Beyonce Knowles
Dreamgirls opens this month and the buzz surrounding this film seems to be everywhere. After chatting with Beyoncé’s makeup artist, Francesca Tolot, and learning about the 40 or so different wardrobe, hair and makeup changes, I can see what all the fuss is about—at least as far as eye candy goes. While all the looks aren’t entirely detectable in the film, it should still be fun to see the makeup department put a modern twist on the classic ‘60s and ‘70s.
Francesca was kind enough to let me in on her inspiration and the products she used to transform singer-turned-actress Beyoncé into “Deena Jones.” From Motown and The Supremes to icons like Brigitte Bardot, Sophia Loren, Cher and Veruschka to classic Vogue & Bazaar magazines, Francesca pulled inspiration from all over the classic ‘60s and ‘70s eras. “We’d be picking a feeling from one picture with a twist from another and mix it together in a creative way. Nothing was specific to one person or another,” says Francesca. In order to convey Beyoncé’s youth at the start of the film, she wears barely any makeup. Francesca drew thicker eyebrows on the actress and left her lips bare with
La Mer Lip Balm. We see her transition into superstar status with lots of lashes and
L’Oreal Double Extend Mascara in Blackest Black. “Sometimes she is wearing three sets of
MAC lashes piled on top of each other,” says Francesca.
Beyoncé wears
La Mer Foundation in Natural, Caramel or Tan depending on the scene. To create a much lighter skin tone under Beyonce’s eyes, Francesca used
Amazing Cosmetics Concealer and explains “In the ‘70s, concealer was part of the look. Women started to have the raccoon effect…so it wasn’t so much that Beyoncé needed it, it was used more in a natural and beautiful way to go with the era.” For powder, she dusted on
La Mer.
Along with concealer, some bronzer and lip gloss helped take Beyoncé's character from the ‘60s to the ‘70s. “The ‘70s is when bronzer, lip gloss and concealer were popular,” adds Francesca whose thorough research on the era is evident in every makeup decision she makes. Beyoncé was bronzed with
Guerlain Terracotta Bronzer and occasionally
Nars Laguna. Francesca stepped up the color in the ‘70s scenes with
Nars Torrid blush, but for the most part Beyoncé is just wearing bronzer. Lips go from creamy pink, beige and orangey-salmon in the ‘60s to natural or fuchsia tinted gloss in the ‘70s. Francesca liked
Lorac Lip Polish (for the pinks and beige) and
L’Oreal (for the gloss).
Nars, MAC and L’Oreal Hip eye shadows were used on the eyes, especially when stronger color was required. For Francesca’s favorite look in the film, the Disco Era, she uses glitter in an unusual way. “I used
MAC Glitter like paint,” explains Francesca. “I did her whole eye makeup like it was an eye shadow, but it was glitter.” She mixed MAC Glitter with a MAC Mixing Medium and painted it on to the eyes as if it were eye shadow. She admits they didn’t know if the look would translate on film but adds “it did and you can see every color.” Once the makeup was finished, she painted white glitter on the brow bone and cheeks and then lightly showered Beyoncé with glitter. She says of the film, and in particular this “disco era” scene, “We had a fantastic lighting director. It was coming alive in such a beautiful way that it was like a dream.”
