What was the process for creating the various characters' looks?
Catherine Hardwicke, the director, and I have previously worked together on a movie called Lords of Dogtown, so we know each other very well. I began by preparing sketches of my vision, keeping in mind the descriptions Stephenie Meyers set forth in the books.
Bella's description in the novel is very pale and extremely beautiful with large chocolate brown eyes, so she wore colored lenses every day. I also pictured her as a natural beauty, which is exactly what Kristen Stewart is. I used a light hand while applying all neutral colors to make her look as though she had no makeup on.
Were there any changes to the looks of the characters that weren't planned?
At the beginning, Catherine visualized Edward with long hair, yet after studying his face and jaw line in the makeup test, the decision was made to go with short hair to accentuate his amazing jaw line.
All the vampires had to be pale, but I didn't want them to look too ghoulish, somewhere between Sweeney Todd and Interview with a Vampire. The choice was made for a denser, more opaque look for the supporting vampires and a lighter look for the leading man.
The challenge was that they still had to look beautiful and handsome. The key was striking the delicate shading balance. We had two weeks of makeup test. This is the time for a makeup artist to unleash her imagination. During the testing, Catherine let me know when I was on the mark. She has a fabulous eye for detail and everything I did had to be approved by her.
Were there any other challenges you encountered while working on location in Portland?
The rain was a huge challenge. We were outside, and it rained the entire time we were there. Most of the shots were exterior; trying to fix makeup in the rain with wet faces and wet brushes was difficult. In the end, I must say I loved working on this movie, it challenged my creativity as never before.
What were your non makeup-related responsibilities in terms of creating this look?
Another one of my jobs was to find a contact lens specialist. So I called upon the expertise of Cristina Patterson Ceret, FX lens/painter from Professional VisionCare.
What M.A.C products did you use on the film?
Eyeshadows and powders for our principles. Blot Powder/Pressed in Light and Eye Shadow in Blanc Type, Flute and Wedge on Kristen Stewart. Blot Powder/Pressed in Light on Robert Pattinson. We had several other characters and day players on whom I used M.A.C foundations, lipsticks and blushes.
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