1897 makeup

[stefan]

Does it seem that the makeup department was having a great time of it during the 1897 storyline? The layers of eye-shadow and rouge on everyone, especiallly the men, was exceptional. I noted some heavy light blue eye-powder on Louis Edmonds and the purple powder on the rest of them reminded me of Vogue eye-makeup ads. I got really distracted by all the blue eye-powder on Louis Edmonds when he was courting Kitty, it looked ridiculous to me. And, when Barnabas got whizzed back to 1795 you can tell how different he looked by his heavy cheek rouge, darker hair and heavy heavy purple eye makeup. Suprisingly, many of the women looked more natural. I noticed KLS seemed much less made up (no more fake eye lashes) but Nancy Barret had yucky eyebrow makeup looking really wierd. She even wore it as Millicent (in the 1795/1897 flashback scenes). What was up with all that?

[michael c]

you're right stefan that the 1897 make-up is really wierd.

i've been watching it this weekend.the guys are totally "dolled up".they are much more made up than in other storylines.it does sort of create a sense of "hightened reality" which maybe was the point.

with his heavily made up face and jet black hair aristede reminded me of liza minnelli.
nancy barrett does look really weird too.the eyebrow make-up is yucky and for the first time her hair is not platinum but dark red-ish blond.

the storyline in general has it's own distictive "look" quite different than anything else.

i wonder if the make-up artists worked in the theater where it needed to play to the back row and it wasn't taken into account how it would look in close-up on t.v.?

[stefan]

it does sort of create a sense of "hightened reality" which maybe was the point.

I agree 1897 did have a distinctive look about it and when Barnabas went back to 1795 he really didn't look the same. Ben Stokes still had normal makeup.
Also, Josette's room looked different and she was wearing a bright green cape which fluttered in the wind on widows hill. In fact, the whole Josette/widow's hill scene was much better photographed, acted and the set was better.
About the makeup, I can see how they might want a hightened reality especially with all the funky stuff happening in 1897 but I got distracted by the makeup when more human or real emotions were starting, like for example, when Edward was courting Kitty - normal but how could you take it seriously when poor Louis Edmonds had all this bright blue eyeshadow on. Odd, very oddl

[MagnusTrask]

Hmm.. it's hard for me to comment directly since I'm lacking 1968 in my tapes (which means I don't have bits of 1795 or 1796, or bits of 1897, either)--- and I can't do a comparison--- but I like the idea of "hightened reality".     I like that people are talking about something that abstract, here.    I'm sure if I get hold of those episodes, I'll have a lot to think about, regarding how the same moments in history were dealt with, visually and otherwise, at different moments... 1795 in 1969 as opposed to '67 or '68?    And what the reasons may have been... whether they were reasoned out, or instinctive/emotional...?

Though blue eye-shadow on Edward... whatever the purpose or context... seems a little off.    They were slapping blue eye-shadow onto everybody and everything back then I think.     It was sort of indiscriminate.     Tanker trucks of blue eye-shadow used to be backed up at loading docks outside of TV studios everywhere in the '60s.    

[Pansity]

ok, here's a thought on why the make up was so distinctive and "different".  I am thinking of photoplates/daguerrotypes from Victorian times, with the stylized look that those had.  Maybe that stylied, "made up" look of the turn of the century is what inspired the look the makeup people were creating?