck out as a moment where you realize it’s not about your experience with this or that; it’s just about your willingness to see a problem and try to fix it and not take no for an answer.





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  • Behind Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White's Transformations in “The Iron Claw” – POPSUGAR Australia

    Behind Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White's Transformations in “The Iron Claw” – POPSUGAR Australia

    When photos from the set of “The Iron Claw” surfaced in 2022, fans were shocked at the cast’s drastic physical transformations. Not only did lead actors Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, and Harris Dickinson bulk up significantly to play real-life wrestlers the Von Erich brothers, but they also donned ’80s-style mullets that reflected the time period.

    The A24 film, which hits theaters on Dec. 22, chronicles the rise and fall of the Von Erichs (whose real surname is Adkisson) as well as the storied “Von Erich curse,” which refers to the family’s infamous string of tragedies. Because they didn’t interact with anyone from the Von Erich family in preparation for the film, makeup department head Elle Favorule and hair department head Natalie Shea Rose relied on director Sean Durkin for inspiration.

    “He knew what photos were from what matches, so he knew where he wanted to take each of the looks that we were creating,” Favorule tells POPSUGAR, explaining that the tight production schedule didn’t allow for each actor to have a ton of different looks. “That’s where Natalie and I were like, ‘OK, where can we hammer this down per character to have an overall arc for them?’”

    From elaborate body makeup to painstakingly detailed wigs, keep reading for all the behind-the-scenes hair and makeup details in “The Iron Claw.”

    Creating Characters Inspired by Real-Life People

    Though some cast members underwent serious transformations, filmmakers were careful not to create exact replicas of the real-life Von Erich brothers. Favorule and Rose say that instead, they strove to capture the Von Erichs’ essence in a way that looked realistic.

    “I feel like if you push it too far to look exactly like the person, it starts to pull away from [the story] a little bit,” Rose says. For example, Efron’s wig differed slightly from Kevin Von Erich’s actual hair in the ’80s. “If I matched it exactly, it wouldn’t have matched with [Efron’s] skin tone, and it would have looked wrong,” she explains. “You have to take so many factors into consideration.”

    It was a similar process for Favorule. “When it came to the costumes and things like that for wrestling, that was where they put the effort in,” she says. “They weren’t guys that wore sunscreen.” She also had to consider sideburns and facial hair “in terms of what [the Von Erichs] actually looked like and what the everyday man looked like in the ’70s and ’80s.”

    Behind Zac Efron’s Chiseled Look as Kevin Von Erich

    The dichotomy of Kevin Von Erich’s life as a professional wrestler and time spent on his family farm was reflected in Efron’s preparation on set, but subtlety was key. “His everyday look and his wrestling look were so similar but also had subtle differences,” Favorule says. “When he was wrestling, he was bronzed and glowing and perfectly shaved. On the days when we were filming at the farm, we let things go a little bit. It wasn’t as perfected.”

    These changes were so subtle that most viewers probably won’t even notice them – and that’s the intention. “We just want you to believe that this is a real guy that goes through his everyday life working hard for his family and then wrestling on top of all of it,” Favorule says.

    Rose agrees and approached Efron’s hairstyling in the same manner. “You don’t ever want to have anybody notice what you’re doing because then it takes away from the story and who they really were,” she says. “I want it to look as natural as possible.”

    Efron wore two custom-made wigs, with every individual hair laboriously hand-tied. Rose started with Efron’s natural color as a base, then added highlights until the color was just right. “We eased into it because we can’t really pull back with any of these [wigs], they’re so fragile and delicate,” she says. “They only really last a few weeks.”

    Embracing Jeremy Allen White’s Natural Hair Texture as Kerry Von Erich

    White’s natural curly hair texture is close enough to Kerry’s, so Rose used hand-tied extensions rather than creating a whole wig. “I wanted to match his natural pattern, so I bought hair that was already textured so that it blended in with his hair,” she says. Rose also notes that it was important that White’s extensions be undetectable during wrestling scenes, since his hair would be blowing in all directions, and she didn’t know where exactly the camera would be. Additionally, the production shot the wrestling sequences in one long take, during which hair and makeup couldn’t step in for touch-ups.

    White’s body makeup needed to be just as impervious due to his extensive collection of tattoos. “Normally you’ll do one fight scene or an underwater scene,” says Favorule of the tattoo cover process. “We were doing 10- or 15-minute matches over and over and over again, all day long. This couldn’t be a quick tattoo cover-up job; it needed to be flawless because he was going to get thrown around that ring.”

    Why Each Actor Required 5 Bottles of Body Makeup

    Hiding tattoos was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to body makeup on the set of “The Iron Claw.” Between makeup to cover tattoos, body oils, tanning, and fake sweat and blood, Favorule had a lot to consider while getting the actors ready.

    “You want it to be flawless, but flawless in the sense that it matches who they are, not flawless like a Ken doll.”

    “It was all about layering; the appropriate layers and the correct order,” she says. “We were using a tattoo makeup from Bluebird [FX] that we airbrushed on. I think each of the boys had four or five different bottles; the orange or coral or red that we use to knock out the [tattoo] ink color, then their base color, then the color over that we used to add their redness, freckles, or whatever the texture they had back onto their skin.” Favorule would also apply a sealant after every layer.

    Creating natural-looking texture and dimension was an important aspect of Favorule’s work. Without these steps, the actors’ skin would look jarringly perfect. “The tattoo cover can be very flat, and with all of the layers we had to add on, it gets quite thick,” she says. “You want it to be flawless, but flawless in the sense that it matches who they are, not flawless like a Ken doll.”

    Lily James Was Almost “Too Gorgeous” For Certain Beauty Looks

    Lily James’s portrayal of Pamela Anderson in Hulu’s “Pam & Tommy” proved that she’s not afraid to dramatically alter her appearance for a role. Playing Pam Adkisson, Kevin Von Erich’s wife and a veterinarian in rural Texas, required something very different, but Rose and Favorule say she was more than happy to go all in. “She really allowed us to go take her wherever she needed to be instead of trying to be super pretty or too done up,” Rose says. “She knew who the character was.”

    An early scene shows Pam and Kevin meeting after one of his wrestling matches. “We kept her very simple hair-wise because I didn’t want her to look like she was like trying too hard,” Rose says. “It wasn’t really her character. I wanted her have a natural, effortless beauty, which Lily already had.”

    In fact, James’s beauty sometimes posed a challenge. Rose recalls wanting to put the actress in a simple ponytail for a more serious scene, but it looked distractingly flattering on her.

    “Our issues with Lily kind of mirrored each other in terms of not making her too gorgeous because [the character] is a small-town girl,” Favorule echoes. “We basically amped her up and then took her back down.”

    Pam’s wedding look was one of the most memorable for Rose and Favorule. The pair agreed that they wanted her to hit the hallmarks of classic 1980s wedding style without going over the top. Rose gave James a voluminous updo, while Favorule utilized “fun, upward blush” and “eyeshadow that sat on the bone, not in the crease” to showcase the period.

    “It needs to look like her mom or her sister did it,” Rose says of Pam’s wedding glam. “She wouldn’t have had somebody come in and do her hair and makeup, they didn’t have the money like that.” In case you were wondering, yes, James is naturally blessed with full, luscious hair – Rose didn’t use any wigs or extensions on her.

    The Making of a Perfect ’80s Mullet

    It’s no secret that mullets are trending once again. Stars like Miley Cyrus and Billie Eilish have put a modern spin on the choppy, face-framing style, but as Rose points out, it’s a far cry from the harsh, almost purposefully unflattering mullets of the ’80s.

    “The mullet’s come back, but it’s a different mullet,” she says. “They didn’t look good in the ’80s. They were awful because it was just a straight cut and there was no feathering; you didn’t customize the cut. They just went and spent 20 bucks and got a blunt cut. It has come back, but there’s a reason why it’s doing so much better – it’s a better cut.”

    To stay as authentic as possible, Rose steered clear of the modern mullet and leaned into the traditional cut when creating the Von Erich brothers’ hairstyles. “I was like, ‘If it looks good, it’s gonna look bad,’” she says.

    Related: The Truth Behind How Movie Tattoos Are Made

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  • “Saltburn” Is the Y2K Movie We Never Saw Coming – POPSUGAR Australia

    “Saltburn” Is the Y2K Movie We Never Saw Coming – POPSUGAR Australia

    Chiabella James/Prime Video

    Perverse. Unhinged. Horrifying. Horny. Deliciously bad, but also perhaps the best movie of 2023. These are just a few ways in which critics – mostly people on X (formerly known as Twitter) – have described “Saltburn,” the new film from director Emerald Fennell. The eat-the-rich storyline is one everyone sort of expected. Back in August, months before they were graced with a full trailer, people were comparing it to movies like “The Talented Mr. Ripley” and “Brideshead Revisited.” But since its limited release earlier this month, there have been so – so! – many other details about this movie sparking discussion, little of which is the hair and makeup. But let’s not forget what really drew our attention when teasers for “Saltburn” hit the internet: an eyebrow piercing.

    For years to come people will talk about how this film changed pop culture – the word guzzling will never be the same – but those subtle details (that bygone piercing, the matching tattoos, and the peroxide roots) are a huge reason why this movie could sink its teeth so far into our necks. Without them, these British aristocrats might have felt like nothing more than flat tropes. Don’t believe us? Allow Siân Miller, the “Saltburn” hair and makeup designer, to explain.

    Miller tells POPSUGAR she was instantly captivated reading the “Saltburn” script. “I’ve read a lot of scripts over the last three decades, and sometimes it’s a bit of a chore, but this wasn’t the case,” she says. “It was such a page-turner and completely laid in with reference and detail.”

    Since this film takes place somewhere around 2006, it isn’t just a contemporary story, it’s a period piece. In order to prepare for the hair and makeup design, Miller revisited classic Y2K movies and TV shows, like “Mean Girls” and “The O.C.” for inspiration. There, she remembered just how striking the beauty from the early aughts was – sexy little barbell piercings and all. Ahead, Miller breaks down some of the key makeup and hair design elements that helped bring these characters to life.

    Courtesy of MGM and Amazon Studios

    Felix’s Eyebrow Piercing Is More Than a Sign of the Times

    If you aren’t sure which time period “Saltburn” takes place in, Jacob Elordi‘s eyebrow piercing should be all the context you need. Most people may associate eyebrow piercings with the ’90s, but before boy band heartthrobs rocked the hardware, punks in the ’70s made it their own. It was counterculture. Elordi’s character Felix Catton, the carefree rich kid who takes Barry Keoghan’s Oliver Quick under his wing, might look like he belongs in J-14, but inside – at Oxford University and away from his family’s manor Saltburn, at least – he’s punk. Miller says although Felix is “a superstar upon arrival,” his facial jewelry is an attempt at trying to be cool. That tousled, unkempt, early-stage mullet makes Felix look like his IDGAF attitude is completely thrown together, and maybe it is, but the eyebrow piercing, despite its appeal, should make you think otherwise.

    Then again, just about every trend in the early aughts was “naff,” as Miller says. Even the tattoos, which Felix also has. In addition to a “carpe diem” tattoo, he has a few others written in the same font as the Catton family crest. Seems ironically conformist for someone who seems to try hard to fight against the limitations that come along with being an aristocrat.

    Courtesy of MGM and Amazon Studios

    Oliver Is a Proletariat Shapeshifter

    “Oliver is definitely a shapeshifter and that’s very clear from the start,” Miller says. In an interview with Rotten Tomatoes, Keoghan shared that he essentially plays five different characters in the film – five different versions of Oliver. When we first see him at Oxford, a middle-class scholarship kid, he’s got a geeky, blow-dried, “Zac Efron kind of hairdo.” He’s such a try-hard, and Miller made sure to show it.

    Throughout the three acts of the film, the more time he spends ingratiated into the Cattons’ world – the more he becomes obsessed with it – we see him evolve and adapt to suit the company he keeps. While the Cattons may be aristocracy, they’re inherently disheveled. In fact, it was written into the script, the shabby chicness of it all, says Miller. So the longer Oliver is at Saltburn, the looser his look becomes. “He starts to imitate [Felix] a little bit,” she says. “He becomes a little bit less done. He gets more casual . . . he becomes a bit more tousled with the hairstyle.” By the end of the film, Oliver is the lord of Saltburn manor. Technically, he’s no longer the poor interloper, and his look had to say so. Miller says they made him very clean cut and groomed, like Cary Grant. The difference is that Grant probably never danced naked to “Murder on the Dancefloor.”

    The Meaning Behind the Catton Siblings’ Tattoos

    Venetia Catton may never be the Catton golden child, but that doesn’t seem to waver her relationship with her brother Felix – at least not by much. “It was very important for Emerald that there were elements of Venetia and Felix that mirrored each other and that’s how we played it with the tattoos,” Miller says. Whether it’s simply the placement of certain ink – Venetia has a tattoo on the inside of her arm where Oliver has “carpe diem” permanently etched – or the actual design – they share a cluster of stars on both of their hands – the siblings are physically linked one way or another throughout the film.

    Venetia’s energy and aesthetic scream “rich girl who took a gap year to live in Bali,” so it’s not surprising that Miller didn’t want all of her tattoos to really mean anything at all. For example, Miller designed a tattoo for Venetia inspired by the mathematical number π. She also gave her a lightning bolt on her ankle and rose on her shoulder to finish the look.

    Courtesy of MGM and Amazon Studios

    Why Venetia’s Bleached Hair Is Perfectly Horrible

    Alison Oliver, who plays Venetia, was game to bleach her hair to the point of breakage – just like any good socialite in 2006. While a wig was an option, Miller says that the actress was willing to push the limits of her hair health by having it bleached – and bleached and bleached – until it was just the right kind of brittle. Apparently, even Margot Robbie noticed. Miller says that the LuckyChap Entertainment producer paid a visit to the set not long after “Barbie” wrapped. “She came along to a screening and she sat behind me,” Miller says. “I could hear her saying, ‘Look at those brittle ends. They’re just perfect!.’”

    Samantha sasso

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