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In The Scenario, reporter Kirbie Johnson takes readers behind the scenes of the buzziest movies and TV shows to reveal how the best wigs, special-effects makeup, and more are created. For this edition, Johnson interviewed Euphoria department head Donni Davy in the makeup trailer as season three wrapped last year. As you may expect, some spoilers about the first episode are ahead.
“For better or for worse, everyone's kind of trying to find God.”
HBO’s Euphoria has returned. Much has changed: The students are now adults, and a five-year time jump finds everyone in the real world—and finding God, according to makeup department head artist Donni Davy. Changes have also happened behind the scenes, where Hans Zimmer took over the musical score, a stark contrast to Labrinth’s haunting high school melodies of seasons one and two; and costume designer Colleen Atwood came on as coproducer and helped with wardrobe direction, now overseen by Natasha Newman-Thomas after the departure of Heidi Bivens.
Despite the show’s dark themes, this season is also visually brighter, with the first episode featuring scenes of sun-soaked California and vibrant decor, including Lexi’s apartment and Nate and Cassie’s ornate home. With these visual and audio changes, the show reads more like an epic Western than the dreamy, neon-coated atmosphere of seasons one and two.
But a lot also remains the same. There’s no shortage of drama for Rue (Zendaya), who’s still involved in the drug business. The impact of narcotics in the US continues to be a major theme, according to showrunner Sam Levinson. At a press screening of the first episode, he discussed how the death of actor Angus Cloud, who portrayed Fez, in 2023 affected him, and how fentanyl continues to be the main culprit of drug deaths in America. Season three, according to Levinson, alludes to the third step of the 12-step recovery plan: “Surrender your will and life to the care of your higher power”—hence taglines leading up to the premiere like, “May God have mercy.”
High contrast lip-spo
Kirbie Johnson
Inner and outer winged liner
Kirbie Johnson
Crucially, the makeup remains a constant and vital element in the show. Davy has designed the makeup looks for Euphoria since the show’s inception in 2019. From the get-go, Levinson wanted Davy to create makeup looks that “people would pause the show and study,” a task she had to execute without distracting from the themes of the show.
In season one, Davy gravitated toward the pastel shades and winged liner of the late 1960s—an era that’s heavily inspired her over the years—as well as ’70s glam rock, ’80s elongated cat eyes, and ’90s grunge liner. That first season was seven years ago, and “Euphoria makeup”—now synonymous with sparkling gemstones, winged liner that could gut someone, and glitter tears—has gone on to captivate audiences and inspire tens of thousands of fans to play with makeup. And the interest hasn’t slowed since. According to Google Trends, searches for “euphoria makeup” reached peak interest in 2022 after season two premiered, and searches have already spiked in the week leading up to the third season’s release on April 12.
I’ve seen firsthand how hungry fans are for Euphoria makeup. In 2021, I was given a tour of the show’s makeup trailer. While there, I got a behind-the-scenes look at what Davy—who has amassed her own huge social following because of the show—used on the cast, as well as a first look at Half Magic, the makeup brand Davy launched with studio A24’s blessing (and backing). After posting videos from my time in the trailer, I gained more than 35,000 followers on Instagram in one day, simply for reporting on things like Zendaya’s onscreen foundation and how (and why) Sydney Sweeney’s character Cassie always looked sweaty.
More season three makeup inspiration
Kirbie Johnson
I was invited back to the makeup trailer for season three at the end of filming in November 2025. ”Base camp,” as the set was called, was situated on a closed-off lot in downtown Los Angeles. Everything was shrouded in secrecy, from the trailer doors labeled “LA Nights” (a code name taken from the show where Lexi works as an assistant this season), to yellow production signage reading “10 Commandments,” another code to keep filming confidential. I had no idea who was on set or what was being filmed, but it didn’t matter. I was there to find out if we were getting what the Euphoria makeup people have come to expect—or if everyone matured out of “look at me” beauty in the time jump.
Good news: While season two featured more subdued makeup, in season three we’re back to “capital G glam,” says Davy. But it’s not the bold color and dazzling rhinestones we were introduced to in 2019. Instead, it’s Davy’s take on nostalgic Hollywood makeup, with nods to the looks of icons past and present. “It's not as experimental,” she says. “In high school, there was tons of glitter. There’s also tons of glitter in season three, but the girls are grown up, and the creative vision is different. Sam [Levinson] wanted me to do my version of traditional glam—Hollywood glam.”
It was also important for the makeup to be high-contrast, whether that meant a dark lip liner with a nude lipstick or red lips with exaggerated black eyeliner. That’s because the film stock used specifically for this season pushed the contrast on camera, causing makeup elements to look blown out or change color, something Davy realized when reviewing the raw footage (called “dailies” in TV land). It was clear some makeup looks weren’t landing and needed to be taken up a notch. “We need cunt-ery here,” she says, “we need to go hard.”
Anna Van Patten wearing three Euphoria makeup trends at once
Kirbie Johnson
Sydney Sweeney with frosty lids and tightlined lashes
Maddy’s eyeliner offers a good example: “I'm like, ‘Girl, the wings are always iconic on you,’” Davy recalls saying to actor Alexa Demie. “They always look so good, but without that high-contrast moment, whether it's a sharp line on the bottom or just a tightline, we don't get that extra-visual thing to sink your teeth into.”
Nineties-era Pamela Anderson, Y2K makeup, and a touch of the ’60s all inspired Davy this season. Her mood boards—plastered across every square foot of the trailer—showed references that ran the gamut depending on the character and the scene: Hustler and Playboy spreads with handwritten notes from Davy like, “red nails, simple eyes, classic lips”; “super glowy—NO POWDER”; and “babydoll lashes.” Pages upon pages of similar makeup looks featuring models and notable celebrities like Kate Moss, Rihanna, Sabrina Carpenter, and Gabriette. “[The makeup overall] is sparkly, luscious, juicy, glam,” says Davy. “It's like a campaign against the ‘clean girl’ aesthetic. That's my inspiration. It's big, unapologetic glam.”
After reading the scripts, Davy imagines what a character may be doing at that point in their life to help her design their look. Take the aesthetic for Jules (Hunter Schafer) this season, which includes bleached brows and core shades of red, silver, and black. “I wanted [Jules] to have this deranged moment at home [where we had the] Pat McGrath Labs peel-off mask on top of makeup, and I wanted her to peel it off on camera and stretch it,” Davy says. “These are the things I imagine the characters doing, and it helps me figure out what to do. If there's no imagination or story or passion for me, it’s hard to get inspired.”
Rosalía as Magick
Kirbie Johnson
There are a few things you’ll see a lot of this season: Sharpen those eyeliners, because inner-corner wings are a big one. Brown tightliner is another. “Everyone is tightlined,” says Davy. “I really want the eyes to be super-fucking piercing,” says Davy. Frosty lips and a shitload of body shimmer are coming our way, too, while blue eye shadow is a throughline for several characters because, she says, it’s the “eye shadow shade of the woman that's kind of going off the rails” or “the woman who's really extra.” There are also more nail sets this season, which Davy commissioned from artist Caroline Cotten.
Davy’s mood boards for Cassie and Jules
Kirbie Johnson
Sydney Sweeney in Cassie’s “vixen” makeup
Kirbie Johnson
Each character has their own distinct aesthetic for the season, even if they didn’t play with makeup much in the past. For example, in season two, Cassie was trying to emulate Maddy and Jules. Now she’s forged her own beauty direction as a vixen—think video girl or classic pinup. “[Brigitte] Bardot is always on my Cassie boards,” says Davy.
In the past, they could create a Cassie look in under an hour, says Davy, but this season Sweeney was in glam for two hours before filming because she was in full, head-to-toes body makeup. We learn that Cassie wants her wedding to Nate exactly the way she envisions it—$50,000 flowers included—and if that means joining OnlyFans, she’s willing to do what it takes to make her own money. “It's very performative,” Davy says of Cassie’s makeup this season, noting that Sweeney was typically down to try anything makeup-wise. “It's kind of desperate, unapologetic. She's trying to get attention. It’s for the male gaze.” But Davy’s doing her own take on the “male gaze” by creating looks female viewers will want to emulate and compliment each other on—not makeup that men would find suitable.
Alexa Demie as Maddy
HBO
Maddy is an assistant in Hollywood, working with a top manager but just making ends meet. Her makeup projects someone she’s aspiring to be. “Her inner light has gone out,” says Davy. In an office job and in her “hustler era,” as Davy describes it, Maddy feels defeated—at least in the beginning of the season. “There doesn’t seem to be a lot of joy in her life, so I think this matte colorless colorscape really works. She’s trying to be more grown-up—all business, no frills.”
This is a stark contrast to who Maddy was in high school. “Her makeup was this theatrical performance; it was playful, tapping into these different sides of her,” says Davy. Maddy was “unfuckwithable” and fierce, but the sparkle and color helped home in on her hopeful, tender side too. One thing Maddy knows how to do is do her makeup and look a part (which we learned from her backstory in season one), and Davy believes she’s using this new look strategically: “Showing up to work with a purple sparkly eye is not going to get her the results she wants in terms of being taken seriously.”
Demie was very involved in Maddy’s looks and wanted to go the more traditional glam route, notes Davy. “Because it’s Maddy and me and my team, we get this unapologetic, bold version of something traditional,” she explains. “This style of makeup is new for Euphoria because we’re not usually bringing in traditional styles of makeup.”
Some of Lexi’s makeup inspo
Kirbie Johnson
Maude Apatow in Lexi’s season three makeup look
Kirbie Johnson
While Rue was meant to look worse for wear in previous seasons, Davy says, there are only a few times when she makes her look rough this go-around. Otherwise, she’s still wearing MAC Face and Body, as we previously reported, and has a healthy glow, thanks to Half Magic Dew Lock Setting Spray. She even has a few legitimate makeup looks, like brown eyeliner in her water lines for the wedding, says Davy.
As a teen, Lexi (Maude Apatow) was mostly a no-fuss makeup girl, although she occasionally threw on some kind of a red lip. In season three, though, she embraces her own version of Hollywood glamour. “Even Lexi has a banging glam—not just a statement lip—but lashes, the whole shebang,” says Davy of the character’s brick red lipstick and subtle wings. “We wanted a more mature version of her high school red-lip look,” adds Davy, who drew from her vintage ’70s wardrobe for inspiration. “Clearly, she’s really into this formal attire, so we thought she would have a real makeup routine, too, that she’s been working on and perfecting. She wants to look well-rested. She is definitely not showing up to work with no makeup.”
Hunter Schaffer in one of Jules’ season three looks
Kirbie Johnosn
Jules isn’t in the first episode of the new season, but Davy shares that her look this time around is more minimal than the others (and for the character), due to the seriousness of her life when we see her again. “It's not colorful,” says Davy. “It's not happy.”
There's no shortage of prosthetics this year, either. “This has been the most prosthetic-heavy and glam-heavy of all the seasons,” Davy says. “Season one was makeup-heavy in a different way; it was all about eyes. Skin was [just] tinted moisturizer. The lip was a gloss. I think Alexa was the only one who had lip liner. This season, however, is full, head-to-toe glam.”
As you can see, there will be no shortage of Euphoria makeup discussions this season, and I still have a lot to share. Each week, I’ll break down the highlights of the makeup, including products used, straight from the source. Bookmark this story and follow us on social media so you don’t miss anything.
In this story:
- Episode 1: "New Beginnings"
- Episode 2: "American My Dream"
- Episode 3: The Ballad of Palidin
- Episode 4: “Kitty Likes to Dance”
- Episode 5: This Little Piggy
Episode 1: "New Beginnings"
Davy prepares to give an on-set spray tan
Kirbie Johnson
The formulas behind Cassie’s fake tan
Kirbie Johnson
Skin is always a big part of the show, but especially this season. Davy used Suqqu foundation, which has a satin effect and is “super buildable,” she says. “It can be really high coverage, or it can be sheer—and it looks so much like skin.” She mixed it with Saie Super Glowy Gel and applied it by infusing a Pawpaw sponge with Half Magic Dew Lock Setting Spray and the foundation, so it lasted throughout filming.
In episode one, Cassie is scantily clad and tan, in case you didn’t notice. Sweeney would get a spray tan, then Davy would mix OFRA Cosmetics RCK Red Carpet Color with Westmore Beauty Body Coverage Perfector, Vita Liberata Body Blur, and Hempz Body Lotion to give her skin an even, in-your-face glow.
Some scenes, however, required stronger, transfer-proof makeup. “For Syd, if she has a sex scene or is in bed or is wearing white or swimming—anything where my body lotion mixture isn’t going to cut it, we use full-on, alcohol-based, body-coverage paints,” says Davy. She used Allied FX Bluebird Iridescent Inks in Cashmere and Bronze Pearl to add shimmer to the tans, avoiding a matte, flat look.
Episode 2: "American My Dream"
Maddy meeting Cassie in episode two.
Warner Bros. Discovery
In episode two, we get more intel on Maddy, while Jules makes her first appearance with a radical hair change. “Maddy is a little evil this season,” says Davy. We get a glimpse of this when her former best friend, Cassie Howard, reaches out.
As Davy mentioned, Maddy's look might be more muted than past seasons, but for her meeting with Cassie, she's still expressing herself through makeup. “She’s there to set the tone,” Demie says in HBO Max's behind-the-scenes segment for episode two. Demie notes it was scorching hot that day, but Maddy is still in a fur coat and gloves to insinuate power. She wants to be taken seriously at work and she wants to appear in charge during her meeting with Cassie, sporting visible lip liner and double-winged liner. Paired with her wardrobe and hair, her look is mob wife meets old Hollywood.
Mara Rouse, who worked with Demie on the look, said they were inspired by French-Italian actress Edwige Fenech, as well as the makeup of other Italian actresses where the top liner lifts before the outer corner, creating and “upward, feline” shape.
To achieve the look at home, Davy suggests starting with a base of a matte brown cream eyeshadow (she likes the Colourpop Shadow Stix) over the lids, followed by a taupe-colored powder shadow pressed on top to both cool-down the color and add a velvety finish. Davy's brand, Half Magic, was used heavily this season. For Maddy's double wings, they used the Flik Liquid Eyeliner Pen and Flik Eraser Correcting Pen, create two lines that extend out from upper and lower lash lines. Half Magic Cheek Fluff in Magic Brownie went on her cheeks, while her lip combo included the Sculptitude Lip Liner in Seize the Slay and You’re my Taupe topped off with a coat of Lip Snuggle in Killah Meows.
For Maddy's hair, department head Kim Kimble shared that a T3 Micro Large Barrel Curling Iron was used to add volume volume, while the Kim Kimble Signature Infrared Flat Iron added sleekness to the look. To finish her Amika hairspray and ColorWow shine spray were applied.
Jules’s makeup, per Davy, needed to reflect her new lifestyle, but her signature experimental style still shines through—especially in this episode (that bra dress, anyone?). She wears black liner right the middle of her lower waterline—underneath her iris—paired with a light blue shadow.
As for her hair, Jules has gone from a crop senior year to wearing a 50" buss-down. "Sam said, 'I want Jules’ hair to be 50” long,’” says Kimble in a behind-the-scenes video for HBO Max, which showcases Schafer’s wig being applied. "She’s like a modern-day Rapunzel, she’s trapped up in the tower."
Episode 3: The Ballad of Palidin
You’re cordially invited to Nate and Cassie’s wedding in this episode and, of course, drama ensues: Reunions take place, guests show up half-naked. Nate’s toe gets cut off. Very normal wedding festivities. Amidst all that, there’s some pretty incredible beauty looks going on. Let’s break it down.
Cassie’s bridal beauty look.
Patrick Wymore/HBOCassie's Bridal Look
“I wanted to do what I thought was pretty makeup,” Davy says, “I wanted her eyes to be really piercing—that’s my jam this season.” Davy did this by emphasizing the waterline in a brown tone. “I wanted her eyes to be really visible through the veil, because there’s this long shot of her coming down the aisle while her mom is saying the most ridiculous shit,” Davy says. “I know Sydney, she's really good at emoting and she’s gonna have her eyes filled up with tears as she’s coming down the aisle. In my head, I was like, ‘These high-contrast eyes through the veil welling up with tears.’”
Davy said they toyed with a few ideas for her look but she didn’t want to stray too far from Cassie’s traditional makeup because she gets amore defined and different glow up later in the season. “I wanted it to feel like that sweet, Cassie vibe,” Davy says. “I actually thought of doing a version of a cheesy wedding makeup look, but then I saw her dress and was like, I think we just have to make her look like a princess. She looks like Cassie Wedding Barbie.”
Davy’s moodboard for Cassie’s wedding makeup.
Kirbie Johnson
Nate and Cassie’s reception was filmed before the ceremony, which is why we have an eyeshadow switchup. “Her eyeshadow for the [reception] is blue,” Davy says. Cassie changes into a shorter version of her wedding dress, which gave Davy the greenlight to update her eyeshadow, too. “The [blue] color calls back to the scene [in season 2] when she says ‘I’m in love with Nate Jacobs and he’s in love with me.’” Davy says the sparkly blue is Half Magic GlitterPuck in Princess Ghost, a baby blue.
“For cinematic flair, we added a new unreleased Half Magic body product to her chest so she definitely has body glitter on,” Davy says. “Her nails are pearlescent with little floating gems on them. Very sweet-leaning-innocent vibes.”
Cassie’s wedding nail set by nail artist Caroline Cotten.
Caroline Cotten
“Donni and I definitely wanted to go 'classic bridal,’ but a bit more gaudy to add to the over-the-top energy of the wedding,” Cotten says. “By doing a classic white French but turning it up with a bright white chrome and gems, I think these nails read ‘I’m the bride, look at me,’ and are a bit unhinged.”
Jules' Siren Makeup
Davy doesn't know why Jules decides to show up to the wedding nearly naked, but it’s that barely-there, blue Acne dress that dictated her makeup look. “She looks like a goddess, a siren, a mermaid, an unearthly spiritual being—so I wanted to do a gorgeous, fairy-like goddess moment on her. This was not a moment for an experimental artsy look," she says.
On her lids, Davy used a taupe eyeshadow with the new Glitterpuck x Euphoria Collection Glitterpuck in Feel Something layered on top, a color she describes as “so season one, Jules and Rue-coded.” She also gave Jules spiky, manga lashes, a tiny smoky wing, and terracotta along her lower lashes and waterline, with the periwinkle glitter on the lid. On her lips, she’s wearing the Never Been Happier lip gloss from the new Half Magic x Euphoria collection. Her nails are from Lost Angels in Stop Copying Me. "I would give these artistic touches to her, but really the energy she’s inhabiting is a complete otherworldly siren,” adds Davy. “Rue says ‘dress sexy’ and she does."
Maddy’s Revenge Makeup
Warner Bros. Discovery
According to Davy, Demie wanted to wear color for the wedding. “It’s a burgundy smoky eye with a plum burgundy waterline and shimmery gold in the middle [of the lid],” Davy says. “ It felt like a moment to go more dramatic. She needed this 'eye-makeup armor' to attend this wedding."
Maddy’s wedding makeup moodboard.
Kirbie Johnson
For her nails, Cotten says that the shape differed from what Maddy normally wears throughout the season. “Maddy mainly sticks to a long round or narrow square shape, but for the wedding we felt stiletto was appropriate and exciting,” Cotten says. “I didn’t want to do a design too visually stimulating as her dress and glam really say it all, but I definitely wanted them to have energy. The outline of the pointed nail feels like an arrow giving energy to wherever she points her hands at."
Cottens showing off one of Maddy’s wedding nails.
Caroline CottenNate’s Collector’s Item
Nate has been screwing people out of money and ends up in debt, which results in the collectors coming to get what’s theirs on his wedding night. After carrying Cassie over the threshold, we see him get beaten within inches of his life—something he’s not new to if you remember season two. To prove a point, they chop his pinky toe off.
ScreenshotKirbie Johnson
Davy shared the specific-effects limbs were created by Vincent Van Dyke Effects and that there were four of Jacob Elordi’s legs (and feet) made, plus a tester to see how the fake blood would exit the wound once the toe was severed. The prosthetic feet felt like real limbs and were painted to match Elordi’s real legs and feet. They even had strands of hair punched in to make them appear lifelike, despite the fake foot being on camera for only a few seconds.
Episode 4: “Kitty Likes to Dance”
This episode, we meet Kitty, played by actress Anna Van Patten. Meanwhile, Cassie has gone full OnlyFans model, and Maddy tries out blue eye shadow.
Cassie's “Trashy” Look
Kirbie Johnson
Cassie gets a makeover in episode four, a scene in which the hair and makeup department (including Davy and Kimble) are featured. Her hair goes from light brunette to bleach blonde, she’s super tan, and her makeup—including tightliner, frosted lips, and shimmery pink eyeshadow—is heavily inspired by Brigitte Bardot, the 1960s, and '90-era Pamela Anderson. The look was deemed “dreamy trashy” by fans—a descriptor Davy loves. “It is trashy, but it’s trashy in a super sexy, hot confident that's own-able and cool,” Davy says. Everything they did—from the super frosty lip to the pink cheetah nails—was intentional. “It’s the perfect, ‘Trying too hard, but in a sweet, whimsical, desperate way.’”
When it comes to her makeup, “a blush-pink eyeshadow is so, so Cassie,” Davy says. “It’s kind of a throwback to the [season 2] New Year’s Eve look,” a scene where another party took place and Cassie was getting herself into trouble (by hooking up with Nate in the bathroom). “This is a much, much more glam version of that look.” For the makeover scene, Davy applies Half Magic Sparklestick in Cloud Kid and Crystal Butter Balm in Shellebrity to Sweeney for her look.
Pink is the New Rhinestones
Speaking of pink, we see a lot of the color this season and, much like the rhinestones and glitter did for the first two seasons, it's meant to convey the emotions of the characters wearing it. Cassie wears it, as does Kitty, a dancer at the Silver Slipper. Davy says that in her eyes, pink is a tender color, and the use of it helps portray the vulnerability of the people wearing it. “Pink shimmers are sweet and innocent,” says Davy, as opposed to blues and purples, which can read too fierce on camera. “Kitty is sweet, genuine, and sincere and we wanted [her eye makeup] to read invisible from across the room, but up close you’re like, ‘Oh, it’s not a nude eye shadow.’” Kitty’s look—executed by makeup artist Tara Lang Shah—will evolve throughout the season but it was important we get a sense of her sincerity in her opening episode.
ScreenshotKirbie JohnsonMaddy’s Blue Eyes to Kill
According to Davy, the shimmering blue shadow Maddy wears to the TikTok party works so well because it’s the opposite of Cassie’s more girly, pinup style. To Davy, blue and pink are yin and yang,and for Maddy and Cassie to be wearing them in this episode demonstrates they’re back in their respective roles—working together but also taking advantage of each other.
“Since the beginning, [Demie] wanted to do old Hollywood glam, but also wanted to do color,” says Mara Rouse, Demie’s makeup artist during filming. “Looking at her wardrobe, looking at her boots, we were trying to match this very particular deep indigo.” Rouse says that this is the only glitter eye we’ll see Maddy in this season and that Demie wanted a particular tapered shape from a ‘90s reference as well as a nod to Cleopatra and ancient Egypt.. “Her whole look is very wet, which you can see from her hair as well,” says Rouse. “We wanted to invoke that wetness in the makeup. She’s very dewy, she has very glossy lips, her eyes sparkle like moving water.
Episode 5: This Little Piggy
Cassie is now a full-time OnlyFans creator at the hands of Maddy’s managerial expertise. Nate loses another phalange despite his wife bringing home the bacon (in this case, $30,000). We have details from hair department head Kim Kimble on Cassie and Maddy’s hairstyles in this episode, whileDavy explains how working with Jacob Elordi’s hand prosthetic works.
Cassie’s blonde bombshell wig.
HBO / Eddy Chen
Maddy and Cassie’s Classic Hairstyles
Kimble used both wigs and hairpieces to create Maddy’s “film noir” hair this season. “It’s a little retro with a modern twist,” Kimble explains, noting that the curls, the movement, and the softness of the hair keep the classic styles from looking too dated. Like Davy, Kimble also alludes to Maddy’s “evil” character arc this season, sharing that there’s something “a little dark and a little sinister” about her hair.
For Cassie, Kimble shares that Sweeney started with long hair extensions at the beginning of the season, while wigs were utilized for her makeover. When designing the styles, Kimble kept Cassie’s storyline as a rising influencer top of mind. “I feel like influencers have something a little more when it comes to their hair. They really create attention for themselves, so they have to have a look and an image as well," she says.
For Cassie's “blonde bombshell look,” Kimble's inspiration was “a little Farah Fawcett, a little ‘70s-esque—we wanted something sexy, bold and beautiful." In this episode's controversial ode to Attack of the 50 Foot Woman—where Cassie is seen taking over Hollywood and swinging her giant ponytail to take out a helicopter—Kimble says the full ponytail she’s wearing was inspired by the iconic B-movie, Barbarella.
Jacob Elordi’s $15,000 "Hands"
Two of Nate’s prosthetic hands, before and after being painted and punched with hair.
Kirbie Johnson
Nate Jacobs is getting his due this season. After assaulting Tyler and Maddy in season one, Nate has now not only been beaten up himself, but he’s had his pinky toe and finger chopped off. The scene is excruciating to watch and took several takes to get right.
Of course, Elordi’s digits were not harmed in the process. For filming, Davy had several casts of Elordi’s arm and hand taken and made into prosthetics by special-effects house Vincent Van Dyke. They look and feel extremely lifelike, from the bending of the fingers and the paint job, to the hair punching technique used to make it look like Elordi’s actual arm. Additionally, Davy says they would powder the fingernails to keep them from looking too shiny.
To make the cutting off of Nate’s finger appear realistic on camera, Elordi was directed to struggle away from the fake clippers (for safety reasons). Levinson called cut and Elordi exited the set. Then, filming resumed and a stunt person (or Levinson) held the prosthetic in a way that made it appear as if the owner of the (fake) hand was struggling. The actor doing the cutting was then given real clippers so he could actually cut off the prosthetic finger.
To create fake blood spurts, the prosthetic was fitted with internal tubing that traveled through all the fingers, allowing fake blood to flow into them via a large syringe. “When [the finger] is cut on camera it falls off and that’s exactly the moment when I, or someone else, would push the blood through the syringe,” says Davy. “The harder you hit the syringe, the faster the blood will come out.” Ultimately, Levinson requested Davy have over at least four of these prosthetics made, which she says could cost around $15,000.
Episode 6: “Stand Still and See”
I have the feeling someone isn’t going to survive this season—who that is, I’ll keep to myself. We finally get Alamo Brown’s backstory and understand his obsession with power over women, especially as the owner of the Silver Slipper Strip Club. The episode opens with a flashback to his childhood in the late 1970s where we meet his mother, “Mama Brown,” played by Danielle Deadwyler. She brings home a man named Preston, whom she hoped would support them. Although he was affected by an explosion in a lab, effectively scarring most of his face, he was kind and treated both Alamo and his mom with love and respect. Preston ended up getting compensated for his injuries and, with his new fortune, upgraded the family to a new economic standing. Ultimately, Mama Brown schemed to have their home “robbed” by her lover, stealing everything Preston had worked for and leaving him alone, broke, and heartbroken. Alamo never recovered—both from the incident and his mother's betrayal.
HBO Max
HBO Max
Deadwyler’s incredible hairstyles were a bright spot during a storyline that was almost unbearable to watch. According to Kimble, the hairstyles were meant to showcase the family's status as they acquired more wealth. When we first met Mama Brown, it “looked like someone in the neighborhood could have braided her hair and beaded it,” Kimble says. “When she got into some money, we gave her a fantastic ‘70s blowout that was also popular in the ‘80s.” Artists like Patrice Rushen and Peaches from Peaches & Herb were on the inspo board for the beaded braids.
HBO Max
For her makeup, a red lip and nails were already written into the script for her character. “Mama Brown needed to have classic powerful woman vibes,” Davy says. “It was also in the script that Maddy reminds Alamo of his mama, so we made sure to play with red lips on Maddy for her scenes with Alamo.” Actresses like Judy Pace, Diahann Carroll, Nina Simone, and Barbara Summers were all featured on Davy’s mood board, as well as advertisements for Avon and Raveen hair conditioner.
