Makeup and Hairstyling on American Horror Story - Hotel

To help me get a better understanding of the make-up and hair and also the styling in American Horror Story, I have looked at screen grabs of my favourite styling of my characters. The thing that I like the best about this series is the diversity of styling especially with the character the countess as her look changes to any specific period that it is set in.

Sally

When looking at the styling of the character Sally, I noticed that her look doesn't really change, she has her staple look and this could be a hint to her being trapped in the time that she died and also because she is trapped inside the Hotel Cortez, so this is something that I will want to apply to my character Claudia as it relates to her brief very well. Personally, I do not like this look very much, I think the makeup is really raw, but I don't identify with her character very much, and find it hard to be remorseful of her situation. When designing Claudia I want the audience to empathise or feel sorry for her where as sally is designed more to repulse the viewer. The best thing about this makeup is the darkness that it brings to the programme.

The main aspects of the makeup and hair are...

• Pale waxy complexion.
• Worn black smokey eye.
• Dark burgundy lip which is also worn.
• Crimped hair.

All of these aspects of the makeup are very reminiscent of 90's grunge, I like how it is very raw and not overly fashioned as it makes it more real. I also like how the makeup is worn, this makes the character look dirty and unkept like you would be if you were an addict. There is also a lot of use of tears and sweat for this character to mimmic signs of addiciton. I also like how she is styled to look like a lady of the night

The Countess

The Countess' makeup and hair is so diverse throughout the series that is is hard to pick a favourite, so I instead divided her looks into two sections, although all of her looks are higly stylised she does have a classic look that she wears in the present episodes, but then through flashbacks you see what she would have looked like in different decades, and these looks are all in keeping with the fashions of the time, as you can see above I have referenced her looks from the 20's, 70's and 80's. But there is also times when her look changes in the present day, for instance when she attends fashion shows she dons more of a creative look. However her 'classic' look is just that and is a lot more fresh faced and feminine.

Main aspects of the makeup and hair are...

• Sleek groomed hair, often in updo's or a glamorous sleek curled style.
• Red lip, perfectly applied.
• Winged out brown eyeshadow or dramatic flick.
• Eyegloss on lids.

What I have gained from looking at these images from the programme is that when designing Mrs.Laderman I have a lot more creative freedom to do something a little more editorial, but still wearable. I will start looking at images from beauty editorials, catwalks and also portraiture to gain inspiration for her look. And for Claudia, I will draw my inspiration from photography, films and TV shows and also real life photos, and I will need to start finding ways to gain the viewers empathy through styling.