If there is one thing that this season of The White Lotus taught us, it’s how to deal with humidity. So as we still process all the mayhem, mess, and murder that we’ve come to love from the wealthy resortgoers, we must take a moment to shout out a facet of the series that has grown season after the season — the makeup.
At the helm of the department since The White Lotus began is Rebecca Hickey, who has previously worked on Lizzie, The Sinner, Mr. Robot, and numerous other projects.
“When I read the script for the first season, it was odd and this was during COVID, so I thought this might be cool or it might not be,” she says. “Who knew? And as it’s going on and on, the hype and the pressure. Even with the makeup, I think next year I better do something really fucking cool.”
We’ve noticed and caught up with Hickey right before the finale to talk about what the characters are wearing on their faces, how she survived the unbelievably hot, long shoot days in Thailand, how we can all look as rich as The White Lotus guests, and more.
I’d love to hear about your approach from season one to now. Even though the idea is that it’s always a resort and it’s warm weather, are there things you’ve tried to experiment with and push yourself and the characters? How have you evolved over this time?
Initially, because we didn’t know what it would become, it wasn’t a fashion or beauty show. I was always working on jobs that were natural and “no makeup” makeup. So I told my team, “Let’s go really natural and do exactly what people would really do on vacation.” And it was fine; there was no recognition of the makeup. For the second season, our costume designer started pulling out head-to-toe Prada, so I thought, Okay, we have to up our game. We got creative, and I took it upon myself to experiment with different looks. We had some really fun makeup looks last season. But it always goes back to skin care and really beautiful, natural glowy skin. This season, we did this amazing eye makeup with Aimee [Lou Wood]. It has definitely evolved. I think you can tell from the first season to now.
How has the collaboration been with the hair and costume teams? The makeup definitely plays such a big part because there’s so much focus on the faces of these characters, with all their expressions. When they’re going to dinner, you can see they’re doing more glam versus moments by the pool. How did you all work together to bring these looks to life and make sure things were aligned with the story?
Our designer sets the tone because she’s choosing the clothing. She’s setting it and then we’re working off it, so I just want to make sure everything I’m doing makes sense with the characters she’s creating. I do mood boards, and we have meetings beforehand. And then usually the night before the actors are in my chair, I think about what they’re wearing tomorrow. All of the department heads are usually in the same room, and we’re working together, tag-teaming the same actor. It’s very collaborative, for sure.
With each season, the cast is something that viewers get really excited about. Unless they’re a newer, younger actor, these are creatives that really have their own credibility and have been loved over decades, like Leslie Bibb, Walton Goggins, Parker Posey, and the list goes on. What’s it been like to collaborate with people who are already known for their aesthetic?
I talk to all of them before we start shooting, and I always send them mood boards of what I’m thinking. I told Aimee, “Let’s just do this glitter look and pick a color.” We just went renegade on that one. Surprisingly, everyone leaves so much up to me. They do have their specific skin-care requests, so they all come into it with what they love and we get those products for them. With the makeup, they’re game for anything, and that’s been the case for every season. I guess because I’ve also been there for three seasons, they trust me, and Mike White, our creator, trusts me.
And how do you approach the cultural implications? Of course, these are resorts, but they’re in countries that have their own beauty traditions. Is that something you play into and think about as you’re forming concepts?
We live at The White Lotus and in Thailand; all the hotel employees have stunning makeup. Thai people are wearing incredible beauty, whether it’s Chanel or from a drugstore. And I have a Thai crew, so if I had any questions, I would always go to them. They were super-helpful with the cultural aspects of the makeup and different tones. So we made sure that The White Lotus staff looked really pretty.
I want to get into the nitty-gritty details of it. You’re going to sweat in the Thai heat, so your makeup needs to hold up, or you may want to have more natural or even dewier makeup. There are moments when there’s more glam, but in most of the scenes, everyone looks naturally beautiful. How did you go about achieving that?
The heat in Thailand is no joke. I’ve never felt anything like it. It’s an uncontrollable sweat, and you can’t help it. You just have to give into it and let go. I really think skin care is important, and it’s something I focus on a lot. Because I think when you’re taking care of your skin, you need less coverage. In the humidity, less is more. We’re touching this makeup up every few minutes. These actors are not even going an hour without that. But I wanted it to still feel glamorous. It’s a little far-fetched because it’s heightened reality, but I told my team that just because it’s hot and it’s going to be more work for us, we can’t sacrifice and we still have to bring it. I love tinted serums and tinted moisturizers that work as skin care. You can’t put a full face of foundation on in the summer because it feels gross and will slide off your face. I love Mother Science’s Molecular Hero Serum, and I talk about it all the time because it does fade your spots. I’ve been using it for a year, and I cannot believe the difference. SPF is super-important and Ciele is a great makeup company with SPF and they’re non-comedogenic, so you’re not going to break out with the sweat and bug spray. If you can multitask and use anything that can work as makeup, that can protect you and fade your fine lines. If you’re covering something, use a stick like the Basma Beauty Foundation Stick or Merit’s Perfecting Complexion Stick. Something drier that won’t slide off.
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Regarding the color-centric makeup you use, I’d love to hear about any brands or products you like. Of course, when you sweat, your skin gets flushed naturally. But there’s this light wash of color on the actresses in so many of the scenes.
Obviously, we had the glitter that Jaclyn had in the Viseart Palette. On Natasha, I used this Beauty Pie berry color that gives her the prettiest cheeks. I used a lot of lid tints on everyone’s eyes from Ilia, and Kosas used to make some, but I don’t think they do anymore. I used to love their ten-second eyeshadow. Charlotte Tilbury has a good, creamy eye. That’s what I’ve always done — last season too. A lot of gem-colored eyes. Sigma’s palettes are really pretty, and Anastasia has a really pretty eyeshadow palette. For blush, I love Merit’s Flush Balm and Saie’s Dew Blush. And I’m wild because instead of saying this one character is going to wear the same blush throughout the whole season, I change things up because I want to play with as many things as possible. But it’s always colorful. We called them orchid lips on Parker, that were a deeper pink or red.
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How did you approach SPF?
Every actor was so concerned with the sun, which was refreshing because they wouldn’t get burnt. We’d be throwing the SPF can to everyone all the time. We did a lot of SPF in the chair, and I love Elta MD, which is my favorite. Vacation also has this spritz of SPF50, which is what we were putting over everyone’s face all throughout the day. The Ciele Filter & Protect Powder also has SPF in it, and we added more sunscreen during our touch-ups, including using umbrellas and keeping everyone out of the sun as much as possible.
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I’d love to hear more about the guys too. What’s on their faces? Because we all know that men absolutely wear makeup. Would we be surprised by anything?
For the most part, they don’t have a full face on. With Walton, we evened out his skin with an Ogee Complexion Stick, which has a really beautiful texture that melts into his skin. And with someone like Jon Gries, who plays Greg, we tanned him every day we were shooting with this Ben Nye water-resistant, very old-school Bronzing Body Tint that you put on with a puff or a brush. And, obviously, we’re shaving the guys and controlling their facial hair, so they are in the chair. Sam Rockwell came through, and we gave him a couple of cuts. The boys put eye patches on, too; they liked being in the chair.
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Are there any treatments the actors get during shooting like facials? I would assume nothing too invasive, especially because of the heat. But is it something that’s worked in?
If we were in New York, people would probably be getting facials. But because we were in Thailand, it was trickier. We have a lot of devices including LED masks, high-frequency wands. I bought everyone their own of these in case anyone had a little spot. Also eye patches and ice rollers. We have the ZIIP Halo and NuFACE devices. I love all of the at-home stuff, so that was always available to someone during lunch. The women were definitely focused on their skin staying healthy throughout shooting, and the men too, if I’m being honest.
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What did you bring on the shoot for yourself to feel your best in the heat and on long shoot days?
I brought my own Mother Science serum, and I use the EltaMD on myself. I love Korean toners, so I brought seven of them. And my boyfriend is also skin-care obsessed, so we sit there and do our skin care together every night. My makeup bag would hold three products, and I don’t think I even brought a mascara to Thailand. My bag included a blush, eyebrow gel, and a lip balm. I’m so easy-breezy. But we really couldn’t wear much there because when someone’s not touching you up all the time, it’s really hot. I’d be wiping away the sweat, and there would go all my blush.
Is there anything you think people would be surprised to learn about your role as a makeup-department head?
I think there are a few things. First, I’m involved many months before we begin shooting, as I read the script. People are surprised that I do that and know what happens. I read the script about 15 times, to be honest. I’m involved in advance to break things down and for continuity. We’re also there on set two hours earlier every day before everyone else because we have to get everyone ready. When the crew comes in is when we start shooting, so our weeks are about 75-to-80 hours a week. We’re also dealing with nails, facial hair, and body makeup because we have a big range of things we control. We’re figuring out the nail polishes and picking out colors together, imagining why this character would wear it. There are a lot of little details.
